"Record" Chicago

As the magazine of the American Institute of Architects, it's no coincidence that this month's Architectural Record features four projects in Chicago, site of next month's AIA National Convention, the city's first time since 1993.

Wood + Zapata's Soldier Field expansion, OMA's Campus Center at IIT, Murphy/Jahn's dormitory at IIT, and Perkins & Will's Skybridge condominiums are all featured in the Project Portfolio section, which usually doesn't adhere to a strict focus in locality.

Regardless of the magazine's intentions, it is refreshing to see the spotlight once again shine upon Chicago for its contemporary architecture, rather than its lack of quality, new buildings. But for somebody living in Chicago, like myself, these buildings are yesterday's news. Newer buildings like Studio Gang's Chinese American Service League community center in Chinatown, as well as structures under construction like Rafael Vinoly's Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago and the ever-on-going Millennium Park with Frank Gehry's bandshell and pedestrian bridge, are all providing a change in focus for local architects and residents.


GBS Construction View

Perhaps what I'm talking about is solely a "publication lag", since print media is inherently slow. Perhaps I'm just a bit tired of focus on Soldier Field and OMA's tube. Mainly, I hope that visitors to Chicago during the AIA Convention realize there's much more to recent architecture than the four buildings mentioned in Architectural Record. By just exploring the streets of the city, especially outside downtown, they'll come across those buildings that don't make it into the publications but are still helping Chicago redefine itself today.