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Up or Coming |
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The new $151 million
Target at 4466 N. Broadway in Wilson yard in Chicago's
Uptown community was
designed by FitzGerald
Associates Architects of Chicago. It arrives in
addition to an apartment complex and a new Aldi's
grocery store.
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The Next Big
Thing! |
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High School and College
Students!
"Architecture that Works" is the
theme of 2011 Mock Firms National & International Skyscraper
Challenge
which seeks to focus student-design groups on
issues involving improving the urban work environment
through innovative uses of space, structure and sociology.
The desired outcome is the creation of "hyper-vertical
communities of commerce" which inspires in form and "works"
in function for both internal and external people
populations. The target cities this year are Los Angeles,
California and Stockholm, Sweden.
Just in its 3rd year, the Chicago-based Mock Firms
Architectural Competition is already highly regarded on the
landscape of student-based design competitions. The Mock
Firms model aims to help facilitate the formation and
function of simulated architectural design firms by
collegiate and secondary school students. Take advantage of
early registration discounts!
More
info on the
Mock Firms page |
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Today's Poll
Question |
City Focus |
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TRANSFORMERS SHOOT ON LASALLE
STREET
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CONGRESS
PARKWAY
IMPROVEMENT
Already
underway, CDOT is upgrading and improving Congress Parkway
from Michigan Avenue to Wells Street. These plans have been
in the works since 2005. The project is being funded by $9
million in federal stimulus money.
Recently, the
area surrounding Congress Parkway has been one of the
fastest growing employment, residential, higher educational
and commercial areas in the city. These changes have altered
the travel patterns and significantly increased the amount
of pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the area.
Improvements are
to include:
Realign roadway
to eliminate weaving lanes, narrow and reduce lanes to
provide wider sidewalks to accommodate heavier pedestrian
traffic and landscape improvements. for sidewalks and
medians, use of street furniture, bicycle lanes, decorative
lighting and refurbishment of CTA Blue Line Station
entrances. Scheduled completion is 2012.
DESIGN YOUR OWN
ARCHITECTURE WALKING TOUR!
Just give us an idea of the kind
of architecture you want to see and we'll sketch out an
itinerary to match your interest and lead you out on an
exciting adventure exploring Chicago's
innovative and historic architecture!
Check it the
details in
Tours & Venues To Visit |
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In The News...
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Local
BLACK
ENSEMBLE THEATER TO BREAK GROUND ON NEW $16 MILLION
PERFORMANCE ARTS AND CULTURAL FACILITY
The 50,000 Square-Foot Black Ensemble Theater
Cultural Center
Will Be First Permanent Home in 34-Year History
CHICAGO
(August 26, 2010)
— The Black Ensemble Theater will mark the
groundbreaking of its new $16 million performance
arts and cultural facility, the Black Ensemble
Theater Cultural Center, at 4440 N. Clark Street,
Sept. 10, at 2 p.m. The ceremony, which is open to
the public, will feature performances from popular
Black Ensemble productions and include remarks from
founder and executive director Jackie Taylor.
Invited guests include: Governor Pat Quinn, Mayor
Richard M. Daley, and Alderman Eugene Schulter.
Actor Harry Lennix will chair the ceremony.
“This is an exciting time in our history, as a new
building will help to facilitate the resurgence of
the theater as an authentic space where a great
people can exist and thrive with autonomy while
tearing down barriers and building bridges through
storytelling,” Taylor said. “Our Board of Directors
and capital campaign committee have been diligent in
raising more than 80 percent of the funds needed to
build the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center and
we look forward to working with our patrons,
community leaders and supporters to secure the $3
million needed to complete this important project.”
Chicago native Taylor founded the Black Ensemble
Theater in 1976 with a mission to eradicate racism,
merging her roles as actress and educator to build
awareness and foster greater understanding of the
African-American contribution to the cultural fabric
of American history through theater. This charge is
realized through outstanding, award-winning
productions that attract highly diverse racial
audiences as well as effective educational outreach
programming that reaches more than 10,000 youth each
year.
“For years, the Black Ensemble Theatre has provided
artistic programming and educational outreach to
help better the lives of African American Youth,”
Governor Pat Quinn said. “The new Center will
provide yet another source of activities – such as
critical afterschool programs – to motivate children
and teens in a positive direction.”
For the past 24 years, the Black Ensemble Theater
has been headquartered in Chicago’s diverse Uptown
community at the Uptown Center Hull House on North
Beacon Street. As the theater thrived, receiving
increased national acclaim and a growing fan base
worldwide, a need for a stand-alone, singularly
affiliated space emerged. At its new location, the
Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center will be
positioned to accommodate larger-scale productions,
bigger audiences and a wider range of programming,
and it is expected to increase the economic growth
of the community, attracting more businesses,
patrons and institutions to the area. For more
continue on to our
Design News page under Commercial.
Comments?
Email us at
info@chicagoarchitecturetoday.com
Also in
the news locally..
