2x4 and the graphic system for the McCormick Tribune
Campus Center.
Shortly after the results of the original architecture competition were announced,
2x4 and OMA began
collaborating on graphic material for the new campus center for IIT. OMA’s
image of a broad, flat space
articulated by decorated walls served as the starting point for our work.
We began with the development
of a graphic module, in this case the international symbol for a human. To
capture the range of activities
intended to be housed in the student center, we then developed an elaborate
library of variations on the
solitary figure. From simple designations of Men’s and Women’s
bathrooms, the system grew to include
over 200 different activities. This “Hypercon” system then served
as the basis for a variety of other
graphic treatments. The most visible are a series of portraits that are composed
of the miniature figures.
A extra-large portrait of Mies van der Rohe, the architect of IIT’s
original campus, gazes from the West
portal. Large floor to ceiling portraits of the founders of IIT are inscribed
in the glass of the wall bounding
the Welcome Center.
Other graphic features designed by 2x4 include a ten-foot tall LED clock,
a plaid wallpaper composed of
surveillance-type images of the IIT campus, building maps embedded in the
floor, and giant icons painted
on the inner walls. One historical note, the typography for the main building
signs and donor recognition
are set in a font designed by Mies van der Rohe for the IIT campus. 2x4 created
a new digital version
derived from Mies’ original drawings.
2x4, Inc. is a collaborative studio
of designers, writers and programmers founded by Michael Rock, Susan
Sellers and Georgianna Stout in 1994. 2x4 focuses on communication and design
for art, architecture and
culture-related clients and regard graphic identity as an inclusive notion
that spans print, web, motion and
environmental design. Other projects include the graphic design, wallpaper
and film for the Prada New
York Epicenter and the Dallas Theater with Rem Koolhaas/OMA; a special issue
of Wired magazine with
AMO; a book on urbanism in Lagos, Nigeria with the Harvard Project on the
City; environmental design for
new Vitra showrooms with Lindy Roy; the Museum of Contemporary Art in San
Diego, the Mori Museum in
Tokyo and the Museo Picasso Malaga with Richard Gluckman; the Nasher Sculpture
Center with Renzo
Piano Building Workshop; book and exhibition design for ”Trisha Brown:
Art, Dance and Dialogue“ at the
Addison Gallery with curator Hendel Teicher; sets and costumes for Trisha
Brown Dance Company with
artist Terry Winters; ”Baryshnikov in Black and White“ with dancer
Mikhail Baryshinokov; environmental
design for a new building in downtown Tokyo with Tadao Ando; exterior facade
animations for the new
Chanel Tower in Ginza, Tokyo; and a new line of textiles for Knoll.
2x4 work
has been recognized by many professional organizations and publications
including the
American Association of Museums, American Institute of Graphic Artists
(AIGA), Printers Society of
America, Graphis, The Society of Illustrators, Print, Communication Arts,
Metropolis, the American Center
for Design and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Our work is also
included in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern
Art.
Contact: Michael Rock
212.647.1170
michael@2x4.org
www.2x4.org
