design slinger

A Pickled Fourth

 
[Artwork: designslinger]

On July 4, 1776 a group of English colonists said they'd had enough of being lorded over
by a King and his Parliament; so they declared their independence.

See you Monday.


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Posted by design slinger at 7/4/2009 2:46 AM | Add Comment

Friday Snippets 7.03.09

 
[Chipmunk on handlebars, Gordon Terrace, Chicago, June 29, 2009 /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

Twittering has been taken to a new level. Artist Morgan Ritchie uses the Tweets of actor
Stephen Fry as the inspiration for his artwork at 100 days of fry. [Bad at Sports]

Another week, another city: Berlin's Fashion Week opened. [Telegraph]

The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere (Sears Tower) unveiled it's glass ledge. If
you got weak in the knees just walking up to the windows and looking down, wait till you see this view. [Chicago Tribune]

127 years and counting. Antonio Gaudi's Sagrada Familia. [Preservation Nation]

Jacques Guillon's classic 1953 Cord chair is coming back on to the retail furniture market.
As a re-issue. [NY Times]

Daniel Libeskind shares 17 words that underlie his vision for architecture. [TED]

Last Thursday we posted about Walter Gropius and his connection to the Michael Reese
Hospital Campus and the effort to save his buildings from demolition by the city of Chicago. The state's historic preservation officials are withdrawing from the battle to save them. [Cityscapes]

Kodachrome, the film stock that brought color photography to the masses, is no more. [Wired]

Tomorrow is the 4th of July. Big celebratory day in the U.S. Chicago has their big fireworks
display tonight. Haven't been in years. Too old now to deal with crowd of 1,000,000 participants for 20 minutes of sky-high firecrackers? We'll see. [designslinger]


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Posted by design slinger at 7/3/2009 2:48 AM | Add Comment

Chicago's Window to the World

 
[Chicago window, Louis Sullivan restored facade, 18 S. Wabash Street /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

The word Chicago is used to describe any number of things. Chicago style pizza,
Chicago style hot dog, Chicago School of Architecture, and the Chicago window. It's hard to understand the impact of this window's design in this day and age, but a large window opening was a revolutionary idea back in the 1890s when a gas flame, and the rudimentary electric bulb, were the primary source of artificial indoor light. Think of yourself closed up in a closet for a period of time with a 25 watt light bulb over your head. Then, imagine how you'd feel once you came out of that stuffy space and into a bright, naturally lit, air filled room. This was the effect the Chicago window had on thousands of workers in the later part of the 19th century.

Defined as a window that fills the full width of a bay of a steel-framed opening, it is
divided into three sections: a wide fixed center pane with a narrower movable sash at each side, as seen in the photo above. This excellent example is from a Louis Sullivan facade that recently underwent a substantial renovation and rehabilitation.

 
[Reliance Building, 32 N. State Street, Burnham & Root, 1891, D.H. Burnham & Co., 1895 /Images & Artwork:
designslinger]

The Reliance Building is an iconic building for many reasons, far too many to go into now,
so we're going to stick to its windows. Built in 1895 on a base that dates to 1891, the Reliance pushed the envelope as far as possible in terms of opening up the exterior wall to as much natural light as possible. When you look at the structure, it almost seems that the entire building is made of glass. The steel support system had to be covered in something, and designer Charles Atwood chose light-colored, decorative terra-cotta. And he filled the openings between the steel super-structure with as much glass as possible. It's hard to get a sense of how big the windows really are, so I'll give you an idea: if a 6-foot tall person stood on the window sill, they would still have a couple of feet of glass rising above their head.

 
[Chicago Building, 7 W. Madison Street at State, Holabird & Roche, 1904 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Just one block south of the Reliance Building stands the Chicago Building, designed by
another giant in Chicago's architectural firmament, Holabird & Roche. Here again you see the classic window, but this time surrounded by heavy piers of dark brick. The building is now used as housing for students of the nearby School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and I waited for someone to come up to the window so you could see someone standing at one of these large openings and understand how big they are, but alas, no one came forward.

 
[Keith & Ascher Buildings, 24 & 30 S. Michigan, Holabird & Roche, 1899 /Images & Artwork: desingslinger]

These two buildings by Holabird and Roche pre-date the Chicago Building and are the two
southernmost structures of a three part group commonly known as the Gage Group. Keith, Asher and Gage were milliners, and moved from their workshops on an adjacent street to light-filled Michigan Avenue. Much like the Reliance, the architects used the absolute minimum amount of material to cover the steel frame in order to keep each opening as clear as possible for the wide, broad Chicago window.

