A Weekly Dose of Architecture Books

According to the Sun-Times , "The nondescript north tower of the InterContinental Chicago hotel on Michigan Avenue would be replaced with a 71-story hotel/condominium skyscraper, under a dramatic proposal that would reshape the south end of the Magnificent Mile." While it's difficult to find a decent image of the "nondescript north tower" online, I would have to disagree with that description. Granted it's understated compared to the old, domed tower, nevertheless it works with the ornate tower in a manner that improves it, while the proposed design would probably detract from it via scale and proximity. See for yourself. Old vs. New The barely visible north tower in the left image isn't that building on the left edge of the image but the slab in shadow. Its west facade (facing Michigan Avenue) is a blank stone wall, but not nearly as bad as it sounds. Its articulation and uniqueness actually make it a nice element on the Michigan Avenue streetwall. Hot...

After attending the AIA Chicago Design Excellence Awards dinner last week, I posted about the role of photography in creating impressions for those unable to experience the actual architecture, in particular as a means to win awards. Now AIA Chicago has their 2005 Awards web site up and running, with plenty of images to digest. Not only are the winners featured, but thumbnails of all the non-winners accompany them in their respective categories: Distinguished Building , Interior Architecture , and Divine Detail . Rather than recapping some of the winners, as I've done in the past, I thought I would look at some of the non-winners and leave the winners for my weekly page this coming Monday. Some Distinguished Building submissions: Abello House by Xavier Vendrell Studio stands out not only for its contemporary single-family design, but for its setting in Spain which has obviously influenced the character of the house. Niles Police Station by PSA-Dewberry is a striking piece in ...

Late June was when we learned about the Chicago Architecture Club's Chicago Prize for 2005 : Water Tanks. The winners were announced at a lecture by jury chair Tom Mayne last week. Here's the winners (descriptions are from the Sun-Times ): First: Rahman Polk - Chicago, IL "A design that would turn Chicago's water tanks into a network of electricity-generating wind turbines...water tanks around Chicago would be transformed into a network of electrical generators that would create a citywide, publicly accessible WiFi network and use LED displays to broadcast Webcasts, cultural exhibits, Amber alerts, weather warnings and other public service announcements." Second: Eric R. Hoffman - St. Louis, MO "[Transform] the water tanks into a series of urban bird refuges with nests and feeding systems adaptable to a variety of migratory birds." Third: Francine LeClercq - New York, NY "[Relocate] a group of water tanks into a surprising new context as part of a ...

For the next few days it's moving time. Posts will resume early-mid next week. Image found here

Two buildings have opened their doors, as reported by World Architecture News : Coop Himmelb(l)au 's Munich Academy of Fine Arts . Norman Foster 's Leslie L. Dan Building for the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto.

Don't know where or when this originated, but I couldn't resist passing it along (text version here ). Thanks to Scott P. for sending me this.

Above is a section of a suburban sprawl panorama by Matt Jalbert. More photos at his web page, Exuberance . ( via RUT )