The Kindness of Night becomes them: Zaha's Chameleon Snail, Ben's Blue Molars, sprouting cavities
 

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 -by Lynn Becker

[August 9, 2009] - The two Burnham Centennial Pavilions designed by Zaha Hadid and Ben van Berkel/UNStudio in Chicago's Millennium Park glow best at night.

"I've never seen you in the afternoon. You never want to go out until after six." - Mitch

"I don't want realism. I want magic!" - Blanche DuBois
          Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire.

During the day, the flaws of the highly dysfunctional pavilion designed by Zaha Hadid, which just opened this past week. a month and a half behind schedule, are all too apparent. At night, the projection of colored lights on the stretched tent fabric, like the skillful use of makeup on an aging ingénue, create a rich illusion of beauty, courtesy of designer Tracey Dear.

Just to the north, Ben van Berkel's pavilion, which had the misfortune of opening on time this past June, will be shut down for a quick rehab to repair the damage done by visitors unable to resist the temptation to try to scale their way up, usually with a running start, the white scoops descending from the roof.

Meanwhile, to the east, an older favorite hangs in there with its own version of the blues. The monolith in Kubrick's 2001 was pure Mies; these glowing slabs are all post-Miesian glitz. Even after five years, they still suck in visitors like bugs to a zapper.

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© 2009 Lynn Becker All rights reserved.