Located in an ordinary building whose bottom floor is occupied by a bank at 180 N. Michigan Avenue is a museum the likes of which can’t be found anywhere else in the country. The American Writers Museum, a project seven years in the making, officially opened to the public on May 16.
According to project designer Amaze Design, the museum is “the first national museum in the United States dedicated to the celebration of American writers and the exploration of their influences on our history, our identity, our culture, and our daily lives.”
A small museum dedicated to American writers sitting one floor above a bank in a non-descript Chicago building may at first sound like the type of museum you stumble across while on a cross-country road trip: the New England Maple Museum, the National Mustard Museum, or the broadly (and most definitely aptly) titled Museum of the Weird. The American Writers Museum could very easily have taken on the appearance of a musty, forgotten corner of a local library; the acidic, vanilla-laced smell of old books heavy in the air.
Photo courtesy of Amaze Design.
The museum didn’t go in that direction, however. Instead, perhaps ironically, the museum dedicated to the greatest Americans to ever lay ink on paper integrates a heavy dose of technology into the museum’s 10,000 sf.
Bright colors, colored lights, and large, interactive touchscreens highlight the space. “The museum covers the breadth and range of American writers through unexpected, in-depth, immersive, and hands-on exhibits,” according to the architect.
Photo courtesy of Amaze Design.
Included in the museum are permanent exhibitions highlighting Chicago writers, a children’s literature gallery, and a “Word Waterfall.” Current temporary exhibits include Jack Kerouac’s original manuscript scroll for On the Road and Palm, an exhibit inspired by the life and work of the American poet W.S. Merwin.
Amaze Design was responsible for all design, research, media production, and fabrication and installation, which were accomplished through collaborative partnerships.
The project had a budget of $10 million.
Photo courtesy of Amaze Design.
Photo courtesy of Amaze Design.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 65 Cultural Facility Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Clark Group, Whiting-Turner, Gilbane, and Holder Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all cultural building sectors, including concert venues, art galleries, museums, performing arts centers, and public libraries.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 60 Cultural Facility Engineering Firms for 2023
KPFF, Arup, Thornton Tomasetti, Tetra Tech, and WSP head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector engineering and engineering architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all cultural building sectors, including concert venues, art galleries, museums, performing arts centers, and public libraries.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 110 Cultural Facility Architecture Firms for 2023
Populous, Gensler, HGA, DLR Group, and Quinn Evans top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all cultural building sectors, including concert venues, art galleries, museums, performing arts centers, and public libraries.
Products and Materials | Oct 31, 2023
Top building products for October 2023
BD+C Editors break down 15 of the top building products this month, from structural round timber to air handling units.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Standards | Jun 26, 2023
New Wi-Fi standard boosts indoor navigation, tracking accuracy in buildings
The recently released Wi-Fi standard, IEEE 802.11az enables more refined and accurate indoor location capabilities. As technology manufacturers incorporate the new standard in various devices, it will enable buildings, including malls, arenas, and stadiums, to provide new wayfinding and tracking features.
Museums | Jun 6, 2023
New wing of Natural History Museums of Los Angeles to be a destination and portal
NHM Commons, a new wing and community hub under construction at The Natural History Museums (NHM) of Los Angeles County, was designed to be both a destination and a portal into the building and to the surrounding grounds.
Architects | Jun 6, 2023
Taking storytelling to a new level in building design, with Gensler's Bob Weis and Andy Cohen
Bob Weis, formerly the head of Disney Imagineering, was recently hired by Gensler as its Global Immersive Experience Design Leader. He joins the firm's co-CEO Andy Cohen to discuss how Gensler will focus on storytelling to connect people to its projects.
