Chicago Horizon

A public pavilion for the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Chicago Horizon includes a cross laminated timber (CLT) roof supported on 13 glulam columns distributed in a radial pattern to address lateral loads and uplift. Elegantly crafted, the pavilion represents the first use of exposed CLT in the City of Chicago, providing local precedent for the approval and use of mass timber for government and public assembly applications. In addition, the two-way slab roof is the first of its kind, and raises the possibility of new CLT applications (such as office and assembly) due to the open-plan layout it affords. The planned long-term use of the building as a commercial vendor and public assembly space is a significant and sustainable departure from the typical design exhibition model of temporary installations. The long-term plan justified the use of mass timber for durability, fire resistance, thermal mass, and negative carbon footprint. Chicago Horizon was completed in 2015 for a construction cost of $300,000.