The evolution of the city’s form over the past 150 years was an issue that kept coming up for me.  I think it matters in two ways.  First, at the street level, there is marked contrast between those areas in the Loop that were developed in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with the block structure being set, and new buildings mixing in with old.  They are superb, with the urban-canyon density that says Big City to us.

Then there are the areas where the streets/blocks/buildings were developed in the postwar era, such as the area east of Michigan and north of Grant Park, which is all postwar buildings, some good (the Aqua) but mostly banal.  It is truly desolate – pointlessly large windy plazas, a lack of scale (massive buildings everywhere), constant shadow, needlessly wide streets, no street life. This seems to be the pattern that is being repeated in other areas now, such as directly north of the river.

the 20th century meets the 21st

The weird multi-street-levels of downtown Chicago produces some strange places, like this.

If, as Bob Stern says, “Architecture is a conversation across time”, these buildings are clearly saying “up yours.”

The Aqua does a great job of punctuating all the rectilinearity, from many perspectives.

The second way in which this evolution plays out is at the level of building form, tectonics, detail, composition, etc.  Here again, the areas where there is a monoculture of post-war buildings are terrible – everything is the same, large expanses of curtain wall, no detail, every building obviously maxing out the zoning envelope.  The area on the river between Michigan Avenue and the Lake is the most glaring example of this – huge boring buildings, punctuated by the aggressive and simplistic Trump Hotel/tower thumb-in-the-eye.

In contrast, those areas where there is a blend of scales, styles, eras, sizes, etc., are amongst the most beautiful city districts in the country.  One is always coming across places where the juxtaposition of the characteristics can be seen, a type of vertical collage that is unique to Chicago.

Even the Trump horror can be tamed by a varied context such as this:

The variety and contrast is endlessly entertaining.  Perhaps we should write zoning ordinances that don’t focus upon the rules for one proposed building, but that somehow can acknowledge the overall gestalt of a neighborhood, and only allow buildings that will contribute to the greater whole.

It’s often hard or impossible to get into Wright buildings, as many of the ones that are not in private hands have restricted times, or high entrance fees, etc.  So it is notable how easy the SC Johnson company has made it to visit their buildings – the cantilever-column administration building, the research tower, and Wingspread (formerly the house of the head of this privately-held company, and now a conference center owned by their foundation).  There are frequent tours, no fees, and a remarkable degree of freedom allowed in wandering around Wingspread.  Access to the two company buildings is more restricted, and unfortunately no photography is allowed indoors, as they are still used as the company headquarters, and there are lots of papers around, etc.  The company has even gone so far as to provide tour buses up to Racine during the upcoming Chicago architecture biennial, and advertised them on bus shelters:

These three buildings together provide a unique opportunity to see some of Wright’s best designs, with almost no effort.

As with much of Wright’s work, the buildings were noticeably smaller than I expected.  Even in photographs they have a presence and scale that leads you to expect something monumental, but in person the administration building is comfortable and welcoming, and the research tower is almost cute – it is quite small for a tower.

The skin is sleek. Brick and glass tubes.  The scale is deceptive, as what reads as one story between the brick spandrels is actually two, with circular mezzanines held back from the surface (slightly visible in this photo).  The interior is better than any mid-century modern image of a lab you’ve ever seen, almost a movie set for cool science.

The base is a little weird – Wright wanted to expose the innovative cantilever structure of the tower, and perhaps the function of the two wider lower stories is to contrast even more with the small footprint below.  It just seems busy.

I won’t go on about the administration building as I have no photos, but it didn’t disappoint.  I didn’t realize that there is a parking garage/carport in front of it, which gives you a preview of the structure.

Wingspread has the contrast of quite modest rooms in the four wings of the pinwheel, against an enormous central volume, where a tall brick fireplace mass organizes a series of spaces around it.  

There is a spiral stair which climbs up from the second floor to a glazed observation cupola above the roof.

The daughter’s bedroom on the second floor ends in a spectacular cantilevered balcony into the landscape, with the wooden bar seemingly projecting out through the masonry element (eat your heart out, Jean Nouvel).  

The exterior is a tour-de-force, with a combination of Wrightian elements articulated in different materials and integrated with the landscape in a way that is only matched by the Taliesins.

Phenomenal buildings all, produced in a circumstance where Johnson was more of a patron than a client, not only commissioning the buildings, but then passing this legacy through generations of the family, all of whom have maintained them and made them available to the public.

A pleasing variety of styles and eras in this town

I’d never been to the Twin Cities before, probably because in my prior nine transcontinental drives, I’d usually been in a hurry, and they’re just far enough away from I-90 that they got missed.  Really nice neighborhoods, a good transit system, big but not overwhelming downtowns, and a lot of individual architecture worth seeing.

the Blair Arcade in St. Paul

the cathedral in St. Paul. Why go to Paris?

Gehry drive-by at UM

The Walker Art Center had always been on my list of museums to visit, and it has a very strong permanent collection, mainly in 20th Century American work.  Ed Barnes did the original building in the 70s, and Herzog and de Meuron completed a very successful renovation / addition.

Herzog and de Neuron meet Edward Larrabee Barnes at the Walker, and get along very well.

gallery at the Walker

the Herzog & de Meuron face is about to devour that strange church.

Greta and Chuck

sublime toilet stalls. Move towards the light….

the sculpture garden at the Walker had most of the sculpture removed, but the spaces were just fine without it

Siah Armajani has been one of my favorite sculptors for three decades.  I finally got to see his largest installation, the bridge in the Walker sculpture garden that extends over a big arterial and an interstate.

Siah Armajani’s bridge at the Walker

bridge end

the span over an interstate

The IDS Center, by Philip Johnson, was innovative with its public atrium when it was built in 1972, and it holds up very well.

the coffered skylight roof.

the court intersects with the skybridge system really well – making the skybridge part of the spatial experience, rather than just tunnels and gerbil tubes on the second floor.

Lots of other buildings to see.

HH Richardson should sue these guys for copyright infringement.

the downtown library, by Cesar Pelli. The linear atrium has clerestory windows which bounce light in off the big wedge floating above.

individual study carrels on balconies hanging into the atrium

the wedge emerges at the ends of the building

the Foshay Tower, one of the early skyscrapers I’ve seen that doesn’t follow either the Chicago slab or the NY base-and-tower approach.

the new stadium appears to be a kaiju rising out of the rift

the kaiju is devouring the older buildings in Minneapolis

the Guthrie Theater, by Jean Nouvel. I’ve seen two Nouvel buildings, and they’ve both been large, blue boxes.

The big cantilever at the Guthrie

the view from the end of the cantilever at the Guthrie

family portrait, on the second-longest escalator I’ve ever seen.