IN Chicago

IN

C H I C AG O Decline

STUDIO IN CHICAGO AW JOURNAL 2015/2016 ISSUE #1

IN

C H I C AG O Decline

STUDIO IN CHICAGO AW JOURNAL 2015/2016 ISSUE #1

In Chicago Issue #1

Graphic Design: DOMAIN Office

Decline AW Journal 2015/2016 In Chicago studio from chair Complex Projects is an architectural studio from TU Delft Netherlands, visiting the city of Chicago in Fall 2015.

Typeface: Akzidenz Grotesk Akzidenz Grotesk Light Baskerville Cover image:

by Jorik Bais

Editor in Chief: Mitesh Dixit

Paper: Arctic Paper G-Print 130 Bulk 1.0

Art Director: Roland Reemaa

Printing and Binding: Tallinna Raamatutrükikoja OÜ, Estonia

Assistant Editors: Yanthe Boom

Contributers: TU Delft

Wouter Kamphuis Jorik Bais Kelly Kleijweg Roman de Weijer Felix Ahuis Floris van der Burght Maria Rohof Esmeralda Bierma Bob Robertus Research Team: Hrvoje Šmidihen Andrew Balster Hilary Gabel Jody Zimmer Tomás Cantú-Martínez Ryan Nestor Text Editors: Mitesh Dixit Davi F. Weber James Westcott

Brian Lee from SOM Derek Hoeferlin, Donald Koster, Nick Chilton from Washington University Claudia Wigger from University of Michigan Wayne Steger from DePaul University Maggie Queeney, Katherine Litwin from Poetry Foundation Michael Zanco from Chicago Public Schools Chad Adams from Sullivan High School Luis Monterrubio from Chicago LAB Adam Frampton from Only If Bianca Diaz from Marwen Sponsors: Brian Lee, FAIA - SOM Novak Construction Barker / Nestor Reinier de Graaf - OMA

CP

B EI N G

T H E R E

Foreword Mitesh Dixit

In Time & Being Heidegger attempts to destroy our standard, traditional philosophical vocabulary and replace it with something new. What Heidegger seeks to destroy in particular is a certain picture of the relation between human beings and the world that is widespread in modern philosophy and whose source is Descartes. Roughly and readily, this is the idea that there are two sorts of substances in the world: thinking things like us (subjects) and extended things (objects), like tables, chairs and indeed the entire fabric of space and time.

The relation between thinking things and extended things is one of knowledge and the philosophical and indeed scientific task consists in ensuring that what a later tradition called “subject” might have access to a world of objects.

Prior to this dualistic picture of the relation between human beings and the world lies a deeper unity that he tries to capture in the formula “Dasein is being-in-the-world”.

If the human being is really being-in-the-world, then this entails that the world itself is part of the fundamental constitution of what it means to be human. That is to say, I am not a free floating self or ego facing a world of objects that stands over against me. Rather, for Heidegger, I am my world. The world is part and parcel of my being, of the fabric of my existence. We might capture the sense of Heidegger’s thought here by thinking of Dasein not as a subject distinct from a world of objects, but as an experience of openness where my being and that of the world are not distinguished for the most part. I am completely fascinated and absorbed by my world, not cut off from it. I am IN the world and the world is IN me.

The MSc 2 studios has one ambition: to be IN a city. Not as an architect or consumer, but as being who can appreciate the complexity and beauty in the everyday. Architects want to save, help, liberate, etc. but what are we really doing? We are imposing our values on a system and environment that has a meaning and complexity independent of us…there are infinite perspectives to every condition, and it is futile to attempt to ‘know’ each one, However, recognizing that your perspective is just one of many, it will allow for one to listen and perhaps learn from. Thus the ambition of the studio is to resist our insatiable desire to ‘solve’, but simply listen, record and mostly importantly be IN Chicago.

In Chicago Issue #1

Foreword

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CO N T E N T S

In Chicago Issue #1

Contents

Being There

Forward by Mitesh Dixit

Decline

Ambition by Mitesh Dixit, Roland Reemaa

1

Border Crossing

Essay by Jorik Bais

3

In Naperville

Project by Floris van de Burght

11

Normal

Project by Yanthe Boom

18

Brian Lee

Interview by Maria Rohof, Floris van der Burght

26

SOM & Legacy

Essay by Yanthe Boom, Roman de Weijer

29

Border

Project by Felix Ahuis

39

Smart City

Project by Wouter Kamphuis

47

St Louis

Essay by Esmeralda Bierma

48

Kees Kaan

Interview by Yanthe Boom, Wouter Kamphuis

55

Chicago Public Schools

Project by Kelly Klejiweg

63

Loop

Project by Maria Rohof

70

Reinier de Graaf

Interview by Jorik Bais, Kelly Kleijweg

75

Enter the Solid

Project by Jorik Bais

83

Sears Chicago Tower

Project by Roman de Weijer

91

Detroit Still Exists

Essay by Bob Robertus

93

Vishaan Chakrabarti

Interview by Felix Ahuis, Roman de Weijer

97

18

Project by Esmeralda Bierma

th

107

Freedom

Project by Bob Robertus

115

Chicago (1983)

Text by Floris van der Burght

DE C L I N E Ambition Mitesh Dixit and Roland Reemaa

The continued decline of the United State’s Midwest regions, specifically the last decade, has not escaped Chicago. In the era of rapid urbanization and appearance of mega-cities, Chicago seems to have missed the memo. Of the 15 largest cities in the United States in 2010, Chicago was the only city to see its population decrease. While New York and L.A.’s populations reached record highs in 2010, Chicago’s population drops to a low not seen since 1910. In countries such as India and China, Chicago would not even be legally defined as a city.

Within this decline, Chicago’s heydays from the roaring 20’s and post-war 50’s are not only remembered with nostalgia but maybe even retrospectively misused. It is no surprise that architecture, which once brought Chicago to the world map, is to be exploited again. The Chicago Architectural Biennial can be seen as a thrust to demonstrate the city’s role again as one of the global centres in the contemporary (architectural) scene. Is it?

As part of the Complex Projects objective, it is precisely this search for definition of ‘city’, which guides the IN Chicago studio in its most direct way. Instead of importing and celebrating distant ideas that serve as commodity goods for the day of opening the exhibition, the goal of the studio is to reveal what truly lies underneath a globally determined city and this, we believe, can be only done when doing it in Chicago. The goal of the studio is to examine the very condition of Chicago itself - a centre of culture, diversity, education, civic institutions, and freedom of thought. Understanding the hard and soft layers that actually define the values of a contemporary city can lead towards ambitions to follow.

Fall 2015, 10 Master students from TU Delft, moved to Chicago for their MSc2 Graduate Architecture & Urbanism studio.

The studio was led by Mitesh Dixit, Roland Reemaa with seminars by Andrew Balster and Ryan Nestor. In addition to TU Delft, Archeworks provided local coordination and resources in Chicago. The goal of the studio was simply to be in Chicago - to take a critical stance to the consumption of culture, disprove clichés, avoid tourism traps - and instead experience the city in its most crude way.

An organised public lecture series, ‘Critical Regionalism’ - a revisit to Kenneth Frampton’s seminal essay, invited Contemporary architects, who working throughout the world, yet base their methods on their regional and native ideologies. Could a hybrid between global tools, which are imbued with local techniques, or vice versa, provide a model for the contemporary practice?

Reinier de Graaf, Kees Kaan, Brian Lee, Vishaan Chakrabarti, and Mitesh Dixit were invited to discuss not only their work, but the ideologies which have formed the method for the practices.

In Chicago Issue #1

Ambition

B ORDE R

C RO SSI N G

First encounter with the individual American Dream.

Jorik Bais

Arrival When entering the United States, you arrive in a land that believes in equal opportunity to succeed. A freedom of infinite possibilities

One hundred years earlier, French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville made a similar comment about his encounters with individualism in America, observing that every man he encountered was

defines this territory. And yet, it is a region contradictorily guarded at all times from intruders who might threaten this mindset, which is in fact so individualistic that it could collapse in an instant. With freedom inextricably comes danger. Border control ensures only moneymakers and tourists enter this nation:

“apt to imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands.”

Limitless expansion Upon arrival, early European settlers stood at a seemingly endless frontier, an adventurous land of prairies, deserts and mountains, which was soon known as the Wild West. Fear of the forces of nature, wildlife and Native

“Business or pleasure?”

Americans was born amongst the explorers, who were emboldened as they overcame them. With the Ten Amendments, the right to bear arms for personal protection was legally bound.

