A view of the Olympic Tribute in Champaign, taken near the autumnal equinox.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The emphasis will be on architecture in three new shows on view Oct. 13 through Nov. 11 at I space, the Chicago gallery of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• “Green Design and Planning in Architecture” focuses on the work of Kenneth Yeang, principal architect at T.R. Hamzah & Yeang International, an architectural firm based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with offices in Beijing and Shenzhen, China; London; and Sydney. Yeang, who specializes in the ecologically responsive, or sustainable, design of skyscrapers and other large-scale buildings, was in residence at the U. of I.’s School of Architecture during the spring 2006 semester as the Distinguished Endowed Plym Professor in Architecture.
The I space exhibition includes models, presentation boards and banners showcasing Yeang’s inventive approach to “green” design – with examples of architecture, urban design and master planning.
• “Critical Dualities: Front of House/ Back of House” pairs U. of I. architecture professor Thomas Kamm’s designs for spaces used for the most public form of art – performance – with those for the most private form of architecture – the home. Exhibited work includes set designs by Kamm for theater, dance and contemporary opera performances by David Byrne, Philip Glass, Tony Kushner, Mikel Rouse and Robert Wilson, as well as hybrid performance spaces commissioned by academic institutions and theater ensembles, and sensitively placed home additions.
U. of I. architecture professor Thomas Kamm’s scenic design for Mikel Rouse’s production “End of Cinematics.”
• “Here + There” features public memorials designed by U. of I. architecture professor Jeffery Poss. Each of the highlighted projects strikes a balance between the need to memorialize, the opportunities inherent in the site or locale, and the need to formulate universal values that transcend the specific criteria of the commission. According to Poss, his work weaves together landscape, sculpture and architecture to create “primal forms that utilize a minimum of means to express a maximum of collective, archetypal meanings.”
An opening reception is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the gallery, 230 W. Superior St., Chicago.
I space gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
