12/15/18

Art Deco; Spatial Urbanism


Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America, with author Robert Bruegmann
When: Thursday, January 17, 2019; reception at 4:30 pm, lecture at 6:00 pm, with optional dinner afterwards.
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 S Michigan Avenue, Chicago. For dinner reservations @ $35.00 per person, please call Cliff Dwellers at (312) 922-8080. (For validated parking after 4:00 p.m., $14.00 at the Adams-Wabash garage, SW corner, get parking card from night manager at the Cliff Dwellers).
What: Robert Bruegmann presents Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America (2018) in a talk entitled “The Art Deco Visual Universe”. “Art Deco as a style term was invented in the 1960s. It represented a genuine popular revolt against the accepted wisdom of the Museum of Modern Art and the advocates of avant garde modernism. Despite almost continuous opposition from academics, it has increasingly become a standard art historical term for architecture, graphic design, product and industrial design between the two world wars. In Art Deco Chicago we defined it as much of the modern design production between 1910 and 1960 that was neither strict historical revival on the one hand or avant garde on the other. Seen in this light Art Deco architecture and design, from Deco pioneers like Frank Lloyd Wright or Ludwig Hoffmann to the stripped-down traditional buildings of the postwar decades like the Ferguson Wing of the Art Institute or automobiles from Detroit, can be seen as the mainstream of modern design, a real international style, and the last genuinely popular design paradigm.” Mr. Bruegmann is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art History, Architecture, and Urban Planning at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is also the author of the The Architects and the City: Holabird and Roche of Chicago, 1880- 1918, and, most recently, The Architecture of Harry Weese. Please join us for this event, good for AIA/CEU credit. AIA Chicago is co-sponsoring this event with CCSAH.
Cost: Free to members, $10.00 for non-members.
RSVP: To sign up, contact Judy Freeman: by email: jrfree3500@aol.com, or by telephone: 773-929-0329.

John Ronan FAIA to speak at Cliff Dwellers on “Out of the Ordinary: Spatial Urbanism”
When: Wednesday, February, 2019, reception (cash bar) opens at 4:30 pm, lecture begins at 6:00 p.m. (Dinner details as at left in the Robert Bruegmann lecture notice).
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago.
What: “Out of the Ordinary: Spatial Urbanism”. In this presentation, John Ronan FAIA, Founding Principal of John Ronan Architects, will discuss the firm's investigations of the relationship between the building and the city, and the exploration of urban spatial conditions that exist between inside and outside, public and private, building and street that expand and enrich the public realm, adding complexity to the urban spatial experience. These "urban room" projects such as the Poetry Foundation, 151 North Franklin office tower, Obama Presidential Center competition design and new IIT Innovation Center in Chicago pose the question, "Where does the building end and the city begin?" John Ronan FAIA, of John Ronan Architects in Chicago, founded in 1999, serves as Lead Designer on all projects and is known for his abstract yet sensuous work which explores materiality and atmosphere. Some of his notable buildings in Chicago include the Poetry Foundation (shown above left), the Akiba-Schecter Jewish Day School, the Gary Comer College Prep and Youth Center, Christ the King Jesuit Preparatory School, the new 151 North Franklin office tower, and the upcoming Kaplan Innovation Center at IIT. Additionally, he is the Rowe Professor of Architecture at IIT, and has also been a visiting professor of architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. A monograph of his body of work entitled Explorations: the Work of John Ronan was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2010. Please join us for this exciting event! Reserve early to save a seat.
Cost: Free to members, $10.00 for non-members.
RSVP: For further details, and/or to reserve a spot, please contact Judy Freeman by email: email: jrfree3500@aol.com, or by telephone: 773-929-0329.

9/30/18

October 2018 and more

Exhibition of Architectural Models at Cliff Dwellers
When: Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. onward.
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 s. Michigan Ave., 22nd Floor, Chicago
What: An opening event for an exhibition of architectural
models, plus an exhibit of drawings by Chicago artist Jack
Simmerling, entitled “Preserving Chicago’s Architectural Legacy”.
The architectural models on display include projects by bKL
Architecture, Smith + Gill Architects, Helmut Jahn, SOM,
CannonDesign, Gensler, Studio Gang Architects, and other
Chicago architecture firms. Optional dinner follows at 6:00 p.m.
Reservations: (312) 922-8080, with parking details as above.
Doug Farr on his Firm’s Recent Work
When: Thursday, November 8, 2018, cash bar at 5:00 pm, lecture
presentation at 6:15 pm., with option of dinner (reserve a space
by calling them at 312-922-9080. Parking after 4 p.m. at Wabash-
Adams garage, $14, get pass from Cliff Dwellers night manager).
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, 22nd Floor.
What: An illustrated lecture by architect Doug Farr of Farr
Associates Architecture & Urban Design, with offices in the
Monadnock Building in Chicago. Talk title to be announced.