When standing in line for approval, the long wait is eased with a short film playing on loop on multiple screens across the border control booths. It is a video put together by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and

The territory expanded rapidly until there was nothing more to explore.

Communities spread across the nation, often in the absence of law

Department of State in partnership with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and propagates diversity and greatness, aiming to excite foreigners and citizens alike. A triumphant tune accompanies the montage of generic portraits, capturing subjects within their natural habitats: the elderly

enforcement and therefore under the threat of violence. This limitless sprawl is still visible today. Cities stretch out vastly across acres of land instead of condensing within defined boundaries, culminating in often desolated suburbs. Thus, the isolation of many communities has never

happily gardening, the businessman already thinking about his next appointment downtown. Its resemblance to a Disneyland commercial is undeniable. The question arises whether this video shows reality or instead reflects how this nation wishes to be perceived.

vanished; the same violence from decades before still persists due to lack of law enforcement. Are suburbs a revival of the Wild West?

The urge toward limitless expansion is rooted not only in the expansion of land, but also in the individual pursuit of happiness and prosperity. Yet

At their booths, officers ask a series of personal questions to determine if you pose a threat. The smallest suspicion is further investigated in the interrogation room, which resembles a courthouse, with multiple rows of benches facing an elevated desk, behind which officers in uniform stare

danger lies in the ever-lasting longing for more. Expansion has turned into a capitalistic mentality. To counter the speed of capital growth (and thus spending) of the economy, which would ultimately lead to huge inflations, the federal reserve bank was founded as a monetary institution

you down. The clear message is to stay put until called to the front; the use of digital devices is prohibited. You begin to wonder whether racial segregation is truly an issue of the past, as the vast majority of fellow

controlling rates of interest to keep the inflation at a steady rate. A free market economy offers endless growth, but also bears the danger of prioritizing the pursuit of profit above all else, thereby producing capital

suspects are minorities.

growth for only the richest. Owned ‘things’ become the expression of wealth and within this individual pursuit, the fellow man without it is not a matter of interest.

The American Dream America’s reputation as the land of opportunities originated with the arrival of early European immigrants, who fled religious oppression in search for freedom. It is widely believed that the concept of the American Dream was not officially coined until 1931 by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America:

In its origins, the American Dream was about equal opportunity to success and happiness through hard work. It is now a mere optimistic state of mind oriented toward growth and prosperity. The dream has reached its half-life. Downtown it blooms, every man earning and achieving merely for himself and his family, while the war of poverty is fought in lawless

“That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely,

suburban communities, stigmatized and blamed for the violence. This all adds up to an endless growth of inequality. Will the dream ever revive?

but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

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Border Crossing

1

IN

N A P E RV I L L E

Dare to dream reductive, reorganisation through subtraction and densification of the urban and its vicinity to cope with demographic and geographical trends.

Floris van der Burght

Chicagouao, Chikago, Chicago,Chi-town, City of Broad Shoulders, Chi-raq, Chi, INCHICAGO, Windy

bound to that of its potential for transportation and infrastructural connections. The potential of the transport

1830. In 1848 the initial reason for the inception of Chicago: the Illinois and Michigan Canal was completed,

city, Chicagoland, Chicago, In Naperville, Second City, Queen of the Lakes, Second city, ‘My kind of town’

connection during the first two decades, combined with Booster rhetoric and the projected theoretical grid

the city counted 20.000 inhabitants ,and when in 1890 Chicago passed Philadelphia to become the Second

for Frank Sinatra and ‘Chi-City’ for the slightly more contemporary Kanye West. You might say that this multitude of names depicts the plurality of the city and

spurred speculation in real estate. The government founded Chicago and stimulated private investment with prospects of profitable returns.

City the city counted around 1.2 million people.

region it is referring to, each nickname given to the city, formed by its own unique set of conditions.

The potential of the site for creating a passage into the

tangible after a few decades, commercial and industrial concentration and density near the port. Radial

Cities develop for certain reasons at certain sites, each with her own story and set of conditions. What were

interior of the continent and thereby connecting Florida with the Great Lakes was already noted back in the 17th century by French settlers. The United States of America

infrastructural lines converging near the concentrated centre. Centre commercial and industrial development pushed residential development north, west, and south,

the prevailing dynamics that shaped Chicago and her turbulent ride from the start?

almost doubled in size through the ‘Louisiana Purchase’ in 1803, in this shift of territorial ownership the true

in the periphery/fringes speculation in housing thrived.

Grid & Field Where to start with this brief description - the grid because it is seemingly everywhere in the Midwest.

potential of the location revealed itself; located at the southern tip of the Great Lake system, astride the Great Waterways in the Mid Continent, located at the edge of different pristine ecosystems/natural landscapes and

From the start this process developed a dual physical character; one of these was urban, the other mediation between town and country. The periphery conditions developed in these circumstances of rapid residential

The Land Ordinance of 1785 projected a rectilinear grid

urban centres with investment capital on the Eastern

and industrial growth. The rich owned a house in the

over the open territory of the West, with as basic unit a township of six miles square, composed of one mile squares. These could be subdivided in quarter sections of half a square mile. On their turn could divided in streets and building plots. Grid an adequate mean of

shores of the continent. A City was destined to become the centre of the Mid Continent, acting as a linchpin for its surroundings and connecting these resources with the world.

city and one in the countryside, the poor lived in the city and the middle-class lived in and around the periphery of the city, defining there appropriate material culture in a zone of contest. New geographical freedom through technological development of at first the

managing large territories and a symbol of democratic equality.

Urban Development Urbanization from planned to process evolution and pinpoint inadequacies of Chicago region to cope with

horsecar to electric trolley line, and later the takeover by the automobile. The ideal of a House, Land and later Community became a prospect for larger parts of society.

The grid size alters and adepts at places, cities become local interactions, complexities and disturbances of the

this. No tradition in planning, market is the tradition. It is a flow of forces, a field condition. This field condition

Trees, Pastures, Flowers, Dwindling Paths, House, No Pollution, No Epidemics, No Economic Stress of the

projected grid. Chicago and the region it resides in is based upon this continental ever expandable grid system, at first theoretical and superficial as time progresses more visible and tangible. Cities and Farmland based on the same ordering principle, which is a continuation of

accelerated through modernization, harder to grasp.

Decentralization is part of this field condition, where things become more adaptable yet more unclear.

Temporal, non-place (real Utopia) Jeffersonian Grid and zoning inadequate tools, combined sprawling region

city, Community, Land, Speculation, Car, Repetition, Free(way), Federal Subsidies, Homogeneous zoning, Lobby, do I need to say more. Oooh I forgot… a Lawnmower.

which?

that covers multiple legislative, political and spatial boundaries. Different residential occupation over time, smaller families and larger homes. Change in importance of Built Environment as driver of Economic ‘motor’ brainwashed from day one (Bob the Builder TV-show).

By the year 1960 a majority of the people living in the United States became suburban dwellers. America had entered the automobile properly with about one car per family in 1950, dependence on this mode of transport grew. Driving is becoming the dominant mode of

Revealing Potential

Around the year 1920 a majority of the people living in the United States became urban dwellers. The population of Chicago by that time was around 2.7 million people. The population of the city grew exponentially from around

transport, representative is that in1965 Kevin Lynch coauthored a book with the title “The View from the Road”, about perceiving the city from the viewpoint of a driver.

New cheap tracts of land came in sight of development with this infiltration of car ownership in society. Resulting

Chicago’s urban development was from the beginning

300 inhabitants at the time of the town founding in

in outward expansion and geographical dispersal of

Stan Allen identifies these cities as Field Condition or Configuration: inherently expandable through local interconnectivity; loose and porous; overall shape is fluid; reiterating structures. “A Field Condition would be any formal or spatial matrix capable of unifying diverse elements while respecting the identity of each.”

In Chicago Issue #1

In Naperville

3

The contours of Chicago as it is today were already

6

the built environment, partly fuelled by white flight and the accompanying abandonment of traditional urban areas. Next phase, continuing geographic dispersal

boundaries. Horizontal expansion patterns, inward and self-containing forms, attempts of differentiation for a marketable image, and creation of risk-free environments

of corridors along the infrastructural lines that fan out from the city centre of Chicago forming a radial pattern.

These corridors consist of office space mainly formed

accompanied by the adjustment to the newly found reality by companies and relocating to outlying areas in the region in close proximity of built car orientated infrastructures.

with high security levels are all characterization of current urban development.

along the highway; industrial development concentrated along the waterways and Railroads; retail follows mainly the Highway and roads for automobiles. At junction of the same type or different modes of infrastructure clustering takes places.

From manufacturing to service?

