I’ll be sharing the stage with Robert Bruegmann next month at the Art Institute to discuss Chicago’s most underrated skyscraper period–between the wars, long after the alleged decline of the “Chicago School” but before the arrival of Mies. As readers know, I think this generation deserves better–the classical and art deco structures of the 1920s and 1930s were often just as technically rigorous and expressive as those of the earlier generation, but the architects of the period were dealt a far different hand in terms of materials and systems. In an era of electric lighting, powered elevators, riveted construction, and natural ventilation, the solid skins and pyramidal massing of these towers responded precisely to the palette of materials and the functional desires that inspired and focused skyscraper design and construction.
Sponsored by the Architecture & Design Society of The Art Institute of Chicago and AIA Chicago, the event will take place in Fullerton Hall on Tuesday, 4 November from 6:30-7:30pm. $10 A&D Society and AIA Chicago members; $15 general public; free to students with a valid ID. More info here…
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