Latest news with #Miesian
Chicago Tribune
25-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Edward Keegan: Chicago Fire stadium plans cry out for a bit of quirkiness
Following a few weeks during which we had just a single fuzzy image of a soccer stadium to contemplate, the Chicago Fire and Related Midwest have finally given us a bit more imagery to assess for their proposed $650 million arena within The 78 master plan in the South Loop. As shown, the new stadium will anchor the 62-acre development that stretches from Clark Street to the Chicago River and from Roosevelt Road to 16th Street. We now have renderings and a video from the Fire that show just the stadium on the site and an additional half dozen images from Related that provide some context in the evolving master plan. Ubiquitous architectural behemoth Gensler is behind all the imagery; the brick, steel and glass-clad stadium has been designed by its Austin-based stadium team in coordination with the firm's Chicago office, which is responsible for the current master plan. As shown, the new stadium is simple, unimposing and not unattractive. The developers explain that Gensler has designed in the ''Chicago School' of architecture,' but it's more of a generalized warehouse aesthetic that you might find at a contemporary shopping mall anywhere in America. It cries out for a bit of quirkiness that would make the structure more distinctive and genuinely grounded in Chicago's unique architectural culture. An exposed steel canopy over the stadium's seating will provide welcome shade during the summer and some protection from precipitation, but its most important function is helping to define the stadium's interior as a more intimate space than a 22,000-seat venue might otherwise feel. It's also where a more contemporary take on Miesian structural expression might create a more memorable building. The western edge of the stadium will be on Wells Street with a new park that will open this face directly to the river. A smaller plaza, akin to the Cub's Gallagher Way in Wrigleyville, sits at the north edge of the stadium. Fire owner Joe Mansueto's track record for architecture is quite good. His Morningstar is located in a Ralph Johnson and Perkins+Will-designed building at Washington and Dearborn streets; his patronage created the University of Chicago's Helmut Jahn-designed bubble glass library at South Ellis Avenue and 57th Streets; and his elegant steel and glass Lincoln Park home was designed by Margaret McCurry. Gensler might be the most pedestrian of the architects he's employed to date, but we can hope that he presses it to develop the design to match these earlier forays in architecture. We don't know much about the evolution of the plans for The 78 other than that they have evolved. The original plans, released in 2018, relied on a healthy mix of office, retail, commercial and residential uses, but lacked a definitive neighborhood-defining element. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which has had a hand in many large-scale plans in the city dating to the 1950s. The firm was replaced by Gensler some time ago, but we've yet to see what the full Gensler plan looks like, save what we now can decode from the handful of newly available renderings. Shown around the stadium are many new buildings, but they're reasonably sized for the South Loop — big, but not egregiously so. These are classic background buildings — they defer to the stadium, the riverfront plaza and the river. This is a quite reasonable hierarchy of structures and spaces, although it does raise the question of whether the stadium should have a little more sizzle. Related Articles Edward Keegan: Intuit Art Museum's newly renovated space reflects the institution and West Town neighborhood Edward Keegan: Chicago should turn Lincoln Yards development into a public park Edward Keegan: Pope Leo XIV's childhood home an example of the ordinary architecture Chicago does well Edward Keegan: Millennium Park has failed to live up to its promise Edward Keegan: Eero Saarinen's particularly strange house in Columbus, Indiana The biggest problem with The 78 has always been its lack of connection to the surrounding areas. The opposite side of the river is still predominantly a rail yard and offers no obvious opportunities to create links to the west. And the east side of the property has Metra lines and a Dearborn Park neighborhood that was planned and built as its own walled citadel. The latest plans connect 13th Street at Clark into The 78, but 14th and 15th streets, which Gensler uses to organize their plan, are cut off from Clark by the Metra tracks. LaSalle connects Roosevelt to the new plaza north of the stadium, a sensible move that will also accommodate pedestrian traffic from a number of nearby CTA stops for both buses and the 'L.' And there's no news about the status of a White Sox ballpark at The 78. It appears that adding a ballpark south of the Fire stadium is doable, but the larger footprint needed for such a facility would likely require adjustments to the alignment of the new streets that could be awkward. And adding a second stadium would render The 78 as predominantly a sports complex rather than the new neighborhood that Related has been pursuing for almost a decade. I suspect a more robust mix of uses might actually be more profitable for the developers — and the city — in the long run. Construction on the stadium is anticipated to begin by the start of 2026, with the new stadium slated to open in 2028. Because the stadium will be privately financed by Mansueto, this will finally get shovels in the ground at The 78. But whether it genuinely catalyzes the development of the remaining 50-plus acres on the site remains to be seen. Edward Keegan writes, broadcasts and teaches on architectural subjects. Keegan's biweekly architecture column is supported by a grant from former Tribune critic Blair Kamin, as administered by the not-for-profit Journalism Funding Partners. The Tribune maintains editorial control over assignments and content.
