Magnificent Home Improvements: Mies van der Rohe

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is the first in what we hope will become a regular series of travel dispatches from architects and people interested in architecture. A couple of weeks ago, Auckland architect Daniel Marshall travelled to Chicago, one of the most interesting cities for architecture in the US (or the world, depending on your point of view). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Handing over now to Daniel, who will guide you through his slideshow.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Chicago is a city deservedly proud of its architectural heritage, where even the doorman at Mies van der Rohe’s Lake Shore Drive apartments can provide an animated and almost entirely fictitious account of moments in the city’s architectural history.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was lucky enough to be invited there a couple of weeks ago to meet with a client, and I spent five days roaming the streets and checking out the city’s rich architectural history. Here are images representing some of the architectural highlights of the trip.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiSfivYLvY34q4-RpNxKM5v41CTigKBugBpFf9-hl5xix8__pR_e7uykuGRxaQbMWxWuwXDw1z8n3mP-ywUxSI2_2HscyEBV_ZD3zSr18mYgLfajghH1_xDQdqeAGcrNsndpIwHqkuJjyx/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiSfivYLvY34q4-RpNxKM5v41CTigKBugBpFf9-hl5xix8__pR_e7uykuGRxaQbMWxWuwXDw1z8n3mP-ywUxSI2_2HscyEBV_ZD3zSr18mYgLfajghH1_xDQdqeAGcrNsndpIwHqkuJjyx/s400/01.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="Body"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Cocktails at the John Hancock Center, designed by <span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skidmore,_Owings_and_Merrill">Skidmore, Owings and Merrill</a>, and </span>completed in 1968.</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0j2wCUUNo-aG2Q_ontWbycqZ31_qo14s5GVPgy58PePycijR3_2w3QiVoftvTBHreKCt-q8ym0rWxM-RR3pE1R4Yq8FhlbgN_u4VLFM25CBmZQoDUpXu6K3-n1MOpQ6MxEXvGPKhbruUw/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0j2wCUUNo-aG2Q_ontWbycqZ31_qo14s5GVPgy58PePycijR3_2w3QiVoftvTBHreKCt-q8ym0rWxM-RR3pE1R4Yq8FhlbgN_u4VLFM25CBmZQoDUpXu6K3-n1MOpQ6MxEXvGPKhbruUw/s400/02.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>The Crown Fountain in Millennium Park, conceived by Spanish artist <span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://explorechicago.org/city/en/millennium/about_the_artist_.html">Jaume Plensa</a>.</span></i></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8rrl6nKmV0BI9HERk7EGhsYNSsp4nKfRF7ydxP1mo6DmVOTiFdWeJhxhWTjBhDcv4vD2Xe-w44orK3zhwAv9UJ4GlGmvV7RYW2jMSHv3VQGf8sln9wN80ETiPXQiUUVrTitS2cYUJCmq/s1600/03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8rrl6nKmV0BI9HERk7EGhsYNSsp4nKfRF7ydxP1mo6DmVOTiFdWeJhxhWTjBhDcv4vD2Xe-w44orK3zhwAv9UJ4GlGmvV7RYW2jMSHv3VQGf8sln9wN80ETiPXQiUUVrTitS2cYUJCmq/s400/03.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i><a href="http://explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/dca_tourism/nichols_bridgeway.html"><span style="color: #000099;">Nichols Bridgeway</span></a> leaving the modern wing of the Art Institute of Chicago, designed by <a href="http://rpbw.r.ui-pro.com/"><span style="color: #000099;">Renzo Piano Building Workshop</span></a>. In the background you can see the Frank Gehry-designed <span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/dca_tourism/jay_pritzker_pavilion.html">Jay Pritzker Pavilion</a>.</span></i></span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #000099;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRb5ueYhJdagJ1TCP-vF9Le-pPTYM0Dj9gNoPe3KpR8tE3dlBHW-ze_9-BtVrqAqSdNnpzD-LE67ajOyl0USwRwlzFu7t9JpJyZSTO4wcg77wZB-grBFnbc73X__APlygnRBoUB1AjiXLr/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRb5ueYhJdagJ1TCP-vF9Le-pPTYM0Dj9gNoPe3KpR8tE3dlBHW-ze_9-BtVrqAqSdNnpzD-LE67ajOyl0USwRwlzFu7t9JpJyZSTO4wcg77wZB-grBFnbc73X__APlygnRBoUB1AjiXLr/s400/04.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Anish Kapoor’s <a href="http://explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/dca_tourism/MP_orinigal.html"><span style="color: #000099;">Cloud Gate</span></a>, a magnet for photo opportunities.