Chicago Architecture and Design

by Jay Pridmore, George A. Larson, Hedrich Blessing (Photographer)

A revised edition of the lavishly illustrated, authoritative guide to the architectural traditions of Chicago features a wealth of new photography and a new final chapter that covers the signature works of the past twenty years, including Frank Gehry's Millennium Park band shell. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: Architecture, Design

296 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[David Fulmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book delineates the “themes that recur throughout Chicago’s architectural history, including clients who seek the new, a city that welcomes innovation, and a belief in function driving form, no matter how decorative.” It starts from the very beginning and goes chronologically through the history of the city as told through its architecture, covering events like the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, and the Tribune Tower Competition of 1922.

It’s a coffee table book with beautiful photographs of interiors and exteriors of almost all of the buildings mentioned, and it draws on the rich archives of the Hedrich Blessing firm which includes vintage black and white photos as well as colour pictures. The book itself is a work of art.

The authors have a sense of humour about the pretentious and inscrutable writings of architects but still love their buildings. It gives you a sense of the city by focusing on it’s history, architectural trends, and personalities, people like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe who came to Chicago in the 1930s and has had an outsize influence on the city ever since. The authors don’t neglect less famous architects, however, and alongside Frank Lloyd Wright and Helmut Jahn there are plenty of named architects who did not make such a big splash but still contributed to the architecture of the city.

This is not a remedial book but the authors are very good about introducing and carefully and clearly explaining concepts such as universal space, Modernism, Postmodernism, Richardsonian Romanesque, Contextualism, and of course, The Chicago School. They also include numerous colourful architectural put-downs of buildings, which is always amusing to read, such as “men’s room modern” and comparisons of postmodern buildings to “old ladies with too much jewelry.”

Chock full of great pictures, interesting anecdotes involving developers and architects, and the history of Chicago, it is easy to see why the popularity of this book has endured through three editions and I hope there are many more to come.

[Herbert]

A Keeper

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, concise introduction to the architectural history of Chicago. Not only is it useful as a quick narrative history the photos are beautiful.