Names to Know at the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial: The Living
Hy-Fi by The Living
New York
Commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 in 2014, the firm constructed this 40-foot tower from 10,000 biodegradable bricks to serve as a temporary public events space. At the end of the three-month project, the tower was taken apart, the bricks composted, and the fertile organic material given to local community gardens.
Photo © Iwan Baan
Embodied Computation Lab by The Living
Princeton, New Jersey
The 2017 lab, which houses researchers on topics like robotics, artificial intelligence, and energy, was built to be an “open-source building” where new systems and components can be easily upgraded.
Photo courtesy The Living
Pier 35 EcoPark by The Living
New York
Part of the city-led redevelopment of SHoP Architects’ Pier 35, the in-progress EcoPark project centers around a new mussel habitat where a bed of live mussels acts as sensors for water pollution, and a network of lights change color according to the water quality.
Photo courtesy The Living
The Living, founded and led by David Benjamin.
Image courtesy Chicago Architecture Biennial
Designer David Benjamin established his New York City practice, The Living, in 2009. RECORD asked him five questions about his work in preparation for the Chicago Architecture Biennial. Scroll through the slideshow above to see some of his key projects.
Architectural Record: Tell us about your practice. What differentiates you from other firms?
The Living explores ideas and technologies for tomorrow while applying them to real-world built projects today. The studio combines research and practice with a focus on biology and the environment, from the scale of the brick to the scale of the city. Recently, the studio has articulated three frameworks for harnessing living organisms for architecture: bio-computing, bio-sensing, and bio-manufacturing.
How do you get into the creative headspace?
By exercising and increasing blood flow.
Who are your design heroes?
Cedric Price, Alvar Aalto, Charles and Ray Eames, Kisho Kurokawa, Le Corbusier, Vittorio Garatti, Futurefarmers, Bernard Tschumi, and Jacques Tati.
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What do you hope to contribute to the Chicago Biennial?
We hope to contribute a sense of wonder and a notion of design with uncertainty. Our project is called "Capsule Dreams," and it reinterprets the Nakagin Capsule Tower—and the broader Metabolism Movement—by projecting multiple visions of the future into a series of apartment cells. These evolving dreams and narratives are a crucial nutrient for architecture.
Most importantly, when it comes to pizza, deep dish or thin crust?
Thin, New York–style.
The Chicago Architecture Biennial runs from September 19, 2017, to January 7, 2018. Read more of our coverage of the event here.
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