Chicago Tribune
11-06-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Mid-century modern-style home designed by noted architect Paul Schweikher to be listed for $1.3M
A four-bedroom, 4,068-square-foot mid-century modern-style house in west suburban Wayne that was designed by noted architect Paul Schweikher will be listed today for $1.299 million. Built in the 1950s and known as the Frazel House after its first owners, the redwood brick and glass house is located in the Kane County portion of Wayne and sits on a 3.76-acre lot that bisects Norton Creek. Its architect, Schweikher, designed a host of Chicago-area homes and other buildings. Among his designs are the Third Unitarian Church in Chicago, the Unitarian Church of Evanston, the Graeme Stewart house in Wheaton and the Berg house in Glen Ellyn. Schweikher also designed his own home and studio in Schaumburg, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house in Wayne has 3-1/2 bathrooms, high ceilings, expansive glass, a recently renovated kitchen, a three-season room and two interior garden areas. Outside are a pool and a pergola. 'This home is not just a residence — it's a rare architectural heirloom,' listing agent Tina Aronson of @properties told Elite Street. '(It's) an inspired marriage of nature, design and timeless artistry by Paul Schweikher.' Architectural Record magazine in November 1955 wrote that the enclosed garden areas eliminate 'the sensation of being shut in.' The magazine added that the house has a contrast between solid brick walls and large expanses of glass because of Schweikher's belief that 'alternate floor-to-ceiling openings and completely closed walls are more dramatic and livable, given appropriate surroundings, than the continuous glazed wall, either from ceiling to the floor or over a spandrel.' In an oral history that Schweikher gave to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he noted in response to a question that while he saw a lot of the famed architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the 1950s — mostly at the Arts Club of Chicago, any Miesian aspects of the Frazel house would have been 'an accident in the constant search for simplicity.' 'I can't remember at all trying to follow Mies in any way other than that I was working with rectangles,' Schweikher told interviewer Betty Blum. 'My principle (sic) concentration was in trying to increase the importance of an indoor-outdoor relationship in which we introduced outdoor spaces in the interior of the plan.' Schweikher also noted the softening effect of the home's latticework, as it 'made the sun sparkle.' He also recalled van der Rohe's visit to the Frazel house. 'It was his suggestion that we go there,' Schweikher said. 'Having done that I think he felt that he had expressed his pleasure, if not in the house, at least in a kind of endorsement I suppose of some of the things that I was doing. At least I always took it that way. He was very sparing about compliments. His presence usually indicated a kind of endorsement and I took it to mean that.' Schweikher expert Dan Fitzpatrick, who is the managing director and historian at The Schweikher House in Schaumburg, told Elite Street that the Frazel house is 'an outstanding example of his elegant home designs.' 'The Frazel house is one of the last residential designs by Paul Schweikher in Chicagoland before moving east to chair the architecture school at Yale University,' Fitzpatrick said. 'Designed in 1952, the Frazel house highlights Schweikher's impeccable sense of scale, texture and blending of the indoors and outdoors. The tall ceilings and windows are just right, allowing for beautiful views of nature in each space. The private lot enhances this harmony so well.' The current owners paid $715,000 for the home in 2013. The house had a $17,017 property tax bill in the 2024 tax year.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Knoll Unveils Dividends Skyline, a Holistic System for the Evolving Workplace, at Fulton Market Design Days 2025
CHICAGO, June 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At Fulton Market Design Days 2025, Knoll debuts Dividends Skyline, a refined, flexible, and holistically integrated system that brings privacy, focus, and collaboration to open plan workplaces. Elevating its entire environment, Dividends Skyline features new planning typologies and a contemporized material palette, empowering architects and designers to deliver a total interior. Knoll is now located at its new Chicago showroom, a Miesian pavilion located at 1100 West Fulton Market. Knoll has envisioned a workplace as a cohesive landscape of forms and finishes that demonstrates the power of Total Design. From welcome and lounge spaces to