Architecture and Design

Keep track of the city’s design and urban planning landscape.

The Warren Hickox House dates to 1900. It is one of Wright’s first Prairie-style homes.
John Ronan’s design concept for the triangular-shaped site at the National Mall will cast visitors in the role of investigative journalist, with themes of light and transparency.
Preservation Chicago’s annual list starts with two early 20th century towers on State Street, holdovers from prior lists, and includes neighborhood sites with architectural or historic interest.
A pair of tapering, faceted towers designed by architecture firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill that holds the promise of finally delivering the come-up the historic 3-acre parcel has always deserved.a
In a city where historic religious architecture is too often at risk of demolition or out-and-out dilapidation, it’s a good sign to see Landmarks Commission speak up for three neighborhood churches.
“This church was a real mainstay and cornerstone of the community for so long,” said Ward Miller with Preservation Chicago. “It’s really wrenching to see the building not only closed but vacant and vandalized.”
Demolishing the silos in McKinley Park would be a blown chance for the city and state to turn the old industrial site into an exciting new place. But perhaps something can still be done, such as a park along the Chicago River.
The city and state officials should think long and hard before helping reward the team with a new stadium at The 78, particularly when it could come at the expense of the South Side and the Armour Square and Bridgeport neighborhoods.
The honorees are among 50 recipients of the 2024 United States Artists Fellowship.
Will County taxpayers are losing out on an economic and environmental opportunity, and the same thing is happening too often across Illinois, two leaders of Landmarks Illinois write.
Bally’s planned casino and the fate of the Century and Consumers buildings are among the five architectural projects worth watching as this new year progresses.
Mr. Bahlman also helped save the former Cook County Hospital building from the wrecking ball.
The author and Jesuit priest bucked his bosses and helped lead the fight to save Holy Family, the city’s second-oldest church. Lane died last month. His work is a much-needed blueprint for saving historic architecture.
The renovation would keep the atrium and have a more transparent facade and a new plaza. But we need to see more, architecture critic Lee Bey writes.
A vote in favor of designating both skyscrapers as landmarks is the right way to go. It tells the feds the city wants the two historic properties saved.
The federally owned towers date from the early 20th century and could still be torn down, but the decision of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks could increase pressure to preserve them.
The fire is under investigation, but the 131-year-old home’s survival could rest with the results of a structural report now being prepared by city building inspectors.
Firefighters were called to the home at 45th and South Michigan Avenue twice on Sunday to put down a fire. The blaze is being investigated as an arson. No one was hurt.
But a building that beckoned toward the future, housing the former Woods Motor Vehicle Co., shouldn’t be consigned to the past, architecture critic Lee Bey writes.