Ragdale selects winning design in annual competition

Posted April 06, 2015 11:00 pm

The winning design in the third annual Ragdale Ring competition sees the performance area at the Ragdale Ring garden theater as a large-scale wooden toy box that folds up and stores fanciful, oversized pillows. Courtesy of Ragdale

Submitted by Radgale

Ragdale, the acclaimed artists' residency in Lake Forest, recently announced the winning design in the third annual Ragdale Ring competition. Amid a field of national and international submissions, a young Chicago-based architectural collaborative was selected by jury for their proposal of Shaw Town, a contemporary interpretation of the original Ragdale Ring garden theater designed by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw in 1912.

"Ragdale exists to nurture art and design professionals as they take creative leaps," said Jeffrey Meeuwsen, executive director of Ragdale.

"Few opportunities exist for architects to experiment with ephemeral materials and structures. We support this research with funding, food, housing, studio space, promotion, and a distinctive platform. The investment advances the design team, inspires a season of original performances curated by Ragdale alumni, and directly engages the public with inventive architecture."

A jury of architects and artists selected Shaw Town by Design With Company, the architectural team of Stewart Hicks and Allison Newmeyer.

"In addition to being creatively avant-garde, Design With Company brings a sense of humor to their work, which invigorates their design and engages the viewer," said Zurich Esposito, executive vice president of the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects, a juror and member of Ragdale's board of directors.

"The Ring will serve as a gathering place, enlivening the historic campus of Ragdale as a place of dynamic artistic and architectural experimentation. And, when the season concludes, the Ring is ultimately biodegradable."

Hicks and Newmeyer identified specific architectural features from Shaw's original buildings in the Chicago area, such as the rooftops of Market Square in Lake Forest (1916) and the Quadrangel Club at the University of Chicago (1920) and repurposed them using contemporary materials into a performance space and audience-friendly pillows.

The 2015 Ragdale Ring design resembles a large-scale wooden toy box that folds up and stores fanciful, oversized pillows when not in use and is lowered to create a stage for performances. The movable pillows sprinkled across the landscape are intended to be used by the audience in a multitude of ways, from seating to play. Visitors are encouraged to rediscover Shaw's buildings without even knowing it.

"We are so excited to participate in the important work of the Ragdale community this summer. It is an honor to be able to contribute," architect Stewart Hicks said. "Our proposal engages people at multiple levels throughout the design and construction process. It connects histories and narratives with an engaged audience, just like a piece of theater."

The design team was awarded a $15,000 production grant to fund the project and a design/build residency of up to three weeks at Ragdale. Construction on the temporary structure will begin mid-May, with the public unveiling scheduled for a June 13 benefit at Ragdale. The unveiling will take place at a garden party featuring open-air performances by recognized musicians and actors in the Ring.

The competition marks the 103rd anniversary of the first Ragdale Ring designed by Arts and Crafts architect Howard Van Doren Shaw in 1912. The Shaw family used the space as an outdoor garden theater to stage plays written by Howard's wife, Frances Shaw.

The Ragdale Foundation is an internationally recognized, nonprofit, artists' residency program that provides time and space for creative work to more than 150 artists, writers, and composers each year. Built in 1897, Ragdale is located on the grounds of Howard Van Doren Shaw's summer home in Lake Forest.

Ragdale offers a retreat setting where, at any given time, 13 artists-in-residence experience uninterrupted time for dedicated work, a supportive environment, dynamic artist exchanges, 50 acres of idyllic prairie and a family-style dinner each evening.

Ragdale is at 1230 N. Green Bay Road, Lake Forest. For details about Ragdale, call (847) 234-1063 or visit ragdale.org.

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Design elements from the buildings of Howard Van Doren Shaw, who designed the original Ragdale Ring garden theater, were repurposed as toy boxes and pillows in Design With Company's design for the Ragdale Ring. Courtesy of Ragdale

Design With Company, the architectural team of Stewart Hicks and Allison Newmeyer, submitted the winning design in the third annual Ragdale Ring competition. Courtesy of Ragdale

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