Chicago architecture
An overview of projects, products and exclusive articles about chicago architecture
SCB Headquarters
SCB relocated its Chicago headquarters in August 2024 to the AMA Plaza Building, an architectural landmark designed by Mies van der Rohe. The firm served as the interior designer for the 34,00-square-foot, 25th-floor offices. Staff visioning sessions helped establish the project's key design principles of legacy/context, community/culture, and wellness/flexibility. Timeless finishes, like plaster walls and terrazzo flooring paired with time-honored furniture by Platner, Saarinen, and Eames create a mutual dialogue with the era of the building. Full-height windows maximize panoramic views, while a sculptural white-on-white 3D model wall creates an interplay of light and shadow, expressing SCB's impact on the Chicago's skyline.
Kendall McC... More
Project • By Pelli Clarke & Partners • Offices
Salesforce Tower Chicago
Located in the heart of downtown Chicago, the 57-storey Salesforce Tower Chicago marks the completion of Wolf Point, a 14-year master plan that has transformed a historic and underutilised riverfront site. Designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners, the 1,450,000-square-feet tower is part of a mixed-use ensemble of three towers: the residential West and East towers and the South tower (Salesforce Tower Chicago).
Jason O'Rear
Jason O'Rear
Redeveloping a prime city location
Wolf Point sits at the confluence of the North, South, and Main branches of the Chicago River. In the early 19th century, this historic area was home to Chicago’s first commercial settlements and provided a strategic location for trade and transport.... More
News • News • 11 Jun 2024
Pelli Clarke & Partners completes Salesforce Tower Chicago as part of riverfront master plan
Pelli Clarke & Partners has completed the Salesforce Tower Chicago, a LEED Gold-certified office tower that is the final addition to Wolf Point, a 14-year mixed-use riverfront master plan. In the city that built the world’s first skyscraper (albeit just ten stories), the 57-story Salesforce Tower is located in the heart of Chicago’s downtown. The tower sits at the place where three branches of the Chicago River converge and anchors the prominent Wolf Point master plan development.
Jason O’Rear
Jason O’Rear
Pelli Clarke & Partners
Wolf Point was once the home of Chicago’s first commercial settlements in the early 19th century. The land was later all but abandoned (it had... More
News • News • 4 Apr 2024
Delordinaire designs smart, utilitarian building on deep and narrow Chicago lot
Based in both Paris and Montreal, architecture and design studio Delordinaire has designed a commercial and office building for a deep, narrow lot located on North Damen Avenue, Chicago. The smart, utilitarian building makes use of simple materials with an emphasis on spacious interior volumes and an abundance of natural light.
Courtesy Of Delordinaire
Chicago’s rigorous orthogonal grid system has, in parts, generated deep and narrow building lots, including the lot found at 1704 North Damen. The site of Delordinaire’s North Damen Avenue project in Chicago’s arty Wicker Park neighborhood, the lot is around 25 feet (7.6 meters) wide and 125 feet (38 meters) deep. It has adjoining buildings to the north and south &... More
News • News • 14 Apr 2023
25 best architecture firms in Chicago
Chicago is renowned for its stunning skyline, innovative designs, and its contribution towards modern architecture. The rich built landscape of the city encompasses the evolution of several styles and movements, from the grand Beaux-Arts buildings of the late 19th century to the sleek, contemporary designs of today.A turning point in the city’s history, the Great Fire of 1871 which destroyed much of the city, pushed towards using fire-resistant materials and techniques. This marked the emergence of the Chicago School of Architecture which pioneered steel frames and new construction techniques that allowed tall, functional buildings to accommodate the expanding population and businesses. This time period witnessed the rise of skyscrape... More
Project • By DEEPSTREAM DESIGNS, INC • Parks/Gardens
Chicago Parks Ford Calumet Environmental Center
A Bold New Environmental Center redeems a Former Brownfield Site created by steel mills dumping toxic slag for almost a century in southeast side of Chicago. In 2016, The Chicago Environmental Fund (CEF) dedicated $3.7M for the construction of the Ford Calumet Environmental Center at Big Marsh. Funds were originally provided to CEF by Ford Motor Company. The center design began in late 2016 and opened to the public in August 2021.
DeepStream Designs is proud to part of this positive environmental transformation providing recycled and recyclable aluminum screen wall and gates to create the dangerous equipment enclosure to the Center which is built with Corten steel. Every DeepStream product generates a donation the Trees.org to... More
News • News • 1 Dec 2021
Historic Pepper Family Wildlife Center at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo sees a major renovation, restoration, and expansion
Dedicated as a Chicago Landmark in 2005, the historic lion house at the centre of the city’s Lincoln Park Zoo was originally designed by architect Dwight Perkins and completed in 1912. Notable for its decorative brickwork, terracotta details, lion mosaics and grand hall with vaulted Guastavino tile ceiling, the building has undergone limited work since its last significant renovation in 1990.
