Pritzker Pavilion: Sculpted Metal Musical Sanctuary
Standing barefoot in the grass, I feel a light tickle of the green blades on the soles of my feet. Above me, a spider web encloses me, surrounding my picnic blanket in metal webbing. I’m among an excited crowd, awaiting the anticipated downbeat, listening for the sound to begin. Looking towards the east, I see Lake Michigan and its glistening surface. And turning towards the north and west, I feel surrounded by towers of concrete, glass and metal. But, in a sense of both calm and thrill, the sights comfort me; I’m at home in this quiet metallic cocoon. I’ve found a place that has captured the duality of Chicago’s ‘city of big shoulders’ and ‘home sweet home.’ Both visually stunning, and musically dramatic, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion provides the city of Chicago an outdoor performance venue along with a sculpted metal musical sanctuary.
I love this Pavilion. The rolled metal façade of the performance stage shines with even the smallest sliver of sunlight. This metallic disarray is placed among a sea of towering buildings of industry and commerce. It is as the space is saying: music lives and breathes here and nowhere else. In my view, the shapes of the stage and surrounding structure are very basic and soft. The looming rounded metal pieces are gently shaped and curled around, nestling within its grasp a perfectly tuned sound stage. No two angles the same, the entire front of the Pritsker appears as if a space-ship has plunged into the heart of the Chicago skyline, and only musicians and their adoring fans have emerged from the wreckage. Along the sides and back of the structure are metallic and concrete supports that in a way, offer a sense of balance and stability. The structure is alive, but yet is very grounded in place. Above the seated section and lawn area is a ‘ceiling’ of web-like metal beams. These beams hold aloft the crystal clear sound system, filling the space with surround sound....