Urban Field United States and in Chicago planning has had minimal impact upon the built environment. Driven by

By the year 2000 more people in the United States are dwellers in the suburbs then rural and city inhabitants combined. Traditional notion of city as historical, institutional and entertainment core with surrounding suburbs is replaced by a kind of sprawl that is poly-

idealization of the private house in a ‘pastoral’ setting and the Freeway, a radical horizontal urban field has developed. A dispersed region, vast mat like fields with scattered pockets of density connected by Freeways.

Homogeneous zoning. Shopping malls.

In between these corridors low density suburban dwelling typologies rest. The area is defined by corridor development with as infill low density residential urban development with complementary retail functions.

Clustering occurs at points of intensity such as airports

centric with different overlapping networks in terms of infrastructure, production, consumption, communication and with global and/or local range/reach. Political and spatial boundaries lose in significance; the market is driven by ‘invisible’ forces and disregards these

Is there a possibility for a different urban fabric then the current state? Summarizing the current state; Decentralization of office, commerce and retail space; low density of dwellings surrounding it. Development

and some traditional clusters of industry. Project is about addressing the counties that make up the Metropolitan Area of Chicago, it’s one entity that isn’t capable of acting like one due to the administrative borders dividing it and the prevailing market conditions, which have

Clustering residential

Clustering amaneties

Clustering landscape Area of intervention

lack on these borders. These dynamic causes inter competitiveness between the different legislative entities within the region, which makes it impossible to plan. Not able to take on issues that will be beneficiary for the

urban fabric shortcomings, it’s potential not revealed.

The continued expansion of corridors more west wards; the accompanying alteration of arable land into

beneficiaries of accelerated depreciation, are not the common people; who is the owner? Repeat; on and on; cycle. A new frontier? A generic one, A not planned one, A coincidence that can be traced back to 1785.

region.

Process and Directionality of Field In analyzing the corridors further - realization that the corridor development is a large dynamic and needs an

(sub)urbanized areas, the increasing size of retail and accompanying diminishing of local. BigBox development versus local enterprises can be summarized in a contemporary way. #HelloCategoryKillers and #NoCompetition.

Mr. President Jefferson we became an urban nation instead of a rural. Needs the fringe a change in its state of arable commodity into a suburban one, and rank itself between the prevailing conditions of corridor development surrounded by the expansionary generic

intervention. It is the initiator of outbound fringe, of dispersal, of suburban expansion. It is the shift of a non visible center negotiated by the market creating spatial non desirable outcomes; shifting edge nodes; shifting work; shifting residential; shifting fringe; shifting generic;

This moves the fringes of the area that comprises Chicago more westwards in a continuing search for the solving of its own inner crisis. What is happening is that the area is stretched in the northern, west, and southern

shift in scale; shifting local to global; shift in tax base; when do we reach the pivotal point for dis-economy of scale, already reached. Leaving marks in the urban landscape as it progresses. These marks are the current

direction, Decentralizing; dispersing; dispersal of interest; dispersal of identity; catalogue of ‘lots of choice’; altering grain size; outbound craving; outbound fringe;

In Chicago Issue #1

In Naperville

rhythm of suburban, with accompanying functions.

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Plan the expansion; Plan the stagnation; Plan the contraction; all can be accompanied by growth; added value, with different implications for density. But no plan is subjecting/exposing you as region to the prevailing

……..nothing ……..no nothing

account the factor time, changing local relationships. Clear in size the moments make an area more readable, alternating the concept of size. Moments throughout define

…….. …….

an area, in relation to one another creating a sense of unity. Define area’s / place making on different scales, relational to one another. The different shapes relate to

…….. oohhh the ……..market now I get it.

one another, creating relational space between them. Volumetric complexity managed through rupture of the elements in smaller scales; patterns and juxtaposition.

……..eclectic catalogue or is the catalogue the beauty.

The provision of edge end-nodes for the outbound movement of the ‘Golden Corridor’ and the ‘Technology Corridor’ Place for a real SCBDFP (Sub Center Business District

Beauty and the Beast. Disney was right after all.

Focal Point). Development and planning to emphasize on linkage in form, shared amenities, possibility of transformation and improvement through time. The linearity and the limiting cross section to be avoided.

Intervention Chicagoland; dare to dream reductive, reorganization through subtraction and

A North-South infrastructure strip to accompanying bi-polar density. Rail from North

densification of the urban and its vicinity to cope with demographic and geographical trends. Eliminating the borders, seeing the region as an entity and create a proposal for the region is the task, different interest have to be taken in account. Relation between the city of Chicago and the adjacent region is even dispersed as the people

to South, adding an extra infrastructural line is ‘one’ moment. Crossing different existing infrastructural lines and adding points/nodes of intensity; the act of adding infrastructure gives direction towards intensity. Hacking with the urban form introduced into the prevailing urban conditions.

are spread out, balance and interests. Territory… Gregotti?

The one of easy math; at a junction the corridors multiply in 3 times 1 =…. or 4 times 1 =.…

Perceivable Form What to address is the notion of the kind of intervention, in the area where form is derived from the logic of the marketplace. The invisible hand of the marketplace

Pastoral Illusion The divide between (sub)urban and rural is seen as a commodity. This must then be

has shaped the environment we live in and Adam Smith is frowning in his invisible coffin. An intervention which addresses the prevailing problems within a city or region; make Patrick Geddes proud, survey before plan and look at the region. Form of the intervention should be distinctive and clearly planned.

noticeable. The desire to life in a rural pastoral setting, dynamic is flawed creates expansionary drift. Dynamic of outbound fringe is the one of gentrification in the inner city areas. is it? Take in account the region, different parts different interests. The interests of the long time residents must be taken in account. Outbound fringe to San Francisco. Instead of further sprawling the need incubated in strip field.

The separation between city and rural is a commodity worth cherishing. The region is scattered with areas that have been marked as area’s for natural preservation, jagged

Reductive

and cut into pieces by the grid and it’s ongoing development in which it resides.

Address the outbound rural fringe towards San Francisco creating a “No-Stop City” from the hinterlands that once the reason was for the founding of Chicago and spurred

Dream reductive. What is reductive if you place a superimposed new infrastructure in the region? Is this reduction? It is reduction in the sense that the focus will lie upon the region, on what is there / already present. Pinpointing the amenities and

it to it’s greatness as the linchpin of it’s surroundings. This outbound/expansive dynamic of the urban left a dispersed region in which people still tend to relate to the

qualities present. It is reduction in the time spent as commuter, by increasing the density in certain parts for living and working. It is reduction through adding better

city of Chicago but life far from it. The outbound fringe is complex in dynamics; rural fringe is passive and clear in position.

quality public transport, reducing the time spent in transit, reduction in mileage on the roads; reduction in CO2 emissions. Reductive in urban expansion, which would not consume ‘Greenfields’ but will develop inward. ‘Brownfield’ development. To come up

Introducing Moments By introducing different moments within the region that are superimposed on the

with a new definition for ‘Greenfield’ is a necessity in the time we live in. The Pacman of no-density will behave pro-density. Frames for people in transit on the present, the

existing fabric forming a new order and principle; a new kind of infrastructure, address, distinctive in form. Moments are interventions within the Urban Field, taking into

present are those notable shifts.

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In Naperville

9

N O R M A L The norm of the outstanding.

Yanthe Boom

How to find out what is normal in a city and culture that is completely new to you? Being in Chicago, this question stuck in my mind. In order to find out what’s normal,

however, is not surprising. Some architects have been ‘creative’ and came up with different tints of glass and used a variation of diagonal mullions to gussy up

be interpreted without understanding the economic aspects of urban architecture, these tight parameters of program, economics and a speculative market make

I needed a clear definition of ‘normal’. Synonyms for normal are easy to guess: average, common, ordinary, standard and things we take for granted. Unfortunately writing down these synonyms do not make it more clear what ‘normal’ means for a city and what is considered as ‘normal’ in specific neighbourhoods. It is important to

the façade, but most of the towers consist of 100% glass façades with a small openable window as the only exception. Behind the facade the towers always consist out of the same elements: core with elevators and staircase, x number of copied levels and a ground floor with lobby and retail or hotel. On top of the blind block

formal inventions unusual (Willis, 1995). Architects usually have concentrated their work on the development of practical solutions, which could be reduced to some form of mass manufacture and modular construction without reconsidering the typology. What once shaped the design of an office tower, is now visible in the

understand that definitions of ‘normal’ vary by person, time, place, culture and situation. For me, the definition of ‘normal’ is formed by a group of people who share

of parking levels, the identical apartment levels house almost 500 households. The ratio m2 of apartments, core and hallway of these apartment levels is with no

designs of residential high-rises despite its change in function. Designing with economic parameters is part of the American culture and fits in the history of the

the same norms.

surprise alike for the 6 buildings, which suggest the most efficient proportion. The towers are placed in the

skyscraper and construction booms. But should we, young architects, take this for granted?