Illustrated Lecture by WTTW Producer Dan Andries: “A Mid-Career Perspective” at Cliff Dwellers, Chicago
When: Thursday, October 11, 2018. Cash bar at 5:00 p.m.; program at 6:15 p.m.; optional dinner at 7:15 p.m.
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 South Michigan Avenue, 22nd floor, Chicago, IL. For dinner reservations, call Cliff Dwellers at 312-922-8080. Parking $14.00 after 4:00 p.m. at the Adams-Wabash Garage, 17 E. Adams; pass from Cliff Dwellers night manager.
What: A talk by Dan Andries, Executive Producer at WTTW, entitled “A Mid-Career Perspective”. Dan Andries will talk about his career in producing his very popular televised tours and travelogues. The formidable career of longtime WTTW Chicago director, producer, and writer Dan Andries includes over one hundred feature segments and full-length documentaries. Dan’s award-winning works on Chicago history, arts and culture are exquisitely constructed and researched classics that have endured the test of time. In addition to overviews on the built environment such as “Chicago by Boat: the New River Tour” with Geoffrey Baer, Andries has travelled the world documenting the winners of the Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Architecture. Most recently, Dan wrote, produced and directed the “Making a New American Nutcracker”, a televised presentation shown in 2017 on WTTW (photo below). In a highly visual presentation, Andries will provide a career overview, from his early work through current and upcoming projects. Join us for this fascinating glimpse into the work behind the scenes in the world of WTTW and Dan Andries.
RSVP: Reservations are required for the free talk. To sign up, contact Judy Freeman by email: at: jrfree3500@aol.com, or by telephone at: 773-929-0329. Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis, so please reserve early.

Art Deco Chicago Launch at Newberry Library
When: Tuesday, October 16, 2018, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Newberry Library, 60 W Walton Street
What: Chicago Art Deco Society’s new book, Art Deco
Chicago: Designing Modern America, edited by Robert
Bruegmann, with Jonathan Mekinda, Teri J. Edelstein, Lisa
D. Schrenk and Neil Harris (Yale, 2018). A reception
celebrates this book, the companion publication to the new
exhibition, “Modern by Design: Chicago Streamlines
America”, at the Chicago History Museum, which runs
from October 27, 2018 until December 2, 2019. For further
details, see the CADS website, www.chicagodeco.org/book.


Art Design Chicago for Fall/Winter 2018
Art Design Chicago is a yearlong celebration of Chicago’s art
and design legacy. Five years in planning, it is a $7.9 million
series of two dozen exhibitions, public shows, academic
programs and publications. Part of an effort to showcase
minority artists’ contributions, the first show was “Arte
Diseno Xicago: Mexican Inspiration from the World’s
Columbian Exposition to the Civil Rights Era” at the National
Museum of Mexican Art (closed, August 19). Upcoming
exhibitions include “Designers in Film: Avant-Garde and
Commercial Cinema in Mid-Century Chicago” at the Mary &
Leigh Block Museum of Art (Sept.- Dec. 2018); “Keep
Moving: Chicago’s Bicycle Culture” at the Chicago Design
Museum at Expo 72, 72 E. Randolph Street (Oct. 27, 2018-
Mar. 3, 2019); “African American Designers in Chicago: Art,
Commerce and the Politics of Race” at the Chicago Cultural
Center, 78 E. Washington Street; “Yasuhiro Ishimoto:
Someday, Chicago” at the DePaul Art Museum (Sept. 6-Dec.
16, 2018), 935 W. Fullerton; “Participatory Artists: Crafting
Social Change” at Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Univ.
of Illinois at Chicago, 800 N. Halsted St. (Sept. 6, 2018-May 3,
2019); “Todros Geller: Strange Worlds” at Spertus Institute
for Jewish Learning and Leadership, 610 S. Michigan Avenue
(Sept. 6, 2018-Feb. 17, 2019); and “Gilded Chicago: Portraits
of an Era” and “Treasures from the White City: the Chicago
World’s Fair of 1893” at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum, 40
E. Erie Street (Sept. 8, 2018-Jan. 6, 2019), and more events.

9/29/17

Tomorrow's House of Tomorrow, October 24

Latest Updates on 1933 House of Tomorrow Rehab
When: Tuesday, October 24, 2017; 4:30 p.m. reception, illustrated talk at 5:00 p.m.; dinner from 6:00 -7:00 p.m.
What:  The preservation effort for the House of Tomorrow is getting underway.  The 1933 World's Fair ideal house pavilion was designed by Chicago architect George Fred Keck.   In addition to rehab, a relevant question is this: What will Tomorrow's House of Tomorrow be?
Lead architect, Charles Hasbrouck, FAIA, of bKL Architecture has assembled a team under the supervision of Indiana Landmarks, with project manager Todd Zeiger. This group includes Edward Torres, preservation expert at Bauer Latoza Studio, Helen Kessler, on sustainability, Michael Ford, structural engineering, Jose Rodriguez, engineering services, of Willoughby Engineering.

