Blair Kamin

In this file photo taken on December 16, 2009, Argentinian architect Cesar Pelli delivers a speech during the Grand Opening of the CityCenter, a mixed-use urban development center on the Las Vegas Strip. Pelli passed away on July 19, 2019 at the age of 92.

Cesar Pelli, architect of Malaysian towers and designer of several buildings in Chicago, dies at 92

July 25, 2019 at 2:41 p.m.

The buildings designed by architect Cesar Pelli that had the greatest impact on Chicago were not in Chicago. They were the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which snatched...

Column: How can architects change their image as self-indulgent aesthetes? A Chicago affordable housing design contest offers an answer

July 19, 2019 at 1:56 p.m.

It's been a bad year for architects, a year of self-inflicted wounds. March gave us the $25 billion Manhattan megadevelopment called Hudson Yards, which instantly became infamous for its gawky,...

An aerial view taken April 1, 2017, shows the former U.S. Steel parcel, known as South Works. The 440-acre site is the only privately owned site among the five included in the economic feasibility study.

Lightfoot names five sites, all on South and West sides, as possible casino locations

July 18, 2019 at 6:54 a.m.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is floating five sites, all on the city's South and West sides, as possible locations for a Chicago casino, her office said Wednesday. A state-hired consultant will...

Column: Backers of planned Frank Lloyd Wright visitor center in Oak Park face tough choices after proposal gets cold shoulder

July 16, 2019 at 1:43 p.m.

When backers of a new visitor and education center at Frank Lloyd Wright's Home and Studio announced their plans last month, they predicted that the center would strengthen their relationship...

The Doge's Palace is seen June 13, 2019, in Venice, Italy. The building is said to have been architect Henry Ives Cobb's model for the Chicago Athletic Association.

Column: Back from Venice, with a fresh take on Chicago’s Venetian Gothic dazzler at 12 S. Michigan

July 12, 2019 at 3:59 p.m.

Coming home from overseas is no fun, especially the jet lag. But there are benefits. Travel scrambles your frame of reference, makes you look at things in new ways. After...

Column: A new answer for Chicago’s affordable housing shortage: a house that would sell for $350,000 and adapt to its owner’s changing needs

July 10, 2019 at 7:12 p.m.

Chicago faces a growing shortage of affordable housing. What to do? One answer emerged Wednesday night when an unknown Chicago architect was named the winner of a design contest that...

Srinivasa "Hal" Iyengar played a key role on the engineering team that worked with architect Frank Gehry on the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, shown in 1997, the year the titanium-encased structure opened.

Column: 8 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, including Chicago’s Robie House and Oak Park’s Unity Temple, named to World Heritage List

July 7, 2019 at 1:23 p.m.

Eight buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, including the Prairie style masterpiece of the Robie House in Chicago and the bold concrete structure of Unity Temple in Oak Park, were named...

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