The method I used to explore ‘normal’ was making photo series of objects of the everyday life. Coffee cups, toilets, street patterns and doors all became subject of my camera. After capturing 1000 doors, the door

existing grid. It looks like the development plans do no cover the necessary infrastructure outside the plot needed to house thousand new residents. Schools and supermarkets, parking places and traffic jams are thing

No, and therefore criticism regarding the liveability of city full of towers is as old as the tower itself. Critique concerning the human values, homogeneous skylines,

became a character which expresses the personality of

that concerns the neighbours, but it seems that these

and dead streets play a role in books, manifests and

the residents and has a Chicago style to it. Wandering through town in order to capture ‘normal doors’, the homogeneous façades of the towers which form the skyline of Chicago caught my eye. Do all the doors of

aspects are not high on the agenda of the developers and alderman.

This small study confirmed my own observations after three months in Chicago. Architecture in Chicago

studies.

A good example is the book The Highrise of Homes written by SITE, an architecture studio founded in New York, in 1980. It criticizes the disappearance of human

the tenants look identical to their neighbours? Why do all

is dominated by something other than what we

values when stacking homes: “However, industrialization

residential towers look the same and how do residents identify themselves with their homes? Another question you can ask yourself is, why are there still apartments

learn in school, namely economics and power. This architecture of diagrams for profit results in standardized homogeneous ‘luxury’ residential towers. Whereby on

and standardization, while expediting multiple-story housing construction, have eclipsed the personalization and variation evident in pre-industrial housing. With land

built in a city that is not growing? If you take a closer look to the city’s census and data of housing, which give the impression that Chicago is declining. But in fact growth

the scale of the building and of the city are no surprises.

I can conclude, I found the norm, and it’s boring!

use becoming more stringent, verticality has become an urgent requirement in many areas of the world, yet the need for individualized and visually motivated drivers

is shifting towards Downtown, South Loop and Near North and these neighbourhoods are definitely booming.

In the coming years 10 000 apartment units in this area will be added in the so called construction boom.

Although I had never expected my search for ‘normal’ would lead me to towers, and architecture of standardization was new to me, this phenomena is not

for housing had not changed. Rather, it is overlooked by contemporary housing practices which too often confuse economics, efficacy and architectural formulae with human values.” The design solution SITE gives is a

With the global need to build dense cities, living in highrises in city centres is becoming more normal than ever before. But is building a huge amount of identical glassy luxury towers in Downtown Chicago the best option to house the population in a segregated city that is famous

“What is normal for the

Charles Addams

frame to let the residents built their own home to express their individuality. These ideas, and more recent ones like SOMs ‘bold architecture’ during the architecture biennale are inspired on the 1909 Theorem the Skyscraper as Utopian Device stay on paper, whether

In order to criticize the spatial and social impacts of growing number of glass residential towers close to downtown, I first had to find the norm. Therefore I

new at all.

Constraints that created the towers we see today are over a 100 year old. In 1893 Barr Ferree at the AIA national convention in Chicago already said: “Current

that is good or bad case. Even in Chicago architects made efforts to improve liveability of the particular building type. Educated at the Bauhaus Bertrand Goldberg knew how to industrialize the structure to reduce its costs. Goldberg: “I wanted to get people out

unpacked 6 towers that are currently under construction or proposed in the coming years in Chicago’s downtown area. Although the towers may vary from height, they have quite a few similarities.

Before anything is build or analysed the first resemblance

American architecture is not a matter of art, but of business. A building must pay or there will be no investor ready with the money to meet its cost. This is at once the curse and the glory of American architecture” (Igor Marjanovic, 2010). Since the beginning of the

of boxes, which are really psychological slums. Those long hallways with scores of doors to the core opening anonymously are inhuman. Each person should retain his own relation to the core. It should be the relation of the branch to the three, rather than that of the cell to the

is already visible in the streets. Slogans like “luxury rentals”, “luxury for rent” pop-up on construction sites to attract affluent millennials to the city. And with success, the luxury amenities, great locations, awesome views is everything you desire in one place and prevent tax

skyscraper-end of the 19th century- the tower is shaped by the highest amount of rentable space to let the construction pay within the tight parameters of zoning ordinances, location and program. As Carol Willis points out in Form Follows Finance the rise of the

honeycomb” (Igor Marjanovic, 2010). Additionally, the doors in the circular corridor in Marina city had individual colours to enhance orientation. Despite Goldberg’s efforts to change the structure of the high-rise, he had not many followers and the rectangular glass boxes with

payers from fleeing to the suburbs. The architecture,

skyscraper and the development of downtowns cannot

long straight corridors concurred territory in downtown

spider is chaos for the fly.”

for its Chicago style?

In Chicago Issue #1

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N Milwaukee Ave

N Milwaukee Ave

N Milwaukee Ave

Pilsen

Pilsen

Pilsen

Pilsen

Wicker Park

Wicker Park

N Milwaukee Ave

N Milwaukee Ave

N Milwaukee Ave

Pilsen

Pilsen

Pilsen

Wicker Park

Pilsen

Logan square

N Milwaukee Ave

N Milwaukee Ave

N Milwaukee Ave

Pilsen

Pilsen

Pilsen

Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park

Wicker Park

Wicker Park

Wicker Park

Pilsen

Pilsen

Pilsen

Pilsen

Lincoln Park

Wicker Park

Wicker Park

Wicker Park

Wicker Park

Pilsen

Pilsen

Pilsen

Wicker Park

Pilsen

Wicker Park

Wicker Park

Wicker Park

Wicker Park

Pilsen

Pilsen

Pilsen

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

Logan Square

Logan Square

Logan Square

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

Logan Square

Logan Square

Logan Square

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park

Near North Side

Near North Side

Near North Side

12

Chicago. Not only architects addressed the development of high-rises in Chicago, even the government made plans to regulate the growing amount of towers in the

The criticism covers different scal: from standardized units; anonymous doors; hallways without daylight and no interaction between neighbours to traffic problems;

replaced with another tower any time soon.

What is not often enough emphasized, in my opinion, is the divisions these towers cause within the society.

city. The Mayor Task force’ s plan High-rise high-density, concerning the liveability on street level is spoken of ‘the problem’: “Without a clear vision and strong plans, undirected high-rise, high-density development will undermine the diversity and other urban qualities that have made these neighbourhoods desirable. It will kill

parking shortage; ad-hoc planning; politics and economics. Although the critique is dating back to the last century, it already contained the same frustrations that I had from my own observations in Chicago.

Unfortunately, it looks like not much has changed despite the criticism, even worse it became luxury! What started

Cost-effectiveness with the development of public housing and high profitability in the private sector keeps pushing down the costs against the real needs of their tenants. Examples of American public housing towers like Pruitt Igoe in St. Louis and Cabini Green in Chicago are labelled as inhuman and torn down neglecting its

the goose that laid the golden egg.” Concerns like traffic jams; fight for parking places; poorly located highrises that ruin good streets with cold walls of parking structures; a limited amount of best views and every new high-rise will neglect the views of the high-rises already

as modern way of building, affordable industrialized housing with light and air for everybody, changed into something outstanding for the rich. The standardized residential high-rise with an economic structure is camouflaged with amenities like pools, gyms, dog runs,

failure. Whereas the same typology with higher rents, maintenance service and a pool on top is celebrated as best you can get luxury for the affluent. Especially in a segregated city like Chicago I think this ‘luxury’ way of building is as much responsible for segregation as

there. Regardless of the efforts of the mayor’s task force, the ad hoc planning, deal making by developers and alderman without listening to the neighbours is still happening nowadays.

security and air-conditioning and sold with profit as luxury and unique. Everybody buys a “luxury” box in the sky, which in fact is the same and normal all over the world. The only thing unique is the view, which is easily

the ‘bad’ neighbourhoods with lower incomes and high vacancy rates. By attracting the upper middle class to live in luxury, the gap between these classes will look bigger. Besides, the architecture of the tower itself

The vernacular of capitalism, skyline facades in 19th and 21st century

enhances the separation visually. A closed off block of

If living in high density that is close to city centres is going

This problem I addressed with residential towers goes

parking levels, a luxury lobby, a guard and valet parking on street level emphasizes the fact that this way of living is not accessible for everybody passing by. The towers become an arrogant structure in the city, built for the wealthy individual and not for the city as a whole.

to be the future, I think a clear vision on the city’s zoning policies, public transport, dealing with segregation, sustainability and room for innovation is needed and not simply left to developers to form the city by repeating the profitable tower. With the current mindset I do not think

way beyond architecture alone and is not only to be answered within our profession, but at least young architects can be aware and start a conversation.

