11 x 17
Denver, United States and Toronto, Canada
11 x 17 is a research-driven design practice founded in 2022 by Mahsa Malek and Alex Yueyan Li. The studio works across scales, producing exhibitions, installations, interiors, furniture, books, and buildings. A winner of the 2025 Architectural League Prize, 11 x 17 begins each project with a critical look at materiality—approaching construction as a conceptual tool to examine labor, form, and resources. Their speculative and built projects are both experientially rich and economically accessible, and have appeared in North America and China. Ongoing projects include a building about leanness and a book on the extended life of buildings. Their work has been featured in e-flux, Architectural Record, AZURE, and Archinect, and in institutions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and the Denver Art Museum.
2025 Biennial Project
Project Overview
Two Foundations
Two Foundations is an installation that explores how buildings and the ground beneath them change over time. It draws on two common construction methods—house lifting and underpinning—to show how structures respond to shifting or unstable ground. These techniques, usually hidden and used for maintenance, are presented as visible design elements using plumb bobs, cribbing stacks, shoring posts, and formwork. Installed near the foundation of the Chicago Cultural Center, the work reveals the labor that supports architectural stability. Rather than seeing ground movement as a sign of failure, Two Foundations presents it as a natural and ongoing part of building life. In a time of environmental and material change, the installation imagines how buildings might grow and adapt as they age.
Venue
View moreChicago Cultural Center
Address
78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602
Neighborhood
The Loop
Description
Completed in 1897 as Chicago’s first central library, the building was established as the Chicago Cultural Center, the nation’s first and most comprehensive free municipal cultural venue, in 1991. One of the most visited attractions in Chicago, the stunning landmark building is home to two magnificent stained-glass domes, as well as free art exhibitions, performances, tours, lectures, family activities, music, and more – presented by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and many others.
