Best of the Best

AIA Chicago published the results to its "Best of the Best", as voted by AIA Chicago member architects. Multiple-choice categories, like "best new building in Chicago in the last 10 years" and "the most significant building outside the central city", attempt to gauge what local architects think of the Windy City.



Without covering each category, I just wanted to talk about a couple in detail. All results can found at the link above.



What is the best indoor public space?

The Rookery (42%)

Chicago Cultural Center (18%)

Garfield Park Conservatory (16%)

The Rookery, an 1888 Burnham and Root-designed, 12-story office building in Chicago's Loop, has a skylit lobby space renovated by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905. The intimate two-story space features a grand stair with a mezzanine, FLLW flourishes like his oft-used planters, and overall an ornately-detailed interior that is high on architectural merit. Compared to the Cultural Center and the Garfield Park Conservatory, it definitely is the better architectural space.



But is it the best "public space"? I think not. I think the Cultural Center is the best public space of the three, not because of its architecture but because of its functions and activity. The Rookery's space is surrounded by shops that are fronted to the street, not the lobby, and it is separated from the main entrance by elevators, so many people using the building don't use the space; basically it's underused. The Conservatory is also a beautiful space, fulfilling its function but also exhibiting art and things as diverse as dinosaur fossils, juxtaposed with the vegetation inside; it has creative programming but not like the Cultural Center. At the Cultural Center one can listen to musical performances, watch a movie, attend a lecture, browse art and other galleries, grab a cup of the coffee at the cafe, even visit a broadcasting museum, all for FREE (except for the coffee). It is these diverse uses, bustling activity, and almost unrestricted access that make it the best "public space". Granted the question is probably concerned with the architectural container, but it's naive to separate the function from its architectural design.



What is the best preservation or re-use of an existing building in Chicago in the last 10 years?

Hotel Burnham/Reliance Building (48%)

Bloomingdale’s Home Store/Medinah Temple (17%)

Soldier Field (16%)

What is the hottest new project in the works?

Millennium Park (52%)

Trump International Hotel & Tower (13%)

Tree Studios Renovation (7%)

In my opinion, Tree Studios received only 7% of the vote, because it's in the wrong category! It should be listed under preservation re-use, not as a "hot project".



Most of Tree Studios is still under construction, though one tenant has moved in, Design Within Reach. Located in the southeastern-most portion of the Studios, DWR snakes through about 12 rooms on multiple levels that makes it the best presentation of its furniture it could ask for and a creative reuse of the building that splendidly showcases the original interior architecture.



Tree Studios was built in 1894 by a husband and wife who wanted to keep artists in Chicago after working at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. So they built in their backyard what is now the oldest artists' studios still in use in the United States. The understated, brick exterior now stands out amongst the bland residential high-rises that have sprouted in the River North area in recent years. DWR occupies two floors but is spread across multiple levels on each floor, the movement through akin to a maze or labyrinth. It's a voyage of discover with the modern furniture upstage by the complexity of layout, with windows and other openings creating views across different height spaces. It's something to experience. Furthermore the small rooms are a perfect display for the furniture, since they approximate the size of rooms in most houses, much much more than open-plan retail could ever accomplish. In terms of retail re-use, its size doesn't match the Bloomingdales in Medinah Temple next door, but its sensitivity to the original and creativity of use is far superior.