Surprising opportunity exists in adapting historic fabric. That’s Wrightwood 659 in Chicago. It is not just another art space. It is a transplant of concrete minimalism into a neoclassical apartment building. Wrightwood 659 is located in Lincoln Park. It retains its original appearance.
Wrightwood 659 was founded by Fred Eychaner and Dan Whittaker. It is a private space for socially engaged art. Eychaner purchased the building in 1997. He ran it as a landlord. He sought Whittaker’s advice to repurpose the structure as a cultural asset. Then he turned to Tadao Ando.
Ando was hired in the early 1990s to design Eychaner’s home. It was the first freestanding structure by the Pritzker Prize-winner in the United States. Jumping to 2013, Eychaner met with Ando’s team. They honed a design vision for the apartment building. It became a space for contemporary art.
Fans of Ando’s modernism will recognize his classic moves in Wrightwood 659. Concrete planes slice through historical structure. They shape galleries. The entire provocation is hidden behind a vernacular style.
The abstract inspiration came from Ando’s Art Island in Japan. Whittaker asked how something similar could be accomplished in an urban setting. The directive to Ando was to open up the interior space. The project took nearly two years to design. It took three more years to construct.
Ando confessed it was difficult maintaining the exterior integrity. The existing structure was reinforced with steel and concrete. They worked with the umber bricks of Chicago. It created a juxtaposition with the architectural concrete. Ando strived to maintain a residential atmosphere throughout.
One experiences the building as a series of compressions. Entering through a heavy gate, you burst into the atrium. Then you funnel through the gallery block. Finally, you culminate in a glassed-in roof. There, you can scope the neighborhood through treetops.
Ando sought a contrast between the entrance and the gallery space. The atrium resulted from shifting the galleries. It embedded a rectangular concrete volume into a brick shell. A new fourth level contains sky-lit exhibition space. It also has glazed walls looking out on the treetops.
The atrium rises 11 meters. It is punctuated by Ando’s floating staircase. Ando chose to strip out the four-story interior. He rebuilt three levels with gallery-appropriate ceiling heights. The goal was to add a bonus level of programmable space.
Wrightwood 659 officially opened in October. The opening featured Ando and Le Corbusier: Masters of Architecture. The first gallery level is brimming with models of Corbusier residential projects. Paintings, sketches, and photos are interspersed. A circuit rail features 100 miniature Corbusier home models. They are not under glass. This lends the area an active studio feel.
The two upper levels encapsulate Ando’s career. Highlights include a scale model of the Church of the Light. There are also US museums by Ando modeled by local university students.
Upcoming exhibitions look to fulfill the mission of putting forth socially engaged art. Wrightwood 659 wants to create a dialogue around salient issues in society.
Wrightwood 659’s architecture is a key part of the visitor experience. Visitors are in awe of the space’s light and volume. Ando’s concrete and glass cultivate an inviting space. Regardless of the works on view, the space encourages contemplation.