2013-2016 | ONO’s Visits to Chicago

Phoenix Pavilion 

On the Wooded Island, we walked through the Garden of the Phoenix, including the Japanese garden and the site of the lost Phoenix Pavilion.  Yoko climbed a tri-pod gardener’s ladder to see Lake Michigan from the site. We discussed the meaning of the site – the sun rising from the east above Lake Michigan - and the historical, cultural and ecological importance of the site, as well as the emotive power of the space.  

The Art Institute of Chicago

We viewed the panels from the Phoenix Pavilion – Yoko commented on their beauty, and imagined what various emotions the people must have had who saved the panels from the fire.  We then visited the adjacent room designed by Tadao Ando, which Yoko commented about as being “shibui” (elegant).  We ended our day exploring the Modern Wing.

Robie House by Frank Lloyd Wright

At the Robie House, Yoko recognized the similarities between the house and Wright's Imperial Hotel that was once stood in Tokyo.  Upon recognizing a sense of the past, and feeling that connection, she unexpectedly asked about a related school in Tokyo, which she had attended for music as a young child - of course, as we quickly surmised, that school is Jiyu Gakuen, the Freedom School, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Later, a design development session occurred with Ono and the team at the Robie House.