</i></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_X5R66eRvPxK0tQgHwP0AqqV43utKyRmyqt8K42fNRyrG-37zxTdmO-95s4rt2iIw4b1lFfoKqzBH4hmRepol3hosqkP2QQRVm5UVY422NF-Fzn_9wtsNv2mKcT56ehx3zXFWdLS6cnQU/s1600/05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_X5R66eRvPxK0tQgHwP0AqqV43utKyRmyqt8K42fNRyrG-37zxTdmO-95s4rt2iIw4b1lFfoKqzBH4hmRepol3hosqkP2QQRVm5UVY422NF-Fzn_9wtsNv2mKcT56ehx3zXFWdLS6cnQU/s400/05.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Frank Gehry’s <a href="http://explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/attractions/dca_tourism/bp_bridge_in_millennium.html"><span style="color: #000099;">BP Bridge</span></a>, straddling a freeway between two parks.</i></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGUtLlGGuBC6l0t-5GFLXkKE4tCR1jeXizux-zxskJ123d4whpVdc_xKS1yYWhGFC9HRjs3iGUxxJRLLXKJpPFspqjD14NFWtXRQieZ5EozJ9G9Kn-Nam7aA0bF9MsvFFiCSjNn1Fpf780/s1600/06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGUtLlGGuBC6l0t-5GFLXkKE4tCR1jeXizux-zxskJ123d4whpVdc_xKS1yYWhGFC9HRjs3iGUxxJRLLXKJpPFspqjD14NFWtXRQieZ5EozJ9G9Kn-Nam7aA0bF9MsvFFiCSjNn1Fpf780/s400/06.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Aqua Apartments, designed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Gang"><span style="color: #000099;">Jeanne Gang</span></a><b> </b>of Studio Gang Architects.</span></i></span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></i></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAaRdOsGO3iSS19VPD95FmjW7zJJsbTycJX6vaqk8w9021sKFFERfhxTIIfcmE7HFN6BaoIht12QZ0ODsSBU_D3wFL8eeb0z4-kdpfjnoeBg_spzBMdx-DLOugG8ZxQNxV3USEPIwIxZl/s1600/07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAaRdOsGO3iSS19VPD95FmjW7zJJsbTycJX6vaqk8w9021sKFFERfhxTIIfcmE7HFN6BaoIht12QZ0ODsSBU_D3wFL8eeb0z4-kdpfjnoeBg_spzBMdx-DLOugG8ZxQNxV3USEPIwIxZl/s400/07.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.R._Crown_Hall"><span style="color: #000099;">Crown Hall</span></a> at the Illinois Institute of Technology by Mies van der Rohe.</i></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbrYoJ1jjvkSbqlcxE2kMbLCBkRwlecKq_28ssWCg-4RmCB1VOCPbUl1Xeq5ScS_JFU9I3zPcubTZcNZ5Z3uiSuTs4vVxi3DtDvKLnaCHBq0_xylWk_cR99EQLr_VXX5zGl95549-2efw/s1600/08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbrYoJ1jjvkSbqlcxE2kMbLCBkRwlecKq_28ssWCg-4RmCB1VOCPbUl1Xeq5ScS_JFU9I3zPcubTZcNZ5Z3uiSuTs4vVxi3DtDvKLnaCHBq0_xylWk_cR99EQLr_VXX5zGl95549-2efw/s400/08.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/860%E2%80%93880_Lake_Shore_Drive_Apartments">860–880 Lake Shore Dr</a></span> apartments by Mies van der Rohe.</i></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3noxETip3jNAGDI42kM-IUOaG_0xxydeztd7TWHh3BAJp-pehIhz9DrhrBPPWVVIxnBb4hCKqolf97Un1lNwgLDgTxdHVdFB0kkTc035qY4ixI15ZAK4vIR3-VhE241P6eXB7DfCVi1y/s1600/09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3noxETip3jNAGDI42kM-IUOaG_0xxydeztd7TWHh3BAJp-pehIhz9DrhrBPPWVVIxnBb4hCKqolf97Un1lNwgLDgTxdHVdFB0kkTc035qY4ixI15ZAK4vIR3-VhE241P6eXB7DfCVi1y/s400/09.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="Body"><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>God is in the details at Lake Shore Drive apartments. </i></span></span></div></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxSKUffnKnrEjTHjxxeP4SHNpiQwH63HbgmuSu_RXaAmdTnueMmOjlCcwDnZi1UZP6QI3beN21tiOtQ0y4YsvscOE-q4ZpYJssh4T9u3nscsH_fDcvgi1culN0DDNmwdHkNxHtKM1ABze/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxSKUffnKnrEjTHjxxeP4SHNpiQwH63HbgmuSu_RXaAmdTnueMmOjlCcwDnZi1UZP6QI3beN21tiOtQ0y4YsvscOE-q4ZpYJssh4T9u3nscsH_fDcvgi1culN0DDNmwdHkNxHtKM1ABze/s400/10.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic planters at the <span style="color: #000099;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robie_House">Robie House</a>. </span>And finally, below, t</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><i>he architect </i>[Ed: Daniel Marshall, not Mies] <i>in repose at Mies van der Rohe's </i></span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth_House_(Plano,_Illinois)">Farnsworth House</a>.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RDlKPnR7OIRGidwPiko7R0x4Fxd8RD7Ze0eJXKTDd3M8RmbunDevY0ghxYHYr3WcInvMv2UvjoT2dPgs0zJ401uYR_aR77CzjE-dLdNjZwVS0u3FVWK8BKlbedAwuuErtMdTL4Px6-CT/s1600/11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RDlKPnR7OIRGidwPiko7R0x4Fxd8RD7Ze0eJXKTDd3M8RmbunDevY0ghxYHYr3WcInvMv2UvjoT2dPgs0zJ401uYR_aR77CzjE-dLdNjZwVS0u3FVWK8BKlbedAwuuErtMdTL4Px6-CT/s400/11.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div>

