Main entry:
Kamin, Blair.
Title & Author:
Why architecture matters : lessons from Chicago / Blair Kamin.
Publication:
Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2001.
Description:
xxi, 386 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Notes:
Includes index.
"Collects the best of Kamin's columns, including his acclaimed series advocating the intelligent development of Chicago's lakefront. The columns are organized thematically, providing an accessible and provocative view of architecture in the 1990s"--Dust jkt.
pt. 1. The evolving metropolis. [1.] The mediocre mile : The mayor's Maypole: Boul Mich pylon plan reason to hoist warning flags ; Twice cursed: rehabbed Marriott Is miles and miles from magnificent ; Faking history: Disney's make-believe architecture is just what Michigan Avenue doesn't need -- [2.] That comeback street : Stately Street: retro renovation puts a once-great shopping Mecca on the road to economic and aesthetic recovery -- An elevating station: avoiding the tunnel vision of the past, the airy renovation of the State/Roosevelt subway stop sets a zesty standard ; Building a better block 37: good intentions simply aren't enough for high-stakes State Street project -- [3.] Public works and the public realm : Updating the Dark Ages: Daley's walled-neighborhoods plan would do much to hurt the city and little to stop crime ; The bridges of Cook County: design enhances engineering in citywide project ; Triumphal arches: Damen Avenue bridge Is a modern-day beauty -- [4.] Making the past a part of the future : Tumbling legacy: Shortsighted moves by the city have the p\otential to send architectural gems toppling like dominoes ; Vertical triumph: Reliance Building restoration is a vote for Old Glory : Crumbling icons: Some of Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest buildings are falling apart, but the bigger question is what can we do to save them? -- [5.] Suburbanizing the city :City-escape: a new, schlocky brand of architecture promotes a Chicago that never was ; Populist playground: Navy Pier has shaped up, but aesthetics have been shipped out ; The sky above, the dud below: Developer John Buck is skating on thin ice when he compares his North Bridge project to New York's Rockefeller Center -- [6.] Urbanizing the suburbs : Shopping for an identity: renovated Old Orchard too much at once ; Losing yardage: city and suburbs worse off when homeowners gobble up their green space ; Suburban skyline: Arlington Heights fights sprawl with urban innovations.
pt. 2. The art of architecture. [7.] Sizing up the skyscraper : Still standing tall: plain and simple, Hancock rules ; Reaching for the sky: after two decades, Sears comes up short ; Bigger, but better? New world's tallest design for 7 South Dearborn leaves room for improvement ; Inner beauty: stunning atrium offsets new skyscraper's public face ; Green giant: Germany's Commerzbank is a breath of fresh air for stale skyscrapers -- [8.] Unsung heroes : The man with the plan: revisiting Daniel H. Burnham, the architect who bent entire cities to his will ; Masters of understatement: Miesian architects may get no respect, but their boldly simple style suits Chicago to a T ; Weese's legacy: historical society's exhibit salutes a consummate man of the city -- [9.] Opportunities lost (and found) in Chicago : Doing the wrong thing flawlessly: the Arts Club of Chicago holds on to the past instead of exploring the future ; A fumbled chance at greatness: the Museum of Contemporary Art tries but fails to extend Chicago's history of design triumphs ; Structural damage: Chicago has forfeited its title as the nation's architectural capital ; A star is reborn: underappreciated Adler Planetarium rockets into the future with daring new addition -- [10.] Architecture with a capital "A": look elsewhere : Monument to memory: the Holocaust Memorial Museum is a searing space of pain and healing ; Star attraction: the Hayden Sphere has landed and it's friendly to earthlings ; Welcome to the future: Frank Gehry's stunning new Guggenheim Museum in Spain is the first great building of the next century ; Berlin's leading edge: Helmut Jahn's new Sony Center helps turn a wasteland into a thriving urban center that draws together east and west -- [11.] Importing "starchitects" : Koolhaas's IIT campus center: success will be in the details ; Gehry's Chicago Band Shell: outsider art is catalyst for creativity ; Eisenman's Aronoff Center in Cincinnati: for a design to stand the test of time, the building must do the same.
pt. 3. Architecture as a social art. [12.] Places and catalysts for gathering : Town square I: face lift improves Daley Plaza and maintains its special character ; Town square II: Folk Music School's new home strikes the right note ; Moo-ving tale: cows broke down the fences that kept us apart -- [13.] Raising and razing temples of sport : Comiskey Park: new neighbor not necessarily new friend ; The stadium: the end is near for Chicago's shrine ; The United Center: don't take me out to the mall game ; [14.] Building a better life : A leap of creativity: old St. Pat's is new again ; Where learning's fun by design: Back of the Yards school is a neighborhood beacon ; Day-care package: Tigerman leads the way toward a bootstrap architecture that gives low-income kids a leg up -- [15.] Private housing: building boom, architecture bust : Strange neighbors: bright new condos add vitality to the city, but something about them is just not right ; Tall building comes up short: new apartment tower is a drag on the skyline -- [16.] Public housing: sheltered by design : Housing that works: politicians and bureaucrats have been the real architects of public housing, but it doesn't have to be that way ; Urban mosaic's lost piece: creative planners have discarded the "tower-in-the-park" model that disconnected public housing from its surroundings ; Building a sense of security: fences, individual front doors, and porches create safe spaces that can free residents from being virtual prisoners of drug dealers and prostitutes ; Myth must be exploded: stereotyping ignores factors that make high-rises livable buildings or monumental eyesores.
pt. 4. The lakefront: democratic vistas. [17.] Putting the car in its place : Gem in the making: the new Museum Campus is Chicago's latest lakefront jewel, but it still needs a little polishing ; Park above, parking below: a subterranean garage adds excitement to a museum and green space to the lakefront ; Beauty and the beach: three new castles in the sand suit the lakefront perfectly -- [18.] Reinventing the lakefront : A flawed jewel: the lakefront needs help, and the city of Chicago has a rare chance to remold it for the twenty-first century, but where's the vision? ; The great divide: carved by racism, the chasm between north and south side amenities can be bridged, but it will take more than a new flowers ; Grant Park's double life: jammed and raucous during summer festivals, empty and sleepy the rest of the year, our central park needs a single, vibrant personality ; A landmark of labor: as a celebration of industry, the idled South Works Steel Plant could forge a new link in the chain of waterfront parks and museums ; Striking a balance: Lincoln Park is about to add the Nature Museum to its already full plate, while the south lakefront hungers for improvements ; Big canvas, little plans: Mayor Daley could be an architect for the shoreline, not just a groundskeeper, and now is the time to act.
Dust jacket.
Summary:
This text collects the best of architecture critic Blair Kamin's columns. Using Chicago as a barometer of national design trends, the book sheds light on the state of American architecture during 'the Nervous Nineties'.
ISBN:
0226423212 (cloth)
9780226423210 (cloth)
0226423220
9780226423227
Subject:
Kamin, Blair
Architecture Illinois Chicago.
Architecture
Buildings
Städtebau
Architektur
Architekturkritik
Bouwkunst.
Stedenbouw.
Arquitetura Chicago (Ill.)
Estruturas.
Chicago (Ill.) Buildings, structures, etc.
Chicago (Ill.) Constructions.
Illinois Chicago
Chicago, Ill.
Form/genre:
Newspaper columns.
Writings.
Holdings:
Location: Library main 217990
Call No.: NA2599.8.K15 A35 2001
Status: Available
