Jeanne Gang facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jeanne Gang
Born	(1964-03-19) March 19, 1964 (age 61) Belvidere, Illinois
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Illinois (B.S.), Harvard University Graduate School of Design (M.Arch.)
Occupation	Architect
Awards	2011 MacArthur Fellow, 2013 National Design Award (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum), 2017 Louis I. Kahn Memorial Award (Philadelphia Center for Architecture)
Buildings	Aqua, St. Regis Chicago, Richard Gilder Center at The American Museum of Natural History, Tom Lee Park, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, One Hundred Above the Park

Jeanne Gang (born March 19, 1964) is a famous American architect. An architect is a person who designs buildings. In 1997, she started her own company, Studio Gang. It is a firm that designs buildings and plans city spaces, with offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Paris.

Gang is well-known for designing impressive skyscrapers. She first became famous for the Aqua Tower in Chicago. When it was finished, it was the tallest building in the world designed by a woman. Later, she designed the nearby St. Regis Chicago, which is even taller.

Besides skyscrapers, Gang also cares about making buildings that are good for the environment and helpful to society. She has designed many public buildings, like museums and university centers.

Early Life and School

Jeanne Gang was born in Belvidere, Illinois. Her father was an engineer for the county. After graduating from high school in 1982, she went to the University of Illinois and earned a degree in architecture in 1986. She also studied for a year in Versailles, France.

Later, she attended the famous Harvard Graduate School of Design and earned a Master of Architecture degree in 1993. In 1989, she won a special scholarship from the Rotary Foundation to study technology in Switzerland.

Career as an Architect

Before starting her own company, Gang worked for other famous architects in Europe and Chicago. She founded Studio Gang Architects in Chicago in 1997.

Famous Chicago Projects

Many of Gang's most famous buildings are in the Chicago area. One of her first was the Starlight Theatre at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois. She became widely known for designing the Aqua Tower, her first skyscraper, which opened in 2010. Its wavy, water-like appearance made it an instant landmark.

She later designed the St. Regis Chicago, which took the title of the world's tallest building designed by a woman from Aqua. She has also designed boathouses on the Chicago River and the beautiful Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo. In 2019, her team won a competition to design a new terminal at O'Hare International Airport.

Work in Other Cities

The Richard Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Gang has also designed important buildings across the United States. In New York City, she designed the Richard Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History. This building has a unique, cave-like interior.

Other major projects include the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock and new buildings for colleges like the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Spelman College in Atlanta.

Her work is also international. Studio Gang designed the new United States Embassy in Brazil and buildings in Paris and Amsterdam.

Designing for People and Planet

Gang believes in designing buildings that are good for the environment. This is sometimes called "ecologically sensitive design." She also focuses on social responsibility, which means creating buildings that help communities.

For example, her Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College was built using cordwood masonry, a sustainable building method. For another project, the Lavezzorio Community Center for SOS Children's Villages, she used donated concrete to keep costs low for the non-profit group.

Teaching and Sharing Ideas

Besides designing buildings, Gang is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has also taught at many other top universities, including Yale, Princeton, and Columbia. She often gives lectures to share her ideas about architecture. In 2016, she spoke at the famous TED Women conference.

Awards and Recognition

Jeanne Gang has won many awards for her creative work. In 2011, she received a MacArthur Fellowship, often called a "genius grant." She was only the fourth architect to receive this honor.

Some of her other major awards include:

• The National Design Award for Architecture in 2013.
• Being named Architect of the Year in 2016 by The Architectural Review.
• Being listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2019.

Her buildings have also won many awards. The Aqua Tower won the Skyscraper of the Year award in 2009. The St. Regis Chicago and Mira tower in San Francisco have also been recognized for their innovative designs.

Personal life

Gang is married to Mark Schendel.

Projects

Here are some of the many projects designed by Jeanne Gang and her studio.

St. Regis Chicago, the tallest building in the world designed by a woman.

Aqua Tower, known for its unique wavy balconies.

The Nature Boardwalk at the Lincoln Park Zoo is a peaceful nature path in the city.

One Hundred Above the Park in St. Louis, Missouri, has a unique angled design.

Education and research

Nature, culture, and community

Towers

See also

In Spanish: Jeanne Gang para niños