Travel - Daniel Marshall's Chicago slideshow

This is the first in what we hope will become a regular series of travel dispatches from architects and people interested in architecture. A...

A work of fiction, with modernist architecture at its heart: we're a little late to the party with <em>The Glass Room</em> by Simon Mawer (it was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2009), but it is certainly worth adding to the Christmas gift list of any architecture-obsessed friend who hasn't already devoured it. Not that it's a book for architecture enthusiasts alone, as its roller-coaster plot will engage even the flightiest readers.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IHEPQxhrfsELCfPQE_oMnUwHD_ImvNcFnfFNYb7f-hiOAnoFi7i7iCYFvTZ6tKwp3bNDnZipaMYWAhnmZUM60CHrK5o00DTY0QaDJq_3wfjCFPVWMU3F8gy8PZMhRLClh76TQ0DEtaII/s1600/The+Glass+Room.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552590901646457570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IHEPQxhrfsELCfPQE_oMnUwHD_ImvNcFnfFNYb7f-hiOAnoFi7i7iCYFvTZ6tKwp3bNDnZipaMYWAhnmZUM60CHrK5o00DTY0QaDJq_3wfjCFPVWMU3F8gy8PZMhRLClh76TQ0DEtaII/s400/The+Glass+Room.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 254px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> The book is a ripping fictional yarn set in a real house: Mies van der Rohe's Vila Tugendhat, designed and built from 1928-1930 in the Czech Republic and now recognised as a World Heritage Site.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJEWEQ5Y9Z4TnKXD9Yu5eUrjt1HOmMZBQuTTMik0vmtKfqj0lKxEiw1esskMD6P0bzwPb01fTkM_nrg0dKDsrUUtM84IUO627xzww6VOY5Lp5lOW8p5ZZ7jkkMU2TnArlSl2LAeN0UKIfQ/s1600/Villa+Tugendhat.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552590901859372002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJEWEQ5Y9Z4TnKXD9Yu5eUrjt1HOmMZBQuTTMik0vmtKfqj0lKxEiw1esskMD6P0bzwPb01fTkM_nrg0dKDsrUUtM84IUO627xzww6VOY5Lp5lOW8p5ZZ7jkkMU2TnArlSl2LAeN0UKIfQ/s400/Villa+Tugendhat.jpg" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 210px; CURSOR: hand" /></a> The book captures the optimism of the times, embodied by Mies' shimmering modernist architectural creation, and follows the home's Jewish owners as they are forced to flee the chaos and bloodshed of the Nazi invasion. We highly recommend it. You can find out more about the Vila Tugendhat at the link <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.tugendhat.eu/en">here</a>. </div>

We like: The Glass Room

A work of fiction, with modernist architecture at its heart: we're a little late to the party with The Glass Room by Simon Mawer (it wa...

Magnificent Home Improvements

Travel - Daniel Marshall's Chicago slideshow

We like: The Glass Room

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