Daley Asks for
Nearly $100 Million in TIF for U.S. Steel Plant ...
nbcchicago.com
Amtrak moves
ahead with plans to revamp Chicago's historic Union Station
...
Chicago
Tribune (blog)
CBS2 Chicago
Government
charges architect and developer with housing discrimination
Credit.com
News
Condo
architecture firm Lucien Lagrange files for bankruptcy
Chicago Sun-Times
7 buildings
we'd like the Transformers to destroy this summer
Time Out Chicago (blog)
Additional
stories in
Archives.
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National
PRITZKER WINNER AIMING FOR
NYC'S HIGHEST RESIDENCES
Portzamparc Skyscraper
NEW YORK
CITY,
NY // Charles V. Bagli of the
New York Times is reporting that Christian de Portzamparc
has designed a new skyscraper for developer Gary Barnett in
New York City. Portzamparc was the first French recipient
of the Pritzker Prize when he received the honor in 1994.
His $1.3 billion project will contain 136 of the most
expensive apartments in the city as well as a 210-room Park
Hyatt hotel located on the first 20 floors. The tower will
soar 1,005 feet over 57th Street east of Seventh Avenue
featuring great views of Central Park. Barnett was intent
upon getting the building to beat the Trump World Tower as
the tallest residential building in the city.
Sources:
ArchDaily;
New York Times
Comments? Email
us at
info@chicagoarchitecturetoday.com
Also in
the news Nationally..
Five
architects selected to compete for convention center
expansion
-
San Diego
Columbus,
Ind., is an architectural treasure
-
St. Louis
Architecture &
Design Film Festival 2010 -
New York
'Lego
Architecture at the National Building Museum
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Wash D.C.
US
Architecture Schools Announce Leadership Changes
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New York
Slump in Demand for US Architects May Be Near End -
Wash D.C.
Oakland Museum
ready to reopen after renovation
- San
Francisco
Modern
buildings become eligible for historic preservation
- Kansas
City
Additional
stories in
Archives |
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International
BIG'S MIXED-USE CITY BLOCK
COPENHAGEN,
Denmark
//
BIG has designed a 62,000 sqm mixed-use project
in Copenhagen that has elevated the concept of
mixed urban life. Their design started with how
to plan a city block into a mixed use
residential and commercial building with an
adjacent free-standing tower. The tower was
designed as representative of the monolith
church tower in Venice surrounded by its urban
context. The block was twisted into its “8”
shape In order to allow for a passage point
through the center from either side on the
commercial street level. Construction is well
underway on the project
Source:
ArchDaily
Comments? Email
us at
info@chicagoarchitecturetoday.com
Also in
the news Internationally..
Architecture
prizes to the old and the new -
Abu Dhabi
America Gets
Earnest With Social Change Theme at Venice Architecture
Biennale
- Italy
Adrian
Smith + Gill, selected to design
kilometer-high ... -
Saudi
Arabia
Opera House in
Mumbai to undergo renovation -
India
After Quake, Focus Turns to
Reconstruction -
Chile
B.C. Pavilion
lauded as business-generating site
-
Vancouver
Additional
stories in
Archives...
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Quad Connection |
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This month Chicago Architecture Today highlights
CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
College of Architecture Art &
Planning
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Cornell University
College of Architecture
129 Sibley Dome
Ithaca, NY 14853
www.cornell.edu
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Cornell University has one of the oldest and most
respected schools of architecture in the United
States. The architecture department is within the
College of Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning
(AAP). The department has about 315 undergraduate
students, 50 graduate students, a 30 person
full-time resident faculty, and usually 6-10
visiting faculty. It is a five-year Bachelor of
Architecture program.
The
curriculum emphasizes theory, history, technology,
and structures, as well as design.
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More on Cornell and
other area architectural institutions of higher learning in
Quad
Connection
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On Location: Chicago
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"Make No Little Plans;
Daniel Burnham & The American City," Chicago
film-maker Judith Paine McBrien's hour-long documentary
about the great Chicago architect and planner Daniel
Burnham,
will air on PBS stations nationally Monday, Sept.
6 (Labor Day) at 10 pm
"TRANSFORMERS 3"
TEARING UP LASALLE ST
The
Financial district of Chicago has been all abuzz this
weekend and not for anything to do with the Dow Jones.
Crews have been busy staging and filming along LaSalle
Street between Jackson and Randolph. Crowds have
increasingly grown as word gets around about the
shooting. This area is favorite backdrop for many
directors with the Art Deco Board of Trade Building and
the classical-revival facades of the various banks
throughout the area. A nice collection of photos and
upcoming filming dates are available at
wgnradio.com.
*
*
*
Vince Vaughn,
producer
Ron Howard were filming on the Kinzie Bridge over
the weekend in relative anonymity as the excitement
seemed to be over in the Financial district with the
Transformers set and shooting ongoing.
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Arch Quiz |
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Which athletic venue was recently stripped of its national historic landmark designation?