Question the developers demands, and think what would be best for the community and the city as a whole.

While observing Chicago, I saw that the growing number towers under construction is proof that city centres are getting denser. Living in towers in dense city centres is needed to make room for agriculture to feed the

it is likely that the structure of residential tower is going to change. The very parameters that are determining the design of a tower must change; the form and efficiency of a towers is not enough when evaluating the Tower itself. The current method of evaluation is just

Architects should be aware of the economic situation and use it as a tool to convince the developer to invest in good design with a smart economic plan and not, instead, in themselves.

population. Unfortunately, in Chicago is that not the only reason why it’s becoming more normal to live in towers. During my search for normal, I became aware of a more imposing fact that the high-rises built in Chicago are designed to make profit through a standardized architecture. Building cities became marketing and do

another form of camouflage in the form of the façade or amenities. If the motivation of building tower which are homes, it could properly address the need of housing the population of the future someday, architects can focus on human values and development of the city instead of cost reducing design solution in favour of making profit.

not satisfy the needs and individuality of the citizens.

In Chicago Issue #1

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41 flrs 149 m

48 flrs 160 m

48 flrs 173 m

Section Elevation

Apartment floorplan

Ground floorplan

Apartment Core Hallway

GFA

50 670 m²

56 24 m²

FAR

18

24

25

509 units, range 46 - 170 m²

402 units, range 60 - 125 m²

500 unit, range 50 - 122 m²

Apartments

69 069 m²

180 places

156 places

240 public places

Retail

1853 m²

2043 m²

743 m²

Hotel

-

-

-

Amenities

Each amenity at Wolf Point West has been designed to deliver both remarkable beauty and flawless functionality.

Amenity spaces feature pool, hot tub, spa, golf simulator, fitness centre, business center, club room, bike storage, sky and river lounge, dog run.

Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find here. All the things that make life more liveable. From 24/7 room service to concierge and valet service, fitness, yoga studio, outdoor terrace with televisions, grilling, game areas, rooftop pool, sundeck, and lounge.

Tower will also include a lavish amenity deck with a pool and a green roof.

Parking

Location

200 N Michigan Ave

343 W Wolfpoint Plaza

1326 S Michigan Ave

Architect

bKL

bKL

Solomon Cordwell Buenz

Developer

John Murphy

The John Buck Company

Hines Interests, Magellan Development Gr

Name

MILA

Wolf Point West

-

Slogan

Luxury perfectly placed

Luxury apartment living at the Chicago River’s edge.

Luxury, but affordable apartments

14

93 flrs 351 m

86 flrs 314 m

54 flrs 184 m

65 344 m²

112 638 m²

22

36

25

454 units, range ?

506 units, range 40 - 210 m²

406 units, range ?

155 places

598 places

346 places

646 m²

100 m²

-

276 rooms

-

205 rooms

Amenity deck and outdoor pool for the apartments. Two rooftop bars, for residents and public, that would look over Grant Park through a criss-cross of beams connecting to the high-rise's upper floors.

At the very top 86th floor is a residential amenity deck that would be located at a far higher elevation than any other such space in Chicago.The podium roof contains another amenity deck, this one largely outdoors with a green roof.

The tower will feature a lobby lounge, two full service restaurants, a bar and a spa. In addition, the building would feature a 5,400 square foot ballroom, a new public art sculpture.

375 E Wacker Drive

148 735 m²

800 S Michigan Ave

1000 S Michigan Ave

Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture

Helmut Jahn

Studio Gang, bKL

Oxford Capital Group, Quadrum Global

Crescent Heigh

Wanda Group, Magellan Development Gr

-

-

Wanda Vista Tower

-

-

Luxury condominiums at lakeshore east, a crystalline form inspired by nature.

In Chicago Issue #1

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16

In Chicago Issue #1

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B R I A N

L E E

Of work and decline.

Interview by Maria Rohof, Floris van der Burght

MR/FvdB: Can we take pictures?

was a nice way of fitting into the context of The Hague.

A part of the design studio is the creation and

If you look at the Metropolitan Area of Chicago, the region is growing. If you look at population

BL: I should have cleaned up my office

publishing of a magazine with the overall theme ‘Decline’ Each student is addressing this topic in

growth/inhabitants. The suburban area is growing more then the city/core district.

No no no It’s perfect actually. You got a lot of books. Not only coffee table books.

his or her own manner. This interview is going to be featured in the magazine. What are the first phrases or pictures that come up when you hear

Regarding decline though, there are a couple of things that stand out to anybody in the region. One is crime,

Some are, that one was given to me by a client who had his own art gallery; an Indian Client.

the word ‘Decline’?

especially in terms of the significant number of murders by gun killings. I am sure Europeans don’t understand at

So Maria Rohof and Floris van der Burght [laughing about pronunciation]. I don’t know if you guys know but

It’s tough because I’m kind of new to Chicago myself, having lived here for eight years now. So I’m not a booster. Do you know what a booster means?

all… that we have this fascination with guns. You know it’s so embedded in the psyche of the Americans, this kind of independence and personal rights. The second,

I actually did some work in The Netherlands, early in my SOM career when I worked for a design partner, Chuck

Yeah I think so. Is it not a typical Chicago thing?

is the lack of social equality, which is surprising to me because I grew up in a period where, especially myself

Bassett, who did the Shell headquarters in The Hague.

Do you know that building?

Chicago grew as part of the boosters, Boostertown.

being a minority, racism was prevalent and that I had thought we had passed that issue.

I do know that the Headquarters moved from

“I think there are people who immediately would take offence by the word decline.”

Do you mean the social inequality and the race

Amsterdam to the Netherlands but can’t recall that building.

Ok, so it’s an older, traditional building and we did another building next to it. I wouldn’t say it was postmodern, but it was anti-modern.

You actually know many of the terms.

issues?

Yes, especially the race issue. To have a mayor of a major American city propose maybe it would be good to intern the Syrians refugees into camps. Well, that was just shocking to me that anybody would even

How did you relate to the surroundings, did you do an investigation of the urban?

I think there are people who immediately would take

mention that because during the Second World War, the Japanese Americans were ordered to internment camps, and that was a truly awful injustice due to prejudice and

Yes, obviously; In addition to the wonderfully scaled neighborhood, there was a Berlage museum building

offense by the word decline. Why is it declining? Is it really declining? Data indicates that the region is losing

fear. Then, you hear about all of these issues with police and African Americans. The whole issue about racial

close by, with fairly traditional brick and stone details that we carefully studied. Chuck came from the Saarinen School so he didn’t have hang-ups doing buildings that had a base of stone; properly detailed brick walls with openings in it; even traditional elements like bronze

population; but in fact the Chicago city center is gaining population. I think in Chicago’s context, because it always has been the second city, you know after New York, that it would be provocative to say to the citizens, Chicago is in decline.

inequality between Black and White is something that we, as a nation, thought that we went through back in the 50’s. You would think that subsequent generations would become more tolerant, smarter, and accepting of more diversity. In addition to the impression of decline

window frames with arms that would drop down for an awning, to deal with sun. It was a courtyard building; everybody had access to light, from the courtyard or the outside space. So, for me, it was actually a very interesting project

They are not growing as fast as New York or LA. That is interesting. I actually don’t know how fast New York is growing.

due to crime and social inequality, the education issues in Chicago are significant - why can’t we get enough money to educate people?

These problems can be understood as facts, dealt with simple actions?

Did you encounter an different world while designing, more European?

Yes, it was actually much more European than American.

New York is growing at a higher rate then Chicago.

It would be interesting to compare the Metropolitan Region to the actual city - the core district compared to

You would think simple actions but then it is tied up in ideologies and special interests groups - politicians, teacher and police labor unions, entitlement and social

People liked the building when it was finished, they felt it

the suburban district.

services advocates, and what people believe is fair vs.

In Chicago Issue #1

Brian Lee

19

underserved. It is a huge issue in the United States right now.

Is the Biannual a start or start-over?

Start-over, right… I think part is. It is interesting were

Individualism in approach / take on society?

There is always this aspect, in this country, that society celebrates the self-reliant. To understand America, you have listen to the debate about how much should government intervene in people’s lives. How do

you go then with decline.

