Chicago Lakefront Kiosk

2015
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Competition Organizer: Chicago Architectural Biennial



The outdoor kiosk presents a unique opportunity to explore bigger architectural motifs through their most distilled and pragmatic application.

As an urban design feature, it is expected to provide shelter, shade, ventilation, and sufficient space to accommodate full-fledged economic and social activities. As a work of architecture, it is challenging for its size, non-specificity inprogram, and the potential for mass production.

While these conditions typically provide sufficient context and constraints for a sensible and functional form, this proposal identifies the kiosk as a nostalgic cultural symbol of the beach. In embracing an additional emotional element - that of “the kitsch”, in its design, this proposal aspires to create pockets of welcoming micro-architecture that both fosters a greater collective sense of community and evokes the rich heritage of the Chicago Lakefront.