Traces

TRACES is a new collective space in Jackson Park, constructed from 10,000 dry-stacked bricks. Situated on the site of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the project reflects on the monumental scale of the exhibition and the techniques used to simulate permanence, white spray paint and plaster applied to temporary structures to resemble neoclassical architecture. These buildings were never meant to last; they acted as props within the spectacle of the fair.

The installation takes the form of a long, shallow brick line that traces the footprint of the Great Buildings, those central to the Fair of 1893. By using a durable material like brick in an impermanent, unbound way, TRACES offers a quiet critique of shifting architectural values: from spectacle to substance, from permanence as illusion to impermanence as intention.

TRACES is both a curated reconstruction of what was lost and a framework for what might come, a collective space shaped not by nostalgia, but by presence, activated again during this century’s own architectural event: the Biennial.

For more information visit: traces-chicago.com

Rocio Crosetto Brizzio is an Argentinian architect and co-founder of the architecture office Balsa Crosetto Piazzi. The practice focuses on architecture across multiple scales, from the design and construction of projects to research, writing, and curatorial work. Crosetto Brizzio’s academic research explores the relationships between technologies, ecologies, and politics, understanding these as components of a designed reality that fosters unorthodox networks of power and shapes different ways of living together. 

Biography: MIT Architecture Department
Website: balsacrosettopiazzi.com

Adriana Giorgis is an Italian designer and researcher whose work seeks to uncover what makes buildings last. Through a series of projects sited between the United States and Italy, she has taken a multifaceted approach to evaluating buildings that have withstood the test of time through material, financial, and cultural lenses. Her work advocates for a shift in practice that foregrounds material revaluation, stewardship, and infrastructural care, addressing issues of resource scarcity and sustainability.

Biography: MIT Architecture Department
Website: giorgisortiz.com
Social: Instagram

Project by Balsa Crosetto Piazzi and Giorgis Ortiz

TRACES was created with the support of:

BRICKS INC

MIT CAST Fay Chandler Creativity Grant

Virginia Tech School of Architecture. College of Architecture, Arts, and Design (AAD)

MIT Architecture

Chicago Architecture Biennial

The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry

And with the help of students from the Virginia Tech School of Architecture: Gabriella Riethmueller, Isabella Valant, Steven Waker, Dane Sosna, Abigail Bogin, Julian Dunn, Daniel Robles, Fernando Rosales, Hudeeja Ijaz, Vy Le, Alaina Cerven, Logan Safranek and Lucy Thomas.