[Telephone call, Brian takes a call for 2.5 minutes]

can not only make things, but really focus on making great things. So I went to architecture school and was at certain point asked to help part-time at SOM at the

Is decline a too broad topic?

urban design department. After I graduated, they asked me if I was interested in architecture group, so I did that after working for my father for a year in Sacramento, California,

One of the things I noticed, it is very interesting how

Sacramento California, that’s where you originally

you do the most public good even if you have some taking advantage of the system? The classic example is someone who has benefitted from government assistance and has been able to make something of his or her life, looking back and criticizing other people who

Mitesh runs his studio. Because a lot of times you have the conditions of a typical architectural studio: there is a site, there is a program, go at it and come up with something and we can talk about…you know different degrees of design ingenuity, technical expertise, and

from?

still take advantage of the government benefits. He or she might say, “why are they buying steaks or lobster with food stamps and why aren’t they working?” The country is full of people resenting other people. .

maybe how it is actually relevant to society. But I can see the Chicago Studio’s point of view of trying to understand a larger role that designers can have, and to me that is interesting.

lots of prestigious projects, worldly clients, and a critical mass of talented people around you, that seemed big and exciting.

That resentment against somebody else, jealous or don’t you have that in each country?

Perhaps, but it is a very deep issue in our culture, that

It’s about developing a method so that you partly get to know thereby understand the role you the environment. Develop what is

supposedly is based on tolerance and charity, that

interest, in this complicated field of work.

a complete architect, I also should be checking

causes people to take sides and then go to their own ‘tribes’ of social, economic or philosophical beliefs, and not work together.

Quite hard to find your own topic, your quest.

shop drawings and talking to construction people, understanding how things actually go together. At that time, we had design and technical departments, with

Right, that is where I started my first job, a student housing project, but having worked in San Francisco at SOM, the office was interesting to me. There was

So in 1979 you started to work in the San Fransisco for yourself, yourself and could play in your point of

department?

I spent 28 years there as a designer, but tried to learn all aspects of making buildings. I felt that to become

both groups very powerful but separated. If you have more responsibility, a designer could follow a project all the way through - this is how we are going to make this,

I think a lot of the issues of decline relate to some of these larger societal issues, that I don’t know if designers and architects can make a big impact. You know, power are those who are dealing with policy, politics, and economics that influence how we live. I’m

these are the real dimensions, this is the job process, and go on the site, etc.

hopeful designers can focus on social issues in the environment with interventions that speak to change

So my focus has always been design throughout making a building. I do like to understand the conception, how

and a better quality of life - the way artists, writers, and thought leaders question and provoke new ways of thinking.

to start a project, the challenge of so many uncertainties.

Even when I was in school, I remembered actually asking the question, “How we start?” I sat there with different Brian Lee’s lecture evening at ArcheWorks

The different fields are shrugged against each other; urbanism and policy making, urbanism and architecture. Interaction between fields. Domino

If people have passion about something and feel that something is important to fix, then that works pretty well.

professors and they would have different answers, because everyone starts in different ways.

That’s also a part of your method in a way.

effect between them.

You would wish you would get an architect to become the president. At least somebody would push a physical and environmental agenda for social good.

Do you think this works better then here is your site, program, goal?

Yes.

It is, because I think for us, we try to ask that question really early. We don’t want to copy something what has been done before and put it there. We don’t usually like the clients who just tell what they like to do, because in fact they hired us to tell them. We try asking the

Once an actor managed to become a president of the United States.

In the last 8 years here in Chicago I have seen an incline of certain parts of the physical environment. In terms of the quality of the open spaces, the nature of

We admire that you are now quite a long time at SOM, How do you end up here? How did you experienced that time frame, because it was a very interesting time?

questions about the project. Is it about the culture or place, some sort of preservation or elevating a spirit that we found that the client doesn’t even know about?

Is it about the program or brief, and how to make it work better? Is it about construction or materiality, to

transportation, the ability to have walkable cities, the overall quality of life with a vibrant mix of uses such as schools and universities adjacent to residential, offices, health centers, and shopping, serving a more diverse core working and living population. Unfortunately most

My father was an architect, so I kind of knew the profession a little bit. I had a great interest in what he did but also what his friends did. He went to school at UC Berkeley, and when I was young, I would accompany him after he graduated when he visited his friend’s offices In

celebrate an architectural experience? Those ideas to me are quite interesting, not only at the beginning but even to the smallest detail at the end. I admired Bassett who, for his hotel design, did uniforms for the staff and placed the art work himself.

of this is downtown and not evenly distributed throughout the city neighborhoods, which gets back to the equality and investment issues.

Chicago is a city that thinks about architecture, selfconscious about it heritage, trying to be inventive, focusing on blockbuster projects - we are having a

San Francisco. I would see these great studios, where people would be working in literally in white coats. They would have… I tell this to many people… linen window shades, hung inside on the studio brick wall, which they would pull them down and there would be a fullsize detail section drawing of the window and wall. That

Architects are really multi-talented in a way. They can ask a question and device it into a design.

There where in the Nike board a couple architects placed. They have a point of view on things how they analyse it in a way.

Biennial.

was pretty cool. I thought wow, this is the life where you 20

In Chicago Issue #1

Brian Lee

21

There is a sort of notion of architects solving problems on a basic kind of level. But how do you solve that problem, and then try to turn it into something that’s beautiful and inspiring?

I think the world looks for design ideas that are about differentiation not compatibility.

When you joined SOM, was it expanding globally?

That the global headquarters are expanding and

each one, houses were a pretty small fee. I think that the returns and profitability of doing large scale developer work probably was very important for the firm but it also moved us in a direction that maybe wasn’t so great.

So 28 years in San Francisco, but that time-frame is from 1997 till almost 2000 and than you moved

countries are industrializing?

It was expanding into new markets at that time -

You mean in status?

In status yes, because it was more about a building as

to Chicago in 2007, but did SOM changed in these years?

Yes, they did very much. SOM changes according to

especially the Middle East and China. Nick Adams wrote a really good book related to SOM history. I don’t know if the global expansion was because they strategically

a commodity rather than a work of art or provocation.

There was a couple of business articles where people said, of the ten best investment buildings in the country,

the markets in which it works, the talent in the offices, and the leadership of the partners. We have had our ups

followed global corporation and business expansion or it was just being opportunistic. Somebody saw something

SOM did six or seven from them. Impressive but it did not put us on the same level as maybe Eero Saarinen,

and downs in terms of quality of projects and quality of leadership. Some partners were very strong designers and powerful managers. The best times were when

here and asked us to do it over there?

Louis Kahn or other greats.

Of course, the reference to corporate America is

But still my favourite building in Chicago is Inland

they secure the great commissions but never sacrificed design excellence. We saw we didn’t always achieve

always there also in the companies and also for Chicago architecture.

Steel.

Inland Steel was a highly conceptual early typology and

consistent excellence so we tried to refocus on design.

Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill were three men, with a vision of a group practice to respond to corporate America, and they set up a stratified organization and

Yes, In addition to all of the success in exporting large scale planning, engineering, and architectural works, Chicago had a powerful influence and impact on the city.

discrete offices that mirrored those projects and clients.

Now, it is still a group practice, but much more fluidity between offices and talent expertise. We all have a shared belief good design drives success, not good business practices - that follows.

The time I spent in San Francisco was also following strong work that came out of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s corporate America, particularly more speculative based projects from developers that responsible for how the downtown grew.

A mimic construction of the corporate business?

SOM never built a balloon framing suburban neighbourhood right? As an ultimate speculative?

is at a scale that operates at many wonderful levels.

Saarinen would do a building like that.

Is Eero Saarinen an example for you?

Yes, to me he is an interesting architect, because he was highly skilled and did challenging concepts, but also never felt compelled to be locked by a consistent philosophy or style. However, I still like Mies and Corb.

I suppose we may sound like other current corporate businesses like Apple. But we had to change with the

No, not really, that’s been considered kind of low end.

Mies obviously was a very discipline and maybe very predictable designer. To me, Le Corbusier’s work was a philosophy about architecture, art, and engineering.

It was in Le Corbusier’s portfolio, over those eight volumes, you see that he was very interested in many

times. Early, SOM carefully positioned themselves to be responsive to the structure of corporate America and

Although, it did do frame housing and community planning in the 1940’s for Oak Ridge Tennessee, where

different things, always with a very strong sophistication and powerful gesture.

global businesses, particularly ones that had a strong CEO or chairman. They had the ability to convince the clients to do innovative projects by matching the culture

they had the National Lab. In wartime.

