--- title: Jeanne Gang Is on the 2019 TIME 100 List description: Jeanne Gang, the architect behind the Aqua Tower, is one of the most influential people of 2019, Anna Deavere Smith writes. canonical: https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567842/jeanne-gang/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-16T20:19:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-02T23:30:02.840Z og:title: Jeanne Gang Is on the 2019 TIME 100 List og:description: Jeanne Gang, the architect behind the Aqua Tower, is one of the most influential people of 2019, Anna Deavere Smith writes. og:url: https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567842/jeanne-gang/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcff1b7fac523b897/6989482e929fad79fcbf305f/jeanne-gang-time-100-2019-044-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Jeanne Gang Is on the 2019 TIME 100 List og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeanne Gang Is on the 2019 TIME 100 List twitter:description: Jeanne Gang, the architect behind the Aqua Tower, is one of the most influential people of 2019, Anna Deavere Smith writes. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcff1b7fac523b897/6989482e929fad79fcbf305f/jeanne-gang-time-100-2019-044-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2019 # Jeanne Gang by Anna Deavere Smith  Webber Jeanne Gang has the WOW factor. Her stunning Aqua, in Chicago, is the tallest building ever built by a woman. Now she’s building an even taller one. Yet, for Jeanne, architecture is not just a wondrous object. It’s a catalyst for change. Her sleek, woody boathouses are helping to revive the polluted Chicago River by filtering runoff organically. Her Polis Station concept aims to improve the way civilians interact with law enforcement by fusing police stations with civic recreational centers. She recently tested the idea in one of Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods, adding a basketball court to the 10th District police station in North Lawndale. The results were so popular, she’s now expanding the facility. Referring to the growing socioeconomic divides in our cities, Jeanne has warned her profession against “sorting ourselves into architects of the rich and architects of the poor,” and focuses instead on discovering “new possibilities for the discipline and beyond.” And it all started with playing in the dirt and making ice castles. Wow. _Smith is an award-winning actor and playwright_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567842/jeanne-gang/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567842/jeanne-gang/"},"headline":"Jeanne Gang","datePublished":"2019-04-16T20:19:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:30:02.840Z","description":"Jeanne Gang, the architect behind the Aqua Tower, is one of the most influential people of 2019, Anna Deavere Smith writes.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567842/jeanne-gang/","keywords":["2019 TIME 100","T100 2019 Titans"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcff1b7fac523b897/6989482e929fad79fcbf305f/jeanne-gang-time-100-2019-044-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcff1b7fac523b897/6989482e929fad79fcbf305f/jeanne-gang-time-100-2019-044-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567842/jeanne-gang/","name":"Jeanne Gang"}}]}] ```