A) U.S. Cellular Field
B) United Center
C) Macy’s/ Field’s
D) Soldier Field
Are you ready to test your knowledge about Chicago's architecture? |
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Take The Quiz Now! |
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Community Events |
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JENS JENSEN 150TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION TOUR OF
CHICAGO PARKS
SATURDAY
AUG 28 & SEPT 25
Between the 1880s
and 1920, Chicago’s parks served as living
laboratories for Jensen’s ideas and evolving
style. Chicago Park historian, Julia S. Bachrach,
guides this tour which will reveal many restored
examples of Jensen’s work including the Humboldt
Park prairie river, Douglas Park’s formal
garden, and his masterpiece, Columbus Park.
Details on the
Events Page.
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More on our
Upcoming
Events Page!
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Today's
Video Pick |
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LEE BEY ON
CHICAGO ARCHITECTURAL ISSUES
Bey joined Bob
Sirott live on FOX Chicago News at 9 p.m. to talk about the
Old Post Office and similar issues of interest. Bey is a former
architecture critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Check it out in
Architecture in Motion |
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Quote of the
Week |
"You go over to Michigan Avenue -- right there by
the Wrigley Building ... and you look back this way
[pointing west along the Chicago River] and it's the
most beautiful skyline in the world. ... The reason
it's so interesting is -- unlike New York, where
you've got to get far away in a helicopter to make
it interesting -- Chicago has so many interesting
bits of architecture, you can capture very close
up.''
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Quote
by
"Transformers 3" director Michael Bay in response to
the question of
what
he found in Chicago he had not discovered elsewhere
while filming recently on Michigan Avemue
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Chicago Sun-Times |
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July 2010 |
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Good Reads |
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MARINA CITY:
BERTRAND GOLDBERG'S
URBAN VISION
Igor Marjanovic and
Katerina Ruedi Ray
May 2010
Princeton Architectural
Press
ISBN: 978-1-56898-863-4
b/w illustrations
Paperback 175 pgs
$35.00
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Although the cover of
Princeton Architectural Press' Marina City: Bertrand
Goldberg's Urban Vision would not necessarily lead
one to believe this will be riveting reading, the
old maxim "Don't judge a book be its cover" would
apply here.
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More on this book and
others on our
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Good Reads page
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Inside Today |
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ARTSY
EXPRESSIONS
Roosevelt Square provides a
colorful backdrop of artistic and architectural expression
for our latest fashion wear.
View them in
Architecture + Fashion |
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Preservation Station |
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EDGEWATER
HOSPITAL
5700 N.
Ashland
Sun-Times
David Roeder has called the Edgewater building "a
grand-scale monument to fraud. Unfortunately and a monument
that's become a blight for its surroundings."
Residents said there has
been talk of putting 300 housing units on the property, with
some buildings in the nine- to 13-story range
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More on
our
Preservation page !
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Term to Learn |
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NEO-ECLECTIC
A
Neo-eclectic home can be
difficult to describe because it combines many styles. The
shape of the roof, the design of the windows, and decorative
details may be inspired by several different periods and
cultures. .
This and additional
terms in
Archtionary
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Today's Top Ten |
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10 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW
ABOUT DOWNTOWN
CHICAGO
ARCHITECTURE
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A recent Redeye article
lists a number of interesting facts about some of
Chicago's more notable buildings.
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Which
Sullivan-designed building once functioned as a
bowling alley? |
More
on
Today's Top Ten
page
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Do
you think you have what it takes to host your own
series on HGTV? Would you love the challenge of
competing in a design-based reality show? Here's
your chance to be on
Design Star!
Design Expertise:
We're looking for great designers. Are you pushing
the design envelope? Are you going all “green”? Are
you taking the old and making it new and fresh?
Whatever your design angle, we want to hear from
you!
Personality
That Pops:
We want to see someone who shines. Design ability
and expertise are most important, but you could wind
up hosting your own show…do you have the personality
millions want to watch?
Passion for Your Work:
We're searching for designers who will bring the
world of design and decorating to life in their very
own passionate and unique way. The world of design
is ever-expanding, so the more invested you are, the
better.
HGTV Design Star
is an
on-air competition to name the network's next star.
Finalists will compete in design-based challenges
with one to two designers being eliminated each
week. The contestants will be narrowed until the
winner is announced in the final episode of the
series. Upon which, the winner will become the host
of their own design show!
If
you are interested in applying, please email us with
the following information which will be passed on to
HGTV:
Name:
Age:
Hometown:
Phone:
Photo:
Brief description of your design background
Outstanding and personable architects in the Chicago
area are encouraged to apply.
email
responses to
info@chicagoarchitecturetoday.com
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Firm Foundation |
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A SIT-DOWN
WITH
PERKINS + WILL
Ross and Kyle of Chicago
Architecture today stopped by the offices of the
world-renown architecture firm of Perkins + Will for a chat
with partners Ralph Johnson and Ray Clark. |
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Read the full text at
Firm Foundation
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