 
[Reliance Building, D.H. Burnham & Co., 1895; People's Gas Co. Building, 122 S. Michigan, D.H. Burnham & Co., 1910
/Images & Artwork: desingslinger]

I've put these two images side by side because I wanted to show you a comparison of two
buildings designed by the same firm, Daniel H. Burnham & Co. It's hard to believe that these came from the same office, but by the time Burnham & Co. designed the People's Gas Building in 1910, the firm was designing for a different type of client with different needs. The window used here is a typical double-hung sash, which is almost overwhelmed by the decorative, grey, glazed terra-cotta. This is a steel-framed building just like the Reliance, which was built 15 years earlier, but the Gas Co. building is much more heavy-handed.

 
[Kluczynski Building, Federal Center, 230 S. Dearborn Street, 1966-1975, Mies van der Rohe; Flamingo,
Alexander Calder, 1974, detail /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

For me, this is the second generation of the Chicago window. Mies van der Rohe pushed
the concept of a curtain of glass unencumbered by a steel frame to new heights. This building is one of three that make up the Federal Center in downtown Chicago. Many people hate Mies and blame him for the boxiness of the modern cityscape. But, since today's post is about steel and its relationship with glass, I've included the Federal Building becaue it is a great example of technology and art pushing the boundaries. 

 
[U.S. Post Office, Federal Center, 219 S. Clark Street, 1966-1975, Mies van der Rohe /Images & Artwork:
designslinger]

In the one-story post office that sits near the base of the Kluczynski Building, the window
has grown to gigantic proportions. Look at the size of the people in relation to the size of the glass panes. Here Mies designed a Chicago window in a scale that would have seemed impossible to Charles Atwood in 1895. In this building, van der Rohe nearly obliterates the steel frame, and lets the glass shine in transparent luxury.

All of the buildings in today's post are an easy walk from one another in Chicago's
downtown area known as the Loop. I hope you'll take the time someday to visit each one. They are just a few of the gems to be found among a thousand others.


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Posted by design slinger at 7/2/2009 2:10 AM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment

An Artistically Architectural Community

 
[143-161 W. Burton Place, Chicago, June 29, 2009 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

In urban history a story is often told about artists moving into older, neglected areas
of large cities because the rent is cheap, and artists are generally poor. In the late 1920s, an enterprising Chicago based artist got a few friends interested in moving into a neighborhood originally settled by the German speaking community in the 1870s. But the area was changing, becoming more transient, on the decline, and therefore cheap to live in.

 
[155 W. Burton Place /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

When artist/contractor/entrepreneur Sol Kogen took up residence at 155 W. Burton Place,
in the 1920s, the street was known as Carl Street. The building was nothing remarkable, just one of a number of 1880s era Victorians that lined the street. But Sol was an enterprising individual, and he convinced a few of his artist friends to help him convert the "old" Victorian into an contemporary, modern structure. It was the beginning of the arts community settling into Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.

 
[151 & 155 W. Burton Place /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Over the next decade, the future Burton Place was transformed. The Victorian
bric-a-brac was removed, the Mansard roofs were demolished, projecting bays stripped of ornament and bricked over, and window openings reworked as the artist/owner saw fit. #151 was built in 1887 and remodeled in the 1930s, which is apparent when you consider the Streamline-Moderne windows. Supposedly, they were scavenged from the 1933 Chicago World's Fair when the giant exhibition closed and demolition began.

 
[158 & 156 W. Burton Place; 159 & 161 Burton Place /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

In this panel of pictures you can see what the original buildings looked like and how
they were reworked. The photo on the left shows a Victorian era facade alongside a remodeled facade created when Kogen and several artists converted a group of buildings along this side of the street. In the picture on the right, the redone #161, overwhelms its Victorian neighbor at #159.

 
[147 W. Burton Place; 152 W. Burton Place /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

The photo on the left shows #147 with its intact 1880s facade; take note of the projecting
bay window. The photo on the right is #152. You can still see the outline of the original bay of #152, but it has been enclosed and given a sleeker, cleaner profile which was much more in keeping with the "modern" style of the 1930s when this building was redone.

 
[161 W. Burton Place /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Here at #161, you can't help but feel the pull of the contemporary design aesthetic of
1940, which obliterated the Carl Street building which was constructed in 1879. The original structure was divided into several apartments for the thriving art community which was springing up all over Old Town.

