Saturday, January 29, 2011

Digging a Hole

By Vincenzo Burdi


Chicago has been the city of architecture since its birth. It has a long list of architects that have influenced generations of designers. Louis Sullivan's vision of the skyscraper represented a new form of architecture. Daniel Burnham’s design of the "White City" for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition led to a revival of architecture throughout Chicago. While Burnham did develop the 1909 "Plan for Chicago", perhaps the first comprehensive city plan in the U.S, many of Chicago's skyscrapers occurred after the Exposition. In the early half of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School influenced building design all over the Chicago land area. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Illinois Institute of Technology campus in Chicago influenced the later Modern or International style. Structural engineer, Fazlur Khan introduced a new structural system of framed tubes, which led to taller and stronger structures. All of these architects contributed to the architecture not only in Chicago, but led as shining examples for the world.

To continue in tradition of architecture, Santiago Calatrava was commissioned to build the Chicago Spire, a white building that would trump even the Trump Tower in beauty and scale. The image depicts a hole in the heart of the city's lakefront. It goes to show you that today every city is victimized by the current economic conditions. I begin to wonder what's next for Chicago's architecture?

Reference: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/.a/6a00d834518cc969e20148c69b479f970c-popup

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