open plan workstations and private offices, architecture and design partners are able to understand all the possibilities for current and future workplace needs. Total, Sophisticated System for the Contemporary Workplace At a pivotal moment in how people are using office space today, Dividends Skyline is a distinctive response, with a number of new workstation boundaries allowing a variety of privacy choices for clients in the professional services and adjacent industries. Thin veneer and laminate screens bring tightened architectural rigor, cubbies create massing and visual order, and open shelves allow porosity and passage of light. The new range of boundary typologies balances visual and acoustic privacy with visibility and light—private, comfortable spaces that foster focused work. Skyline Lounge creates opportunities for informal collaboration and focused retreat within compressed floor plans. This systems-first lounge program is designed to allow cohesive, non-eclectic planning that complements and integrates with workstations. With aligning depths and widths, privacy screens that match workstation panel heights, cube-like language, and paired CMF with systems, Skyline Lounge echoes the architectural workstation vernacular throughout the landscape. The system is offered in work and lounge heights. "We are hearing more and more from our partners that there is a need for true destination offices in this time of changing office spaces, and that company cultures require hospitality and amenities, privacy, and collaboration. Simultaneously, across industries floor plans are shrinking and there is a condensation of private offices and a higher demand for privacy in the open plan," commented Senior Vice President of Design Jonathan Olivares. "Dividends Skyline creates a first-class experience even amidst the constraints workplaces are facing." An approachable collection that promotes connection, Dividends Skyline also offers new highly specifiable planning typologies that serve all the different levels of an organization. Meeting the needs of everyone from associates and managers to directors and C-suite leaders, the collection features an array of different workstation options and seating, providing a fluid solution for different types of work. To promote visual harmony and a cohesive aesthetic, Knoll introduces 18 new veneers and a new palette of ultra-matte laminates. New metallic finishes in champagne, bronze, and manganese allow for refined tone-on-tone blending with veneers and wood grain laminates, and are part of a comprehensive CMF palette. In addition, upholstered seating and panels can be finished in matching fabrics, offering designers a comprehensive, CMF-driven system to cohesively convey a client's culture. Translating the sophisticated style of a private office into the open plan, thoughtful details, such as mitered panel corners, alongside beveled tabletops, slim screens, and gapless panel connections which reduce visual noise, are incorporated throughout the collection. Dividends Skyline will be available to purchase via MillerKnoll dealers for contract customers in late Winter 2025. Learn more. New Chicago Showroom Experience at 1100 West Fulton Market Knoll's new Chicago showroom is located in a Miesian pavilion, and is furnished as a complete workplace landscape. The space is envisioned as work of total design; space planning, furnishings, colors, materials, and finishes demonstrate Knoll's industry leadership as a partner for interior designers and architects. Visitors are met with hospitality and lounge areas, followed by open plan workstations, then private offices – a public to private progression that reflects the rhythms of work. "The defining architectural feature is the glass pavilion—that echoes the modern metal-and-glass high-rise office environments. Our design responds to it by expanding this reflective world through silver walls, shimmering floors and the launch of new metallic powders," commented architect Pernilla Ohrstedt. Learn more about Knoll Design Days activations. About KnollKnoll brings order and beauty to workplace, hospitality, and residential environments. Founded in New York City in 1938, the furniture and interiors brand collaborates with architects, artists, and designers leading the cultural zeitgeist. It is also the licensed manufacturer of classic works by many design pioneers, including Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Florence Knoll, and Marcel Breuer. The Knoll portfolio allows architects and designers to remain true to the philosophy of "total design," where material, color, and form work in harmony to deliver a complete experience of space. 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