 
[160 W. Burton Place /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

If you look closely at the flat facade of #160, you can see hints of the original window
openings in the shadows created by the brickwork. This building contains a line of what look to be terra-cotta glazed tiles. There was no artist's signature, so I would have to guess that whoever redid the building, might have been the artist who created the wall sculptures.

 
[160 W. Burton, detail of sculpture /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Here are some close-up shots of the sculptural pieces.

 
[143 W. Burton Place /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

This is one of my favorites on the street. When you are riding the La Salle Street bus
southbound, you can't help but notice this building at the corner of Burton Place. The Moderne design continues along the La Salle street side of the apartment house, and was built by artist Theophil Reuther. I should say he reworked an original 1890s building into Theophil Studios apartments at #143.

 
[Sidewalk on the east side of the street starting at #151 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

These buildings are still lovingly maintained. I have no idea whether or not artists still
occupy any of the apartments which were carved out of large Victorian homes years ago, but it's nice to see that the reworked, remodeled buildings have survived. Right down to the sidewalks.

 

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Posted by design slinger at 7/1/2009 2:28 AM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

Just Around the Corner

 
[Hutchinson Street at Hazel, view to the east /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

When we walk out of our building, this is the street view we encounter. A canopy of trees
shading a historic district that seems to belong to another era of city life - except for all the cars and the prominent DO NOT ENTER sign.

As a pedestrian however, you can enter this bucolic universe and stroll past some
beautiful late 19th and early 20th century homes. George W. Maher, a prominent Prairie School architect, designed five houses on this one block stretch of Hutchinson Street, in Chicago's Buena Park neighborhood. No where else on the entire planet will you find such a concentration of Maher's work. I will take you on a chronological tour, starting with his earliest commission and ending with his last, rather than numerically by address. It will be easier to see the development of Maher's growth as a designer.

 
[John C. Scales House, 1893, George W. Maher, 840 W. Hutchinson Street/Images & Artwork: designslinger]

John C. Scales made plans to develop this stretch of street in the 1890s, then known as
Kenesaw Terrace. He asked Maher to design the house at Hutchinson and Hazel as the literal cornerstone of the development. Sitting on a heavy rusticated base, the house is a typical Queen Anne Victorian. Perfect for a well-to-do client of the times, it bears no hallmarks of Maher's later Prairie designs. Even the detailing on the dormer is textbook Victorian Gothic.

 
[Edwin J. Mosser House, 1902, George W. Maher, 750 W. Hutchinson Street /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

By the time Maher was asked to design a home for attorney Edwin J. Mosser and his family
in 1902, the architect had shed his Victorian aesthetic and was starting to introduce certain Prairie School details in his work. Even though the column capitals and ornamental banding around the door opening seem too decorative for Prairie styling, even Frank Lloyd Wright, who worked with Maher in the architectural offices of J.L. Silsbee, incorporated very similar decoration early in his career. The large urns on either side of the porch on the other hand, became a signature of Prairie style architecture.

 
[William H. Lake House, 1904, George W. Maher /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Two years after the Mosser home was built, Maher designed a home for the William H. Lake
family at 826 W. Hutchinson. Maher is coming into his own in terms of a Prairie style language. The large, hipped roof with broad overhanging eaves, the heavy arched doorway, all were elements used by many of the architects developing a new style of "American" architecture.

 
[Grace Brackebush House, 1909, George W. Maher, 839 W. Hutchinson Street /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

In 1908, Grace L. Brackebush purchased a lot at the s.e. corner of Hazel and Kenesaw
Terrace from William H. Lake for $18,000. The property was 122 x 141 feet and Maher designed a home for his client which had all the elements of Maher's developing interpretation of Prairie design: the prominent entry, and the band of windows which opened up large segments of wall space to the outdoors, and his segmented arched doorway. And the lions? I have a feeling Mr. Maher would prefer a pair of large urns.

 
[Claude Seymour House, 1913, George W. Maher, 817 W. Hutchinson Street /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

The last house Maher designed on the street is the largest, and the best, representation
of all the classic elements that make up the Maher Prairie style. The owner, Claude Seymour, was the Vice President of a large, commercial firm in Chicago, Otto Young & Co. Unfortunately, Mr Seymour didn't get to enjoy this masterpiece for long. He died in the house in 1914, and was buried in Graceland Cemetery, just a few blocks from his Hutchinson Street home.

Although Maher had a very productive architectural career he had a troubled life, and
committed suicide in 1926. Some of his most recognized work can be found in the Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park and the western suburb of Oak Park, which has the largest collection of Prairie style homes in the world. But, for a quick overview of the man's architectural career, nothing beats our little neighborhood street.