The national treasure is currently on view and is undergoing preservation work in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park in Indiana. In the early 1930s, as America was in the grips of the Great Depression, the twelve-sided International Style “House of Tomorrow” showed millions of World’s Fair attendees in Chicago (and people all over the world) a gleaming, technology-driven vision of what domestic life could be like in the future. Learn also about the challenges of preserving a Modernist icon, what time has done to the house, and what can be done to help restore it to its former glory. Please join us for this interesting presentation!
Cost: No charge for members, non-member guests. 
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, 22nd floor, Chicago. (For dinner reservations @ $35.00 per person, please call Cliff Dwellers at 312-922-8080 for the special dinner by Chef Victor; validated parking after 4:00 p.m., $14.00 at the Adams-Wabash garage, SW corner, get parking card from night manager at the Cliff Dwellers).
RSVP: Reservations are required for the talk: To sign up, please contact Judy Freeman by email: jrfree3500@aol.com, or by telephone at: 773-929-0329. Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis, as space is limited. Optional dinner, details above.

9/17/17

Chagall murals, Sept. 28; House of Tomorrow, Oct. 24, Wright around the World, Nov. 16

 “The Gift”, a film about Marc Chagall’s Four Seasons murals in Chicago
When: Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, 4:30 p.m. reception, with film showing from 5:15-6:20 p.m., dinner at 6:30 -7:30 p.m.
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, 22nd floor, Chicago, IL. (For dinner reservations @ $35.00 per person, please call Cliff Dwellers at 312-922-8080 for the special Chef Victor French dinner). Validated parking, details as at left.
What: A viewing of “The Gift: Four Seasons Mosaic of Marc Chagall”, directed by Chuck Olin, a 1974 re-digitized documentary film on the creation and installation of the mural. It will be introduced by Sandy Collins, granddaughter of William Wood Prince, whose Prince Charitable Trust donated the mural to the City of Chicago. The mural was installed at the east edge of the First National Bank (now Chase Tower) Plaza on Sept. 27, 1974. Composed of thousands of inlaid chips in over 250 colors, Marc Chagall’s mosaic artwork The Four Seasons portrays six scenes of Chicago. It features images informed by the artist’s Russian-Jewish heritage and found in his Surrealist paintings, such as birds, fish, flowers, suns and pairs of lovers. Chagall maintained, “The seasons represent human life, both physical and spiritual, at its different ages.” The design for this mosaic was created in Chagall’s studio in France, transferred onto full-scale panels and installed in Chicago with the help of a skilled mosaicist. Chagall continued to modify his design after its arrival in Chicago, bringing up-to-date the areas containing the city’s skyline (last seen by the artist 30 years before installation) and adding pieces of native Chicago brick. The Chagall mosaic was restored in 1994. Thanks to Sandy Collins for graciously sharing this film!
Cost: Admission is free for CCSAH members and guests.
RSVP: Reservations are required for the film. To reserve a spot, please contact Judy Freeman by email:jrfree3500@aol.com, or by telephone at: 773-929-0329. Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis, as space is limited.

Todd Zeiger on architect George Fred Keck’s House of Tomorrow of 1933
When: Tuesday, October 24, 2017; 4:30 p.m. reception, illustrated talk at 5:30 p.m.; dinner from 6:30 -7:30 p.m.
Where: Cliff Dwellers, 200 S. Michigan Avenue, 22nd floor, Chicago. (For dinner reservations @ $35.00 per person, please call Cliff Dwellers at 312-922-8080 for the special dinner by Chef Victor; validated parking after 4:00 p.m., $14.00 at the Adams-Wabash garage, SW corner, get parking card from night manager at the Cliff Dwellers).
What: A talk by Todd Zeiger, Director of the Northern Regional Office of Indiana Landmarks. The office of Indiana Landmarks, along with a team from the National Trust and from the National Park Service, is directing the preservation effort aimed at saving the House of Tomorrow, the 1933 Worlds Fair ideal house pavilion designed by Chicago architect George Fred Keck (1895-1980), one of several modern houses at the fair. The national treasure is currently on view and is undergoing preservation work in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Park in Indiana. In the early 1930s, as America was in the grips of the Great Depression, the twelve-sided International Style “House of Tomorrow” showed millions of World’s Fair attendees in Chicago (and people all over the world) a gleaming, technology-driven vision of what domestic life could be like in the future. Learn also about the challenges of preserving a Modernist icon, what time has done to the house, and what can be done to help restore it to its former glory. Please join us for this interesting presentation!
Cost: No charge for members, non-member guests.
RSVP: Reservations are required for the talk: To sign up, please contact Judy Freeman by email: jrfree3500@aol.com, or by telephone at: 773-929-0329. Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis, as space is limited. Optional dinner, details above.

