From mathematical sponges to nature-inspired havens, a sleek spacious canopy by Team Ultramoderne was selected as the overall winning Chicago Lakefront Kiosk design, as revealed by the Chicago Architecture Biennial today. Launched in late 2014, the global competition invited architects to propose kiosk designs inspired by the Windy City and its Lake Michigan waterfront.

The winning proposal — in addition to three commissioned kiosks designed by architects in collaboration with students from local Chicago architecture schools — will be installed at the Biennial starting this October. So far, the plan is that the winning kiosk will stand as a permanent lakefront installation even after the exhibition gates close in January 2016.

Team Ultramoderne, a three-person team comprising of architects Yasmin Vobis and Aaron Forrest of Ultramoderne in collaboration with structural engineer Brett Schneide, scored the top BP Prize (sponsored by oil/gas company BP) with their proposal "Chicago Horizon". Overlooking the Lake Michigan shoreline, the 56 square-foot kiosk provides a shading canopy and an architectural lending library for Biennial visitors and Chicago beach-goers. The kiosk aims to "provide an excess of public space" and also offers room inside for commercial vending.

'Chicago Horizon expresses lightness at a variety of scales, from the 8-foot hovering roof plane to the viewing platform and vending kiosk, which are suspended from the roof using chain-link fencing without any additional supports,' the team writes in their project abstract. 'The lateral reach of the roof recalibrates the experience of two extremes of the Chicago landscape: at ground level, the Lake Michigan horizon dominates, forming a line of symmetry between ground and canopy. From the viewing platform, the roof becomes a new artificial horizon, shutting out the foreground and emphasizing the floating vertical Chicago skyline above an abstract floating plane.'

Without a doubt, the competition attracted a multitude of proposals from an array of architects and designers vying to show off their creativity. Three competition finalists were announced and another three teams earned honorable mentions:

↓ FINALIST: Thomas Kelley, Ryan Palider, and Chuck Paros - "Behind the Curtain"

↓ FINALIST: Lekker Architects

↓ FINALIST: TRU Architekten

↓ HONORABLE MENTION: Fala Atelier

↓ HONORABLE MENTION: Kollektiv-a

↓ HONORABLE MENTION: Guillaume Mazars

And last but not least, here are the designs of the three commissioned school kiosks:

↓ NLÉ + School of the Art Institute of Chicago

↓ Pezo von Ellrichshausen + Illinois Institute of Technology

↓ Paul Andersen (Indie Architecture) and Paul Preissner (Paul Preissner Architects) + University of Illinois at Chicago

The jury: David Adjaye (Adjaye Associates); Jeanne Gang (Studio Gang Architects); Joseph Grima, Sarah Herda (Chicago Architecture Biennial); Sharon Johnston (Johnston Marklee and Associates); Michael J. O’Brien (BP); and Rob Rejman (Chicago Park District).

For further info, visit chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org.