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Posted by design slinger at 6/30/2009 2:59 AM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment

A New Wing Takes Flight

 
[The Modern Wing, Art Institute of Chicago, detail /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

We finally reached a point in our move where all the kinks had been worked out, the
unpacking was finished, and we had a moment to catch our breath. We had our first day free to do whatever we wanted, and decided to go downtown and visit the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute.

 
[The Modern Wing, Monroe Street facade and entry /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

We took in a view of the exterior from the Nichols Bridgeway, which spans Monroe Street
below, and provides access to the roof garden. The bridge wobbles, so be prepared. It's a little disconcerting when you're walking across it and you feel little quivers beneath your feet, but if the span was too rigid it would be more likely to collapse, so the wobbling is a good thing. And, the views from the roof garden of the skyline, as well as the architecture, are worth the trek.

 
[Renzo Piano, Art Institute of Chicago Addition: Concept Sketch: Perspective View Looking Down New
Monroe Street Corridor, 2001; View of Corridor as built, June 24, 2009 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Renzo Piano is the architect who designed this addition to the older museum building, and
the sketch is from an exhibit in the Architecture and Design Gallery, located in the new wing. The drawing is a conceptual design of the entry corridor that Piano drew in 2001, and the photo shows the corridor as built.

 
[Stairway, Griffin Court /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

The corridor is known as Griffin Court, which contains one of the most elegantly designed
works of architecture I've ever seen; the stairway pictured above. A staircase you say?! Is he crazy? Well, I think it's beautiful. And, watching people move through the space on those floating stairs was mesmerizing. It reminds me of a staircase Mies van der Rohe designed for the original location of the Arts Club of Chicago, but Piano's design is much more dramatic because of the overall scale of the entire corridor passage.

 
[Pritzker Garden /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

As you cross Griffin Court, you can enter the Pritzker Garden. Another discovery that
bowled me over. The space soars to the sky. The verticality of the detailing, the reflective materials, the open canopy, all work in perfect harmony to create a dynamic outdoor environment.

 
[Reflection of wall and canopy; Reflection of Ellsworth Kelly's, White Curve, 2009, as seen in the glass curtain wall;
Images & Artwork: designslinger]

EllsworthKelly's White Curve, 2009, commissioned by the Art Institute for thegarden
wall, is the perfect piece of art for this lovely, outdoor room.

 
[Giacometti, Gallery 294, The Modern Wing, Art Institute of Chicago /Image  & Artwork: designslinger]

Of course the purpose this new addition is to house the museum's collection of modern art.
A series of galleries line the exterior wall of the building which looks out over Millennium Park. The view is overwhelming. The sculptural pieces chosen to sit in front of the tall window openings work well with the background, but I found that the artworks hanging on the walls were overshadowed by the dramatic scenery.

 
[Henry Moore, The Modern Wing, Art Institute of Chicago /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

On the other hand, Henry Moore's signature sculpture is presented perfectly in this small
niche. I saw a lot of paintings that I remembered from my earliest days as an Art Institute visitor in elementary school. I came back to the museum thousands of times in the intervening years, and found that I liked seeing so many familiar friends displayed in this new environment.

As you can tell, there is a lot I like about the building. At first I was afraid that the
architecture was going to overwhelm the art, which isn't a good thing for an art museum. But, once we got up and into the galleries my fears were unfounded. We did visit on a spectacularly sunny day, it will be interesting to experience the museum on a cloudy, overcast day. And, I'm really looking forward to the interaction between the winter snow and the architecture.

One of the majors issues I have with the building is circulation. The Nichols Bridge takes
you to the roof and leaves you stranded, galleries dead end, which requires you to retrace your steps in an attempt to get to another part of the museum. It is completely counter intuitive.

Although the new wing provides an unlimited source of wonderful photo-ops, and I hope
you've enjoyed these pictures, the museum should be on your must visit list, especially if you live in the Chicago area. It is a remarkable work of art, which houses a major art collection, that is best appreciated in person.

 

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Posted by design slinger at 6/29/2009 2:38 AM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment

Pride

 
[Celebrating Gay Pride, Nettelhorst School fence, June 26, 2009 /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

To celebrate Gay Pride Day, the children of Nettelhorst Elementary School on Chicago's
north side, took thousands of pieces of fabric, tied them to the school fence, and created a rainbow of color. A sign attached to a fence post, closed with the following words:

     In June, Nettelhorst will be the first public school to walk in Chicago's Gay Pride Parade.
     We believe family means everybody.