Making History - Frank Lloyd Wright at the Global Crossroads: Chicago/Tokyo/NYC/LA
CAB_Logo_Primary_Black copy - CopyKen Tadashi Oshima, president of the Society of Architectural Historians and Professor of Architecture at the University of Washington, discusses with Chicago Architecture Biennial Artistic Directors Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee the global design practice of Frank Lloyd Wright in "making history" in the contemporary context. Building on new findings from the 2017 Museum of Modern Art exhibition Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive, the discussion with Johnston and Lee will focus on precedents and parallels with the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial.


1/16/17

Women in the Built World (1/27), Taliesin Preservation (2/2), Edgar Miller Legacy (2/9), Studio Gang Tour (3/3)

Women in the Built World Symposium
When: Friday, January 27, 2017, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
Where: Pella Showroom, Suite #100, Merchandise Mart.
What: An all-day conference offered by the Structural
Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI), Women in
Structural Engineering (WiSE), Women in Restoration and
Engineering (WiRE), and Chicago Women in Architecture
(CWA). Join women in the building industry to learn about
the History of Women and Our Built World (Anna Lewis),
Innovation and STEM programs, Women in Leadership,
Working Moms, Entrepreneurship, Salary Negotiation,
Forensic Engineering for Historic Properties, and a keynote
presentation by Carol Ross Barney, FAIA. 1.5 hours of
CEU credit available for architects and other attendees.
Light breakfast, lunch, and cocktail hour included.
Cost: $50.00 for members of the participating organizations,
and $70.00 for non-members.
Registration: Further information, visit www.cwarch.org.
Below: Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, Women in the Built
World Symposium keynote speaker; below, the Cermak
McCormick Station, Chicago, Ross Barney Architects.

Architect John Waters of Victorian Society
in America Speaks on Taliesin East Effort

When: Thursday, February 2, from 5:45-7:30 pm
Where: AIA Chicago, 35 E. Upper Wacker Drive, # 250
What: Architect John Waters, a consultant to Taliesin
Preservation, Preservation Programs Manager at the Frank
Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, and co‐director of the
Victorian Society in America Chicago Summer Schools, will
present an overview of work at Taliesin and discuss the
preservation team’s approach. In particular, the team seeks to
learn from the buildings at Taliesin themselves and follow the
cues they give in their development of solutions to meet
preservation goals in the unique environment created by
Frank Lloyd Wright at his Wisconsin home and studio.
This talk is hosted by the Chicago Chapter of the American
Institute of Architects, and is free to the public. It will include
a short presentation on the VSA’s Summer Schools
programs, located in London, Newport, and Chicago.
Cost: Free to members of CCSAH and AIA.
RSVP: On AIA Chicago website, www.aiachicago.org.

Edgar Miller Legacy talk at AIA Chicago
When: Thursday, February 9, 2017, from 5:45-7:30 p.m.
Where: AIA Chicago, 35 E. Upper Wacker Drive, #250
What: “Edgar Miller: Rediscovering Chicago’s Forgotten
Renaissance Man”, second in a five-part series presented
by the Edgar Miller Legacy. Speakers for this event include
Zac Bleicher, director of Edgar Miller Legacy, Todd
Palmer, Executive Director, Chicago Architecture
Biennial, and Professor Michelangelo Sabatino, Director
of the PhD program at IIT’s College of Architecture. They
will present an illustrated talk on the incredible history and
art of one of Chicago’s creative geniuses, Edgar Miller. For
more information, visit www.edgarmiller.org/program or
the AIA Chicago website.
Cost: Free to members of CCSAH and AIA.
RSVP: Please sign up at www.aiachicago.org.



Above: University of Chicago Campus North Residential
Commons, new dormitories by Studio Gang architects,
2016, at 55th and University.

Tour of Studio Gang Office in Chicago
When: Friday, March 3, 2017, 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Where: Studio Gang, 1150 W. Division Street, top floor
(attendees, please meet in ground floor entry lobby 15
minutes prior to the tour).
What: We have been invited to tour the Chicago office
of Studio Gang, the architecture firm of the
internationally renowned architect Jeanne Gang. The
studio has just won an AIA Honor Award for Writers’
Theatre in Glencoe IL. Other recent projects in Chicago
are City Hyde Park apartments and the University of
Chicago North Campus Residential Commons, 2016. Ms.
Gang has been tapped to design projects around the
world, including new projects in this country in Chicago,
Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Note
that the office is one half block east of the CTA Blue Line
Division Street subway stop.
Note: Capacity is extremely limited, so please
reserve early, as first come are first served.
RSVP: to Judy Freeman at jrfree3500@aol.com