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Architecture

The Henry Hinds Laboratory for Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago by Ike Colburn

The Eye-Grabbing Architecture of Chicago's College Campuses

Geoffrey Baer

If you're in search of beautiful buildings, the biggest bang for your buck is to explore Chicago-area college campuses, which have noteworthy structures within easy walking distance of each other. Geoffrey Baer highlights a few. 
Geoffrey Baer in the Rookery in Chicago

Geoffrey Baer on His Upcoming Special 'The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago'

Daniel Hautzinger

In his newest special, Geoffrey Baer explores The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago, from gilded lobbies to verdant parks and eye-bending skyscrapers to glorious sacred spaces. He discusses the project, and what he loves about Chicago. 
Lee Bey in front of Chicago Vocational High School

Tour the Often Overlooked Architecture of Chicago's South Side in a New Documentary

Daniel Hautzinger

"This is a city that does pay attention to its architecture, but often the architecture of the South Side is ignored,” says Lee Bey, the host of a new documentary exploring the architecture of the South Side.
Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Oak Park

Frank Lloyd Wright's Little-Explored Welsh Roots and His Green Architecture

Daniel Hautzinger

The Welsh architect Jonathan Adams believes that the proud Welsh heritage of Frank Lloyd Wright's maternal family influenced his philosophy and architecture, a claim Adams explores in a documentary and book. Plus, he discusses Wright's ahead-of-its-time attention to nature. 
Street scene at Chicago Theatre near State and Randolph Streets, Chicago, Illinois, December 10, 1952. Photo: Chicago History Museum, ICHi-019349; J. Sherwin Murphy, photographer

Revisiting the Biting Articles That Branded Chicago the "Second City"

Daniel Hautzinger

Seventy years ago, the New Yorker writer and New York City native A.J. Liebling published a series of articles about Chicago that saw the city as a "not-quite-metropolis" imbued with a "collective sense of disappointment." Was he right?
The exterior of Orchestra Hall in 1920 and its stage in 1966 during a recording session with Benny Goodman and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Photos: Chicago History Museum, ICHi-032364; Kaufmann & Fabry Company, photographer (L); ST-19070395-0015, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum (R)

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Home and the Prominent Chicago Architects Who Shaped It

Daniel Hautzinger

Take a look at Orchestra Hall's more than 100-year history and the prominent Chicago architects who have shaped and renovated the home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at a time when the New York Philharmonic's newly redesigned hall is receiving all the attention.
Cloud Gate, otherwise known as The Bean, in Chicago's Millennium Park

A Conversation with Architecture Critics Blair Kamin and Lee Bey on Their Upcoming Book

Daniel Hautzinger

The Pulitzer Prize-winning former Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin has a new book out featuring photography by his one-time competitor Lee Bey, architecture critic of the Chicago Sun-Times. They discussed the book and equity in urban design and architecture.
The Avalon Regal Theater in Chicago

Geoffrey Baer's Open House Chicago 2022 Picks

Geoffrey Baer

There are more than 150 sites across Chicago and some of its suburbs taking part in Open House Chicago this year, so Geoffrey Baer shares some of his favorites to help you plan your own excursions.
Northeastern Illinois University's El Centro

11 Latino Architects Whose Work Can Be Found Around Chicago

Daniel Hautzinger

In a year where two icons of Chicago's Latino community became official landmarks, explore other works by architects of Latin American descent that can be found in and around Chicago. 
Masjid al-Faatir in Chicago's Kenwood. Photo: Lee Bey/WTTW

Seven Prominent Sites That Illustrate Islam's History and Future in the Chicago Area

Daniel Hautzinger

The Chicago area has been a center of Muslim movements that catered to African Americans, such as the Nation of Islam, as well as a new home for Muslim immigrants from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, and other parts of the world.
The Pump Room at the Ambassador East Hotel in Chicago in 1970. Photo: ST-70004622-0013, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum

Ten of Chicago's Most Iconic Restaurants, Past and Present

Daniel Hautzinger

As iconic signs like Dinkel's and Orange Garden's disappear from Chicago, celebrate some of Chicago's most memorable restaurants, past and present, the kind of places where the surroundings are an inextricable part of the experience. 
Chicago's Chinatown library branch, designed by Brian Lee of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Photo: Jon Miller © Hedrich Blessing

Architect Brian Lee Brings the Expertise Required for Skyscrapers to Neighborhood Buildings

Daniel Hautzinger

Brian Lee has designed one of the tallest buildings in the world as well as neighborhood-level buildings such as three libraries in Chicago. "To be able to reinforce and maybe enhance a neighborhood with a building—I think that’s a great positive goal of architecture and urban design,” he says. 
800 Fulton Market. Photo: Courtesy SOM

Nine Asian Architects Whose Work Can Be Found in Chicago

Geoffrey Baer

Whereas once Chinatown leaders had to turn to Norwegian architects, now there are noteworthy buildings and sites by Asian architects throughout Chicagoland, from skyscrapers to a library to a synagogue. Geoffrey Baer explores some. 
Illinois Institute of Technology's Kaplan Institute. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Innovative Chicagoland Buildings Striving for Sustainability

Geoffrey Baer

Geoffrey Baer highlights some Chicago buildings addressing climate change by striving for net-zero energy, incorporating renewal energy sources, repurposing existing buildings, and incorporating agriculture, among other things.
GEMS World Academy and Aqua from Lakeshore East Park in Chicago. Photo: WTTW

Women Architects Who Have Made Their Mark on Chicago

Geoffrey Baer

Architecture remains a male-dominated field, but women architects have made their mark upon Chicago and architectural history. Discover a few of them and their projects, from downtown skyscrapers to transit centers and schools.
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