 
[Louis Nettelhorst School, 3252 N.Broadway, Chicago /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Louis Nettelhorst was the President of the Chicago Public Schools when this building
was constructed in 1892. The city was getting ready to reveal the 1893 World Columbian Exposition to the public, and the building has splashes of classical architectural detailing inspired by the great fair. A school has sat here since 1864, and this brick beauty is only the third such structure to occupy the site.

Hats off to the Nettelhorst School's family of educators, staff, parents and most 
especially to the students, for honoring the members of the LGBT community. We're all just one big family after all.


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Posted by design slinger at 6/28/2009 2:31 AM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

The New Modern Pickle


[Picasso maquette, Gallery 294, The Modern Wing, Art Institute of Chicago; 
 Image & Artwork: designslinger]



For more info on the Modern Wing, click here.


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Posted by design slinger at 6/27/2009 2:14 AM | Add Comment

Friday Snippets 6.26.09

 
[Crown Fountain, Millennium Park, Chicago; June 25,2009 /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

It's been in the 90s and HUMID in Chicago. Yuk! Everyone in LA kept warning us about
the winter weather; people forget about the simmering summers.

Question: should the Elgin Marbles finally go home? Two viewpoints, Michael Kimmelman
and Lee Rosenbaum. [NYT/CultureGrrl]

Beautiful, old British theatres "at risk" for demolition. [BBC]

Chicago, City Without Limits [WSJ]

Computer game for art coloring vandals. [Rhizome]

Lost to New York; Frank Gehry. [New York Magazine]

Peter Greenaway, film director, visual master, creates magic at the Venice Biennale. [NYT]

It's Gay Pride Weekend. Worldstudio has come up with 3 new gay flag ideas for a 21st
century community.

Be sure to check back tomorrow and Sunday. We'll be posting both days.


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Posted by design slinger at 6/26/2009 2:28 AM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

Walter Gropius' Chicago

 
[Friend Pavilion, Michael Reese Hospital Campus, June 23, 2009 /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

We attended a lecture yesterday afternoon at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.
The talk was given by Grahm Balkany, the founder of the Gropius In Chicago Coalition. Balkany has been working on a book about the 20th century modernist Walter Gropius, and the architect's connection to Chicago. Now, with the city planning on demolishing the Michael Reese Hospital Campus to make way for Chicago's Olympic Village, at least 8 identified Gropius designed buildings on the site will become rubble; Balkany is on a mission to save the architect's only surviving works in the state of Illinois.

 
[Kaplan Pavilion, Michael Reese Medical Campus, June 23, 2009 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

We went down to the Reese campus on Tuesday and took these photographs. During the
talk, Grahm said that it was getting harder and harder to take pictures, because people are being asked to leave the property before taking any snaps. I guess we were lucky.

 
[Kaplan Pavilion, detail, June 23, 2009 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Gropius' use of light, with his window fenestration and experimentation with louvers,
as well as breaking the flat plane of the building by creating facades of gentle angles moving out from a central point, are the legacy of these iconic structures. The noon hour speech was remarkable in synthesizing the historical importance of these buildings in modern architecture.

 
[Friend Pavilion, June 23, 2009 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Grahm's passion was evident as he described Gropius' ideas, designs and concepts
for the campus which relate to the architect's years as the leader of the Bauhaus in Germany. Grahm also showed how much the Reese buildings related to Mies' nearby IIT campus and how Gropius embraced certain principles set forth by his German colleague, but also designed buildings that weren't as rigid as the Miesian ideal.

 
[Michael Reese Hospital Building, 1907, June 23, 2009 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

The city seemed intent on destroying the entire campus, but has given a repreive to the
1907 Schmidt, Garden and Erickson building. Demolition bids on the remaining buildings have been secured, even though the city of Chicago has not been awarded the 2016 Olympic Games - yet. The Olympic Committee will announce their choice in October, and most, if not all of the Gropius buildings will be dust by then. Why the rush? Is there more going on here than meets the eye? Exactly who is getting what by tearing down the buildings, before the local Olympic committee knows that they will actually play host to the world in 2016. Does the city know something we don't? Has the decision already made about who will host the games but only Chicago is in on the secret? What do you think??

Please go the Gropius in Chicago Coalition site. Read about the threat, the legacy,
 the master plan, the individual buildings, and much more. Thanks.

   

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Posted by design slinger at 6/25/2009 1:40 AM | Add Comment
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