He was really interested in the regionalism of architecture. That’s very modern, speculative.

and organization of their businesses. SOM and corporate America was the same. Doing all those headquarters

You know the history quite well, that’s good… scary [laughing]. I think the urban development was more

I think to me Saarinen was a more modern version of that.

buildings and new urban office developments was easy for us because it was how we were ourselves. Now,

urgent than small scale suburban houses. Unless you built 1000 houses and you collected $2000 dollar for

How is the structure organized partners and

22

“It’s hard for me to design with just words, so I do have to think about things.”

directors, and what is the difference, different expertise. How is the structure of SOM organized/

of leadership, a compelling voice, having judgment, and making the right calls.

person, but as how he or she looks to certain things. How different fields can interact and have

setup?

We have partners, who own the firm, usually divided into managing and design partners, although we now have

SOM is the multidisciplinary firm, do you this an asset? Do you gather more work by being this

interplay with one another?

Yes, we take that as a given how we operate our studios - designers are sitting with the technical architects,

one technical partner. I include in the category of design partners, those in engineering, interiors, and the urban

large firm with multiple expertise? More contracts?

I’m not so sure about getting more contracts. We often

managers, urban designers, interior designers, and the structural or MEP/sustainability engineers together in

design. We then have directors, who are very capable, and could be principals or partners in their own firm or firms elsewhere. They are very skilled and they, we

times get excluded because we say this is how we want to work. Some developers, I won’t mention any names, say, “No, no, we want a good design architect, and

the same team.

use the phrase, extend the reach of the partners, and often times are in charge of a functional or geographical

we will hire the engineers. We don’t trust that design architect. We want to have this engineer to make sure

disciplinary then you might also create something new.. through synergy of the different fields.

market.

That is also the corporate part in the structure of

the design architect doesn’t do anything stupid. We need to get the most efficient engineering as possible, because we know that the engineering costs is one third

I don’t know how many times I have had a structural engineer say to the team: “Do you guys really want to do that?” That question causes the team to ask themselves,

the firm, the portfolio?

Part of it is, because in building today, there was a high

of the building. Maybe we are even going to hire another architect who is going to do all of the working drawings,

“Is this idea the most efficient and rational way to do that. Is it worth it? Maybe we could try this or this…”

degree of expectation and specialization - “I want to hire the best health care architect I can find, who is that person?” Okay, would you hire somebody who has never done a hospital before?

because maybe we need to make sure the building is not going to leak…”

The discussion is where the magic happens. It’s hard innovate without trust and being comfortable with the collective strength of the larger group.

So that’s really like a design team, multi

To us, this is not the right way of practicing architecture, because you get people who are, in American terms, “siloed”. We believe in collaboration, this idea of me being able to work with the best engineers, like Bill Baker and his group. Sometimes, he shows me nonrelevant stuff that sparks ideas… come on, look at this...

But still …having large firms and small firms both have a different role to play in the built environment, addressing the current situation.

Of course smaller firms can be more experimental and make highly personalized architecture. Our limitation is

Have you been director before you became

And this is part of the asset and the added value given by SOM? Yes, you all probably think as I used to think, I can do

that we do have many clients who don’t want to be super provocative or about making a statement. To avoid being safe and dull, we have to jab ourselves every once in the while, to do something that is interesting, something different, and causes some change... maybe.

partner?

No we initiated the director position after I became a

urban design, I can do interiors, I can… well maybe not structures… But to actually have people who have some

Did you ever thought of starting an own firm.

partner. Before, you became an associate more or less after five years. That is kind of the expectation. Then associate partner, now named associate director, who

specialty and some real kind of elevated ability in those fields, it is very fun and enriching being able to interact with those people like Phil Enquist, the urban designer,

[Laughing] Yes, often times… but mostly about operating on a different scale of projects, still with the resources we have here. I think that there’s actually a

are people with a high level of talent as architects and engineers and who might finish their careers in that

and, Jaime Velez, the interiors designer.

lot of opportunities of operating at a smaller scale, but I also know it is equally hard to do something radical in a

position. Directors may or may not come next, then partners. In a partner you are looking for certain qualities

But I think it is interesting to you can talk to someone who is not directly super designing

limited office. I know I could probably will do something when I retire, because I do retire.

Probably no.

We struggle with this. You would say, I want to hire that person who did ten hospitals. But maybe now you might hire a creative design architect and you put him with a firm that has done ten hospitals, because you want that great architect to help ask the right questions and to redefine health care.

In Chicago Issue #1

Brian Lee

23

You do?

Oh yeah…We actually have a mandatory retirement age. When I retire I would like to have a small studio and

structure and climate engineers on the outside.

I think it is nice to have the same ideas. If you have

able to do that with your colleagues, especially at a more elevated level were you don’t worry about hurt feelings, is what we do in the studios, right?

do small precious things.

How do envision that when you retire, you maybe

to have to work with an climate engineer, what you want to is not the same but. Mutual understanding get in line with one another. When I worked at an office. Interior office. Different speeds of designing. Lack of integration. This might speak for a larger firm, to have this synergy.

Put the drawings up on the wall, I don’t care who did them. But I want to people talk about them. Even though I have an idea about what I want to do already anyway, I want people at all levels to discuss design like this. It gets contrary ideas out to check ourselves and it is a

move back to the bay area? Then you have your own studio. You will definitely have those sunshades with the 1:1 details on it.

Big drawings, sketching and inking, and white lab coats [laughing]. Oh yeah… That would be good.

No question we have many talented people of different disciplines moving towards a common purpose. But, I think here are lots of different models to achieve design excellence. We have some consultants that are absolutely fantastic; Jamie Carpenter, the guy who

good chance to practice and become more capable and comfortable at making presentations.

deals with glass is a great collaborator. Landscape designers, which we don’t have in-house, have really added immeasurably to the success of our projects. So it’s all different.

on my projects. Sometimes I set several directions and expect others to develop them to see how they evolve. I meet regularly with the teams and usually stay involved from the beginning to the end, making the final decisions on what to do. Most of the time I get into

Is that keeping you here that difference in scales?

What is your memorable day at work?

I do remember when I was made associate… when you are SOM staff, you are part of a very large group of people in that office. At that time I started, we were

perhaps too much detail on some projects, almost to a project designer level, because I care how the design must be comprehensive and completely resolved. I keeps me from spending more time leading the firm, but

What is keeping me here is a hope that we develop an

probably 300 people in the San Francisco office. In

I prefer the design work to business strategies. I usually

intense, inventive, creative spirit here at the office, for whatever scale of projects. If we get a design problem, let’s not only talk about beauty but let’s also think about

advancing you to an associate, the firm thinks that you have some promise. The benefits are not that great, but it means that you have potential and the firm would

prioritize my time where I think it is needed. For the small library, I knew it would have an impact on the local community, so I spent a lot of time drawing, reviewing,

how we can do something that says something and has meaning. It may not always be about the biggest or the most costly. For instance, can we do more with

like to keep you and give more responsibility. That was significant to me. That was like ok, they and I made a commitment.

and going to meetings to overcome the struggle of the design being compromised by cost reductions and poor craftsmanship.

less, preserve, and economize on everything? Can we innovate with a humble design in energy, conservation of resources, or even using the cheapest materials

Many people thought I would work at SOM for a few years and then move on… right.

possible?

Did you change by that gesture of the company?

Did I drink some Kool Aid [a madman gave this drink,

Or decline?

I don’t know about decline, maybe with lesser, unpretentious expectations. Perhaps we say we are

altered, to his congregation to follow him to death] and….

to design with just words, so I do have to think about things. Rather than being an editor of other’s work, I am better when I have a chance to imagine and develop

going to do a design very simply, but in a beautiful way.

Or somebody says let’s do an office building, but we

Maybe….

I think every designer has a high degree of ego and self-

a solution myself. I do this by thinking and sketching anytime in the office, on a plane, or at home. It’s

are going to do it in all wood, because it represents an building material we have forgotten, it is recyclable and has embedded carbon/low embodied carbon, and we

worth. It is a necessity to believe in the things you do.

But coming to SOM and understanding the power of the company and its ideas occurred for me around that

important for me to do those sketches because I use to make a lot of models and I think that when working with hands you can understand how things look in

think it actually represents a new, more human way to build, even though it is old. Somebody wanted to do a tall building with all wood.

three-dimension. People are more skilled now on the computer to see and build three-dimensionally.

Divide between a small firm and a large firm. A large firm has infinite/more possibilities of making

time of becoming an associate. Before, I was just one of the fifty or sixty people working in the design studio, on my own tasks. Then I saw what it was about SOM that is so significant - the group practice of many talents coming together to produce greatness. I remember that time more than when I became a partner.

something new / inventing / fun. Small firm can maybe make easier big statement, but maybe confined in ways of doing.