Tom Harris
With a desire to substantially improve lion habitat and the experience of visitors, this latest renovation, restoration, and expansion of the 54,000 square foot facility was undertaken by Goettsch Partners in collaboration with Seattle-based zoo exhibition specialists PJA Architects.
Tom Harris
Works include nearly... More
Project • By Alexander Gorlin Architects • Private Houses
Chicago Townhouse
This townhouse in Chicago floats behind a private garden wall and is framed by traditional houses on both sides. A dramatic side stair leads to the main level, comprising open living, dining and kitchen areas, then continues upstairs to the master bedroom and bathroom that are suspended above the main living space. Two guest bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the lower floor.
Michael Moran
Michael Moran
Michael Moran
Michael Moran
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News • News • 5 Feb 2021
Chicago home flips conventional arrangements upside down
On a traditional Chicago lot that borders an alleyway, this house flips known conventional arrangements upside down by locating bedroom and private uses on the ground level, and communal/living spaces upstairs. The architect, Kwong Von Glinow, explains the inversion is a response to contemporary desires for optimal amounts of natural light and visual contact with one’s surrounding environment.
James Florio Photography
Here, common areas on the first and second floors are linked by a curving double-height atrium that runs from the front to the back of the house. Featuring a large picture window and curving wall, the courtyard is an informal area where residents can relax and children can play.
James Florio P... More
Project • By HED • Apartments
Lathrop Homes
During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) assembled teams of well-regarded architects to design much-needed housing for low-income families throughout Chicago. Almost a century later, one such development, Julia C. Lathrop Homes, is undergoing a comprehensive transformation. Part of Chicago Housing Authorities’ (CHA’s) groundbreaking Plan for Transformation, which seeks to combine CHA, affordable and market rate housing into single, mixed-income developments, Lathrop will continue the tradition of collaboration begun at its inception. Development partners Related Midwest, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation and Heartland Housing—together, Lathrop Community Partn... More
Project • By dSPACE Studio • Housing
Atrium House
This Buena Park home, designed in 1978 by Chicago architect Marcel Friedes, had not been updated since construction. The new owners wanted a total renovation with a floor plan to open the space and maximize natural light. The program called for a contemporary kitchen, new master suite, spa-like bathrooms, study, art studio, and multipurpose space for adults and kids.
At the center of the home was an enclosed two-story atrium, a unique element underused in the original design. Our plan reimagines the atrium as family space. We removed walls to integrate it with the rest of the interior and added a glass roof, creating a light well for the home.
The new atrium is bordered by a rock garden and custom blackened steel planters fille... More
Project • By ELLIPSIS Architecture • Bars
Pinwheel
For those who frequent this eclectic Chicago bar/restaurant, most will agree that, in addition to great food, drink and conversation, its true magic and charm lies in its ever-changing quirky persona. Over time, various updates have been made to improve the space while other things have fallen into increasingly-poor shape due to the day-to-day business of keeping the neighborhood happy on their bar stools. The space, it seemed, needed a jump-start to reinvigorate the spirit on which it had always prided itself. As a result, the need for yet another change became evident, one which would rejuvenate the space while remaining open to evolution and change, one which would define the bar’s character clearly without fixing it... More
Project • By ELLIPSIS Architecture • Apartments
MC03
The MC03 project is our third renovation in the iconic Marina City complex in Chicago designed by Bertrand Goldberg. Throughout the years, many residential units in the complex have suffered from renovations that compromise the original spaces and intent of the architect. For this project, we referenced the design template developed during MC02 to return units to their original spatial and material condition while updating all its system to current comfort standards. Similarly to MC01 and MC02, our previous projects in the building, MC03 reintroduces a spatial clarity to the unit, prioritizing key aspects of the original design by Goldberg such as its structure and minimizing the color and material palette. The unit is brough... More
Project • By ELLIPSIS Architecture • Apartments
MC01
The MC01 project is a renovation of a one-bedroom unit in the iconic Marina City complex (1959–1967) in Chicago designed by Bertrand Goldberg. Previously renovated by a former owner, the unit had been divided into a series of disconnected spaces with multiple materials and finishes that had diminished the integrity of the original space. Our project reintroduces a spatial clarity to the unit, reorganizing the spaces and minimizing the colors and materials used, as well as building upon key aspects of the original design by Goldberg such as its structure. The unit is organized along a reconfigured wall that runs from the entrance until the balcony. The wall conceals closets and doors, allowing the bathroom and bedroom to be connect... More
Project • By ELLIPSIS Architecture • Offices
CDAM
This project was a simple exercise in juxtaposition and restraint. A central, rotated cube was staged in the center of the space – a figure of faceted walnut in a field of white. Housing reception and all key operational functions of the office, the cube acts as a visual key in the space and an object of orientation. Patients and staff navigate around it as they enter, receive treatment and exit the space. More