The Poetry Foundation at Superior & Dearborn is a AIA National Honor Award winning building designed by John Ronan Architects. Extensive research and testing was conducted on components such as custom unitized curtainwall, corrugated zinc siding and sandblasted concrete. This multi-functional building contains performance space, a garden, library and houses the Poetry Magazine offices.
"The idea is that this spatial narrative unfolds as visitors move through and between these layers," says architect John Ronan. "We were trying to achieve a transcendent materiality where we take very humble materials and then ennoble them in some way—not unlike what a poet would do with words."
"As you pass through a narrow corridor formed by the metal screen and the glass front of the performance space, you reach the garden and, through double-height windows, see the library's colorful patchwork of book spines lining shelves on two levels. Baltic birch plywood embraces the interior by forming the shelves as well as paneling. The building is conceived as layers of materials—zinc, glass, and wood—that compress and then separate to create different spaces." - Beth Broome, Architectural Record, Nov 2011
Architectural Record Article
Architect: John Ronan Architects
This project was managed by a member of the OSLO team while with another firm.