Blair Kamin – Page 19

Architect Helmut Jahn looks over drawings of his State of Illinois Center in 1980.

Endangered buildings: It’s not just the Thompson Center. A Frank Lloyd Wright cottage and other sites are also at risk.

May 11, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

Illinois historic preservationists on Wednesday turned a spotlight on a dozen sites, including several in Chicago and its suburbs, that they say are architecturally and culturally significant — and are...

The new 41st Street pedestrian bridge that crosses Lake Shore Drive in Chicago on April 25, 2019.

On Chicago’s south lakefront, a curving pedestrian bridge over Lake Shore Drive also bends toward justice

May 11, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

A buoyant pedestrian bridge on Chicago's south lakefront isn't a structural masterpiece, but it still brings to mind a famous line of Martin Luther King Jr.: "The arc of the...

A housing development emerges along Milwaukee Avenue across from popular restaurants and bars in the Logan Square, shown on April 23, 2019.

Rents rise, supply drops — Chicago’s affordable housing woes mount

May 11, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

Along Milwaukee Avenue around Logan Square, the change is easy to spot: Taquerias and two-flats are giving way to sleek apartment high-rises, ramen bars and boulangeries that serve the urban...

People watch as flames and smoke rise from Notre Dame Cathedral as it burns in Paris on April 15, 2019.

The French announce a design contest for Notre Dame’s destroyed spire: Inspired idea or publicity stunt?

May 11, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

The French, who know a thing or two about the bold reinvention of architectural landmarks (consider I.M. Pei's once-despised, now-iconic Louvre Pyramid), have announced an international design competition to restore...

Preparations for opening day take place at Wrigley Field, Saturday, April 6, 2019, in Chicago.

(John J. Kim/baiduhai)

With Cubs’ commercial excess mostly in check, Wrigley Field’s nearly complete multiyear renovation is a hit

May 11, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

There have been times during the long-running renovation of Wrigley Field when the Cubs seemed intent on blighting the very ballpark they had pledged to save. In 2013, the team...

Having survived a devastating fire, the heavenly structure of Notre Dame confronts earthly laws of physics

May 11, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

The cathedral of Notre Dame was built to be a house of God, its soaring Gothic sanctuary meant to inspire both awe and fear. Indeed, one of the latest photographs...

Tribune’s architecture critic on the gut-wrenching sight of flames engulfing Notre Dame Cathedral

August 18, 2019 at 5:27 p.m.

For good reason, onlookers wept Monday as they watched the gut-wrenching sight of flames engulfing Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and toppling its delicate Gothic spire and wood roof. The...

Readers turn thumbs-down on plan for lots of escalators at O’Hare’s Global Terminal and offer moving-stair horror stories

May 11, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

In last Sunday's column, I took issue with a key feature of the competition-winning design for the planned $2.2 billion Global Terminal at O'Hare International Airport: its heavy reliance on...

A proposal by Studio ORD as models for the expansion of O'Hare International Airport are on display Jan. 17, 2019, at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

An escalating problem: Jeanne Gang’s O’Hare design looks anything but stress-free, especially for wheelchair users

May 11, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

It’s easy to forget how perilous a ride on an escalator can be. Fail to grasp the handrail and you might fall. Hands, feet, shoes and clothing can get trapped...

The angled south elevation of Solstice on the Park, a new residential tower by architect Jeanne Gang, on July 18, 2018, in Hyde Park.

Jeanne Gang’s design for a light-filled O’Hare airport is born in the darkness of the Chicago Way

May 11, 2019 at 6:29 a.m.

Jeanne Gang is an extraordinary talent who has injected new forms and ideas into Chicago’s architectural scene and the world beyond. But her design for the $8.5 billion expansion of...

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