Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Time magazine has named Jeanne Gang, founding principal of her eponymous architecture and urban design firm Studio Gang, in its 2019 Time 100 most influential people list. The 55-year-old is the only architect on the list.
Time’s 100 list recognizes the activism, innovation, and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.
“For Jeanne, architecture is not just a wondrous object. It is a catalyst for change,” wrote award-winning American actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith in her entry. “Her sleek, woody boathouses are helping to revive the polluted Chicago River by filtering runoff organically. Her Polis Station concept aims to improve the way civilians interact with law enforcement by fusing police stations with civic recreational centers.”
According to a statement on Studio Gang’s website, this recognition represents another milestone in an already historic year for Gang. In January, she announced her first project in France, a new Center for the University of Chicago in Paris. She was also selected as the lead architect of the new global terminal and concourse at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago. At 204,387 m2 (2.2 million sf), it will be her largest project to date.
With her award-winning built work, Gang is recognized for advancing the aesthetic, ecological, and technical possibilities of architecture. Currently a professor in practice at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (GSD), she has taught design studios on the re-use of concrete buildings and the design of resilient social infrastructure as part of hurricane recovery efforts.
Gang has also challenged the status quo in professional practice by closing the gender wage gap in her company and encouraging her colleagues to follow suit and achieve pay equity.
