A Short Tour of Chicagoland’s Ultimate Kitchen
We don’t normally do a lot of interiors on this blog, but if you’re a regular reader you may have noticed we’re working on that. Recently a little birdie dropped a seed into our tip line letting us know that suburban gadget megamart Abt Electronics expanded its Glenview store with a new “Inspiration Studio” to flog high-end appliances. Not being HGTV fans, we were going to pass, until we saw the video...
New Video Shows Off Wolf Point West
The money people behind all the construction going on at Wolf Point have decided to puff their chests out a little bit and show off what they’ve accomplished so far. And so far, they’ve accomplished Wolf Point West. You’ll remember that the West tower is one of three planned for the Wolf Point property at the confluence of the Chicago River and the North Branch of the Chicago River. It’s a...
Crane Video Shows Progress on United Center Expansion Project
You don’t have to be a hardcore cranespotter to enjoy the promotional video that LaGrange Crane sent over the other day. It shows the company’s work on the United Center East office building expansion project currently underway on the city’s west side. The video shows not just one, but two massive LaGrange Cranes. An enormous one, and an even bigger one being put together by the enormous one. You also get to see the...
More Details on What to Expect From One Bennett Park
The residential skyscraper soon to rise 451 East Grand Avenue has architecture enthusiasts as excited as… well, a turtle in a shower. Go ahead and play the video above if you don’t believe me. It’s perfectly safe for work. There are a number of reasons they’re doing a turtle dance over One Bennett Park. The building’s height. The building’s location. The building’s height combined with...
Chicago Artist Does an Architecture and Video Game Mashup
We don’t play a lot of video games here at the Chicago Architecture Blog, and when we do it’s generally on a funky-smelling Atari 2600 hooked up to a 65-inch display just to prove we can still kick ass at Asteroids. But a new game soon to come from Chicago artist William Chyr might make us actually plonk for a PlayBox 9 or whatever the kids are mashing buttons on these days. It’s called Manifold Garden, and throws...
The Last Video Produced at Harpo Studios Brings the House Down
The only thing as satisfying as watching a good building go up, is watching one come down. And that’s what’s happening over at 1058 West Washington Boulevard, where demolition crews are making quick work of Oprah Winfrey’s former personal town hall. The Harpo Studios demolition has become something of a very minor tourist attraction, with out-of-towners more than suggesting their hosts swing by the site for a...
Chicagoland’s Most Striking New Building Looks Almost Done; No, It’s Not in The Loop
It’s always nice when a company understand that having great architecture is part of putting together a good work environment for its employees. Witness the soon-to-be-former McDonald’s headquarters in northwest suburban Des Plaines, or Frank Lloyd Wright’s SC Johnson campus up I-94 in Racine, Wisconsin. Of course, it’s easier to be all idealistic about architecture when you’ve got acres of empty (and cheap!) prairie as a canvas....
Neighbor Views: What’s Going Up in Brookfield
Lots of people love quadcopters. Lots of people hate them. But nobody doesn’t like the videos they produce — elegant ballets of gyrostabilized goodness, like fisheye Steadycams in the sky. Pepper Construction and Tri-North Builders put together the video above, showing the progress made so far on The Corners of Brookfield, located along I-94 just outside of Milwaukee. When complete, The Corners will be a mixed-use...
“CNA” Stands For “Crane Now Arriving”
Well, that was quick. Just a day after we told you the city of Chicago approved the permits for full construction of the new office tower at 151 North Franklin Street comes another permit — this one for a flippin’ huge crane. 151 N. Franklin St. Permit issued for new construction Phase 1 Temporary construction of World Free Standing Tower Crane Model Potain MR608 Who doesn’t love the MR608? Especially with its new...
Video: The Translucent Lucas Museum That Might Have Been
With the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art seeking its fortune out west, one of the firms that put together an idea for the Chicago version of the building has released its proposal for the public to see. AF Asia has the scoopage on OMA’s effort which involves an elevated platform covered in a thin translucent membrane. At night, the building’s interior lighting would make the entire structure seem to glow like a...
