Elias Dunkle

Elias Dunkle

The Swirly Tower

The Swirly Tower is a theoretical idea for a public restroom. It deals with issues such as homeless people having access to bathrooms, along with seeing how far people would be willing to go, ‘to go’. This 200-foot tower contains ADA accessible bathrooms, accessible by ramp, and one singular throne at the very top of the building. The tower would act as a landmark for the city it was placed in, along with sparking a social dialogue regarding the human right to use the bathroom.

There is an ongoing conversation about cities like Chicago not providing nearly enough public restrooms. Since 2016, the city has issued over 29,000 tickets for public defecation infractions. The majority of these tickets were issued in neighborhoods with little to no access to public restrooms, where people are forced to rely on private entities to use the restroom.

Companies should not be forced to provide restrooms for unhoused people, this is an issue the government should be dealing with. Everyone deserves the right to restrooms and shouldn't be forced to live like animals when trying to use the restroom. The Swirly Tower is a proposition to start a conversation about satisfying the rights and needs of people in the USA.

My proposal is not to legitimately solve the issue surrounding the human right to basic amenities, including restrooms. But instead, it's a satire on how the issues I've discussed are rarely brought to light. Since moving to Chicago from Buffalo, I’ve been exposed to the issue of homelessness in a way that I've never thought was possible. These humans are looked down upon and ignored on a daily basis. It's time to spark a discussion surrounding change to fix this glaring issue that is evident in every major city in the USA.

Artist Statement

In my conceptual architectural designs, I draw from nature, organic forms, expressive color, environmentalism and historical preservation to imagine new possibilities for the built world.

Since I have recently been spending a great deal of time working in Rhino 3d, much of my work could be considered material-less. While working in these kinds of software, I'm much more interested in color rather than material. This can be highlighted in the color I choose for certain forms in my work. For example, if I’m designing a piece that interacts with and is based off of a landscape in a Chicago landscape, I might use the color green. I'm deeply influenced by nature, and its interplay with existing architecture in our world.

Humans are nature, and every day we interact with manufactured sites. For my work I'm inspired by the way I can create ‘synthetic’ buildings that resemble that of the natural world around us.

In the pavilion project I have presented, I take influence from the trees of Millennium Park, the grass site next to the Art Institute, and the Art Institute itself. You can see how in the forms of the three pavilions they morph more and more from the shape of a traditional broad-leafed tree. The objects become fluid and what I call synthetic. They're specifically placed in the site next to the Art Institute of Chicago to juxtapose its rigid structure.

In my new work I've been designing a public restroom which will hypothetically sit in a site in Chicago and elsewhere in the world. This will be a great opportunity for me to interplay the nature of a site with architecture. Also, more recently I've moved into working in the ‘Factual’ realm of architecture. I'm currently helping to design and renovate a house from 1890. This gives me an opportunity to directly influence the life of another individual on an architectural level for generations to come.

Artist Bio

Elias Dunkle was born in Buffalo, Ny, and spent much of his childhood in Fort Erie, Ontario. He is an interdisciplinary artist, and designer based in Chicago, Il, studying architecture. His work revolves around how architecture reflects nature, and preserving historical integrity of old building styles, materials, and esthetics. Some of the major themes showcased in his work revolve around using expressive color to reflect on specific organic elements, and give architectural ingredients character. He primarily uses Rhinoceros 3d, procreate, Adobe illustrator, water color, and pen and paper drawings. Recently Elias Dunkle acquired an internship with LHP Construction. With them he has been working in a construction management role, modifying blueprints, and designing interiors for a remodel of a building from 1890.