talking skyscrapers on curious city

I could sit and talk about Chicago’s skyscrapers with Jen Masengarb all day–and last month I had the chance to do that (or for at least an afternoon).  Jen is now with the Dansk Arkitektur Center in Copenhagen, but she was previously the director of education for the Chicago Architecture Foundation, and in that role she very generously invited me out each year to talk to the CAF docents about my skyscraper work.

She’s sorely missed in Chicago, where she’s also been a regular guest on WBEZ’s Curious City.  This week they’re broadcasting highlights of a chat she and I had with Jesse Dukes, answering a listener’s question about the density of the Loop–why are the city’s skyscrapers clustered in such a compact area?  

The result was, as you can imagine, a free-wheeling discussion, and the edited version is a nice, concise set of thoughts on economics, politics, urban branding, and infrastructure.  WBEZ’s producers made us sound pretty efficient, and they certainly got the best out of what was a really enjoyable afternoon…