Inter-faith Chapel Competition Model

Chicago architect Stanley Tigerman is a major figure in postmodern architecture whose projects are always framed and inspired by heady concepts of irony, rupture, humor, and allusion. Since the 1960s, his architectural practice has covered a wide range of territory, from elaborate, yet subversive single family houses to sensitive designs for disadvantaged children and the homeless. Exquisitely created scale models form an important thread throughout his career and communicate the complex tectonics, colors, and geometries of his work. This selection of models showcases Tigerman’s rigorous exploration of geometry, including his interest in grids, which is the dominant structure of his Momochi apartments in Fukuoka,Japan. In other projects, geometry allows Tigerman to create subtle references to history and cultural practices, as seen in his competition project for an inter-faith chapel. The chapel’s 12 pavilions represent geometric abstractions of traditional religious buildings around the world, aligned around an empty center oruniversal space to face the correct cardinal directions. Geometry in Tigerman’s work also has a playful side. For example, his House with a Pompadour employs a rippling motif for the false front and rear terrace that refers to the client’s distinctive hairstyle.