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How To Build Confidence pix

A pavilion in a Chicago park was an object lesson for students of art and architecture

Ruth Lopez -- Interior Design, 10/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

"Most people consider OSB an ugly material," Illinois Institute of Technology architecture professor Frank Flury says. "But for something temporary, it's perfectly fine." That's because oriented strand board is inexpensive and sturdy, which suited the kind of structure Flury had in mind: a Miesian pavilion for a lakefront park in Chicago.

Flury was initially contacted by the Do Your P'Art Foundation, which organizes exercises in confidence building for student artists in elementary through high school. The organization's founder, Sally Schneiders, had identified quiet Northerly Island—once an airstrip for private planes—as an ideal spot for a collaborative art project. Flury, in turn, realized that the assignment would be perfect for his undergraduates, and he tapped IIT's community-development office to negotiate with the Chicago Park District.

Once the design process was under way, Schneiders didn't provide much guidance beyond stipulating that the budget would be $10,000 and explaining that the students would fill the pavilion with artwork based on the theme of Building Identity. So Flury's team came up with a basic module, an open OSB box measuring 8 feet high by 8 wide by 4 deep and sealed with a thin, milky-white stain. The next step was to plan an overall scheme for 13 boxes, which were to be shared by two groups of student artists representing 26 schools.

In the final gap-toothed configuration, the boxes straddled a paved path, alternating with open space in a way that's oddly reminiscent of display cases in a school hallway. The openings themselves framed bits of sky and tremendous skyline views. Measuring 110 feet long in total, the pavilion was held together overhead, pergola-fashion, by lumber beams covered with OSB. They jutted out at one corner—a cantilever that wasn't supposed to work, as it pushed the limit recommended by engineers. This one sagged slightly, but it served its purpose.

Inside each box were distinctive student works in a range of mediums. One held an assortment of Claes Oldenburg–esque oversize papier-mâché icons of American consumption: a Starbucks coffee cup, an iPod, Timberland boots. The kids were conscious of materialism's drawbacks, too. Emblazoned on the lining of a huge black motorcycle jacket, collaged letters spelled out "Warning: consumerism killing life."

Flury—who trained as a carpenter in his native Germany—guided his students through the three-week fabrication process. (A few had never picked up a hammer before.) He also showed them images of inspirational works, such as Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.; Donald Judd's installations in Marfa, Texas; and, naturally, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHELLE LITVIN
Top: Illinois Institute of Technology undergraduates built a temporary pavilion of oriented strand board for the Do Your P'Art Foundation to fill with work by school-age artists. Bottom, from left: The three-week fabrication process started in a studio at IIT. After arriving at Northerly Island, the team joined the OSB modules with lumber beams. Because the foundation was not permanent, the students filled lumber bases with sand, rather than concrete, to anchor the structure. A young artist made a plaster of paris sculpture based on the theme of Building Identity. The completed work was installed in one of the pavilion's 13 boxes. Ceramic tiles displayed artful text messages. Papier-mâché sculptures commented on consumerism. Part of the roof cantilevered 8 feet.