Burnham Pavilions

The Burnham Pavilions were public sculptures by Zaha Hadid and Ben van Berkel in Millennium Park, which were located in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois.

[1] The pavilions were commissioned by the Burnham Plan Centennial Committee, a group of civic leaders who collaborated closely with the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Millennium Park Inc.[5][6] On April 7, 2009, the designs were unveiled for the pavilions set to open on June 19 and to continue on display on the south end of the Chase Promenade until October 31.

[8] The pavilion by Hadid, the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize,[11] is a tensioned fabric shell fitted over a curving aluminum framework exceeding 7,000 pieces.

[8] Although the frame is composed of 7,000 individually bent pieces, no two of which are alike,[5] the shell is made up of a mere 24 custom-made panels of fabric.

[8] The themed presentation that portrays Chicago's transformation as a result of Burnham's plan is by London-based, Chicago-trained filmmaker Thomas Gray.

[11] Hadid conceptualized how tension alters appearance as fabric is pulled taut or twisted, which resulted in the elliptical structure and its strategic light-availing gashes and pod-like openings for visitors to experience.

[16] The current pavilion is not Hadid's original design, which had a greater emphasis an angularity and incorporated hard surfaces of wood and aluminum.

Hadid eventually submitted a new cost-conscious design of a cloth shell supported by aluminum ribs of different sizes.

[11] The Chicago Tribune's Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin spoke glowingly of the pavilion upon its August 4, 2009, completion, describing it as "a virtuoso display of structure, space and light" with an "arresting combination of naturalistic forms and alien shapes, plus a dazzling video installation".

Kamin feels that the Pavilion was designed more for veneration like indoor museum works of art and outdoor sculpture on pedestals.

However, skateboarders, avid fireworks spectators and youthful climbers have been part of the multiple causation of the decline of the pavilion that led to its closure during the week of August 10–14.

[17] The unveiling of the Pavilions was part of a June 19 citywide centennial celebration that included concerts by the Grant Park Orchestra, directed by Carlos Kalmar.

[18][19] The concert featured the world premiere of Michael Torke's symphony and chorus work entitled Plans, that was paired with Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.

[16] The pavilions serve as a focal point for the public's attention to steer them toward the hundreds of exhibits, events, and other activities of the more than 250 Centennial Program Partners in the Chicago metropolitan area.

[5] The ground near the pavilions host an interactive touch-screen public kiosk installation geared toward "inventing the future" of the metropolitan Chicago region.