Regional Modern: Chicago's Take on Contemporary Design
Climate, landscape, materials — and Wright and Mies — influence contemporary Chicago architecture
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City. I have Bachelor of Architecture and Master in Urban Planning degrees, and over ten years experience in architectural practice, split between Chicago and NYC. Currently I'm focused on writing and online pursuits. My daily blog can be found at http://archidose.blogspot.com
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City.... More »
I grew up in a suburb north of Chicago and lived in that city following college, so seeing what makes this area's modern and contemporary architecture unique has become second nature to me.
Chicago is a place whose architecture, for better or worse, is perceived as descending from Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. These great names are certainly inspirational, but such a lineage can also be daunting. Below is a sampling of some of the Chicago-area residences on Houzz that seem to be born from a synthesis of these names, particularly Wright and Mies.
More regional modern architecture:
Boston | Austin | NYC | NY Metro | Seattle | Oregon | No. Calif. | San Francisco | L.A. | Coastal L.A.
Chicago is a place whose architecture, for better or worse, is perceived as descending from Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. These great names are certainly inspirational, but such a lineage can also be daunting. Below is a sampling of some of the Chicago-area residences on Houzz that seem to be born from a synthesis of these names, particularly Wright and Mies.
More regional modern architecture:
Boston | Austin | NYC | NY Metro | Seattle | Oregon | No. Calif. | San Francisco | L.A. | Coastal L.A.
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| First let's briefly discuss some of these 20th-century precursors of modern and contemporary architecture. One of the most influential architects of all time is Frank Lloyd Wright, who lived in Oak Park early in his career and built numerous houses there and in other parts of Chicago. This 1902 house in Oak Park is an example of his Prairie style, which uses strong horizontal lines, overhanging roofs, and other distinctive features to relate the house to the region's landscape. This influence can be found in both traditional and modern architecture today. |
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| The apparent antithesis of Wright is Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, whose iconic 1951 Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, set the bar for glass-box houses. Privacy concerns and sub/urban locations may limit the use of this much glass today, but the simplicity, rectilinear geometry and structural expression are still found in a number of houses in and around Chicago. (The Farnsworth House is open to the public as part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.) |
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| Less well known, at least outside Chicago, are Keck & Keck, who created space-age houses for the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, but whose later work can be seen as a "warm modernism." This approach is for the most part what many of today's architects in the area embrace: simple forms and geometries a la Mies balanced by warm materials and horizontal lines a la Wright. Obviously, there's a lot more to them than these formal characteristics, but in Chicago, regional design incorporates historical figures, not just climate, materials, and other factors of place. |
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| This project transformed a 1960s ranch house into what is called the "Modern Bridge House." (A bridge between old and new, perhaps?) This previous life of the house is very difficult to ascertain, a testament to the cohesive design that sets the entry behind a screen wall. Behind are glass walls that bring light inside yet maintain privacy by being set back and partially screened. |
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| Designed by the same architects as the "Modern Bridge House," this city house, for good reason, pares down the windows facing the street. A strong horizontal over the front porch is balanced by the vertical wall that it meets. I'm guessing the stair is next to the wall, behind the vertical slot window. |
This urban house balances metal panels and brick walls for the exterior enclosure. Or, in design-influence terms, the coldness of Mies is set atop the warmth of Wright.
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| This house is a lovely synthesis of Mies and Wright. Traces of the former are found in the glassy second floor, raised like the Farnsworth House. The latter's influence can be seen in the stone base that props up the second floor, the well-articulated wood and the horizontal lines. |
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| A closer look at the roof deck adjacent to the horizontal plane atop the house reveals one reason why horizontality is important in Chicago. The land is flat; in addition, Lake Michigan is a strong natural presence that makes the horizon line that much more prominent and precise. |
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| In this house overlooking Lake Michigan, the predominance of glass and the cradling shape of the plan make the lake the focus of the house. |
One popular getaway destination for Chicagoans is Indiana Dunes, a short drive to the south and east. This house on the dunes reaches out towards Lake Michigan with its generous covered porch.
This addition/renovation of an industrial building on the city's north side was designed by the same architects responsible for the previous house on the dunes. Here, brick, metal, and glass are balanced in the hybrid that blurs the line between new and old.
This house in Oakbrook (not Oak Park), Illinois, certainly owes a debt to Wright, yet it moves away from that influence with larger expanses of glass and a verticality that balances the strong roofline.
Another view of the house shows the well-thought-out and pleasing balance of stone, wood, and glass.
More regional modern architecture:
Boston | Austin | NYC | NY Metro | Seattle | Oregon | No. Calif. | San Francisco |L.A. | Coastal L.A.
Getting it Wright: Prairie-Style Architecture
California Casual Chic
A Postcard from Maine
More regional modern architecture:
Boston | Austin | NYC | NY Metro | Seattle | Oregon | No. Calif. | San Francisco |L.A. | Coastal L.A.
Getting it Wright: Prairie-Style Architecture
California Casual Chic
A Postcard from Maine
Ideabook updated on Nov. 7, 2011.
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And there's so much more to modern in the Chicago area. If you poke around in little hidden-away places, you'll find some gems that are a mixture of all different modern styles, from Wright and Mies-inspired to mid-century ranches, pod homes, and tons of really wonderful late '60s / early '70s funky modern homes.
Examples of Miesian buildings can be seen in Chicago, particularly his apartment buildings in the 800 block of north Lake Shore Drive and his numerous buildings on the campus of Illinois Institute of Technology on the South Side near Comiskey Park.