Yes, in a large firm, we can do a lot of research and have many people to make that wood building work.

Another day, we had a very interesting time when the design partners got together. It was one of the first times where we said let’s talk about design, because it hard to criticize a senior design partner when his design is awful.

In the Chicago area or in the Bay area?

Not sure. Probably Bay area.

You have this idea of actually branching off.

I think we, even now at this office, can try to do things at different scales. Perhaps it is smaller scale, affordable housing to help Chicago’s issues, or neighborhood buildings with impact like the little library in Chinatown, or a new prototype office development in Chicago.

We would have many other projects supporting that research, so there is a certain amount of power in a large practice that you lack when you are a medium size or small firm.

One of the New York partners made arrangements for us to sit in the Philip Johnson Glass House for the day to show each other work. We also did tours to the other pavilions… some were very strange… but what a good use of money!

What is better… You think there is an ideal number for an office/firm, a mix of people, should there always be an engineer, climate specialist, interior.

In our office, we see that as a great convenience and facilitates dialogue and creativity. Over time, you develop a common drive to be innovative and collaborative.

Surrounded by design and talking about design?

It was very informal. In that important, perfect house, we were just sitting around drinking, eating and showing project slides to each other to talk about design and what we felt was important. Many were interesting,

However, we are very happy to partner with the great

some significant and a few very forgettable. But to be 24

Are you designing still. What are you doing?

As design partner at this office, I lead all design efforts

[Secretary enters the room reminding the meeting at four o’clock meeting on the line.]

But let me say one thing. I do think that it’s hard for me

Of course, but I still really like to work with my hands.

Building models from time to time allows you to really understand how the thing exists, so that is really a great thing. Architecture involves the full range from the conceptual realm of ideas to the real, material world.

To build models, mockups, and ultimately real buildings reminds us, design is about the engaging the senses and feelings we experience. I would like to get back to this and I think it is how other people like to develop ideas.

In Chicago Issue #1

Brian Lee

25

SOM

&

L E G AC Y

Panel discussion with Reiner de Graaf, Kees Kaan, Brian Lee Yanthe Boom, Roman de Weijer

On the 5th of October I, together with 9 Dutch students that live and work in Chicago for three months, visited SOM’s office in Chicago for the second time. A week before we had a tour on the 10th floor, this time we

Reinier first makes clear that what other people read into you can be more interesting than what you think of yourself. “The same cluelessness that prevails in architecture, prevails at my office too.”

had a chance to see the 5th floor of the Chicago style Railway Exchange Building designed by Frederick Dinkelberg of Burnham & Company.

Welcomed by a full of food and a single Eames chair, the vibe is set. We enter the light coloured lecture room with a view on Lake Michigan. The room is full of empty chairs, the group takes advantage of the situation

Then he moves on with his two fascinations, with no surprise SOM is one of them the other might surprise you more: German prefab communism housing. Although we are very curious about the second fascination we elaborate on the first, SOM. The magic of it, according to Reinier de Graaf, is architecture that is separated from author. “Architecture is

and occupy the first two rows. The crowd fills the room with employees, not really sure if it is the talk or the delicious food that attracts people to leave their desks and join the discussion.

objectified as knowledge to pass on.”

In front of the beamer three architects: Brian Lee, partner of SOM;

As I started a new sandwich, the architects started on their 5 slide presentation. The idea was that they showed projects that influenced them. Or not… All three seemed to interpreted this in a different way.

Kees Kaan, founder KAAN Architecten; Reinier de Graaf, partner of Office of Metropolitan Architecture. Next to them Roland Reemaa, visiting professor of the TU Delft and our moderator, he kicks off the conversation: “Unfortunately Mitesh Dixit cannot be here, but because of him we are here. According to him these tree man have made him an

First off was Brian Lee. A serious series of slides showed that SOM is a corporate firm that matches the corporate economy of their clients and likes to use structural expression in their designs based on Mies’ design ethos. Part of the legacy is an ‘anonymity’ in their works. He concludes

architect and he will be their student forever. For him seeing these three

that SOM strives for universal architecture that applies to a place, an

men sharing their ideas behind one table was a dream from the beginning when we started putting together the In Chicago studio.”

idealized box.

What we do know, after attending the lectures by the panellist during the

Next was Kees Kaan, who showed his own projects that referenced to work of SOM. He particularly seemed to like the air force academy

Chicago Architecture Biennale at Archeworks, is what the practices from

chapel, because it was in line with the design ideals he later explained.

the man in front of us have in common. Firstly: an outstanding ability to understand their clients. Secondly: deliver great architecture. Thirdly: also not deliver architecture only for clients. What we don’t know is the

A project should explore one subject or ‘idea’ that’s well thought out. In the case of the chapel “Religion and Technology”. When researching that one topic, a narrative for the building will come out of it, creating an

reason why we are here together under the title SOM and Legacy, so in order to clear that up. Brain Lee gives us the answer: a free meal.

understandable design.

Reinier chose satire as his means to make clear to us what SOM’s legacy

When I started eating a salad, a more elaborated reason why Mitesh brought us here follows. “All of us, designers, think about design. SOM is the first place Mitesh worked at, so in his formative years he got to know

is. Presenting his 5 favourite works of ‘SOM’: starting the Neue Galerie, the Seagram tower and the post office at the Federal Centre in Chicago.

All works of Mies. Followed, more serious, by the wooden skyscraper

the work of SOM. SOM has a passionate work atmosphere and formed the touchstone for the rest of his life. People think they have the best time

concept and the Aon tower. Congratulating SOM with these projects on outperforming Mies and later outperforming the performer: their own

working with SOM; clients and situations are interesting.” If Brain had the best time of its live at SOM? “No, but it kept me interested.”

office, through imitation. Telling the audience “There’s something great about being the first, but it’s much harder to be the third.” Brian Lee reacted by telling Reinier that the Aon center isn’t designed by SOM. All

It’s Kees’ turn. A summary of SOM in 28 words: “The ethos of SOM is to provide high quality architecture for a commercial client by being

three architects had no idea who to compliment on the design. Reminding me of an earlier bet between our tutor Mitesh Dixit and Andrew Balster,

a professional and equal sparring partner through mirroring their organization or format.” What follows is a more detailed explanation with the familiar Dutch words intertwined once in a while. The lesson I,

head of Archeworks about who designed the Daley Center: SOM or Jaqcues Brownson. Mitesh still owes Andrew $1000.

as a young architect, learn: In practice stay away from personal hunches, like at SOM the name of the architect is ‘hidden’. In practice, an

What became most apparent after the presentations was that no one seems to know who designed what modern building anymore. With the

‘impersonal’ explanation gives you a method to explain clearly and with sincerity. You are free to do what you want as an architect if you mirror the organization. One last addition form Kees Kaan to make it more

last few bites of the scrumptious buffet food, the discussion went on about the current way of working in an office. Stating that referencing seems to take the overhand in designing. All firms dive into their own archives

clear: “We were the SOM of the Netherlands.” Reinier de Graaf raises eyebrows: “I thought it was us?”

to see who is first and research nowadays consists of googling projects.

Prototyping seems to be forgotten.

With that said, Roland moves the conversation to Reinier: “We cannot talk about Chicago if we don’t talk about Mies van der Rohe’s significance. You mentioned once that the essence of SOM is that they

With an empty plate on my lap, I came to hear the inevitable question posed in every architectural discussion. Brian Lee asked Reinier de Graaf ‘What’s next?’ In my humble opinion, no architect seems to know so

took the corporate architecture into a generic position, democratized the Mies. What does this mean?”

they just ask each other. As was the case here when Reinier, after telling they just keep on working out as many ideas as possible with hope on an answer. “I don’t know.”

In Chicago Issue #1

SOM & Legacy

27

B O R DE R Conditions of the prejudice.

Felix Ahuis

In Chicago Issue #1

Border

29

“He was checking you out you just like me and my neighbour, because nobody stands here on the corner like you did.”

One thing struck out in particular about Chicago, the segregation in the city. All these homogeneous neighbourhoods, ranging from differences in ethnic

functions they do share or don’t and if this already translates in a physical or non-physical border or some kind affiliation between one and another.

blocked in some way. If it’s not by the chain of apartment blocks, then it’s a fence on the middle of the road, a one way road coming from Oak park or a random strip

to income and education. Jane Jacobs stated in her piece ‘The death and life of great American cities’ that: “Diversity is natural to big cities”. But can you speak of diversity in a city when it’s actually a collection of homogeneous neighbourhoods. If you as a citizen of

The topic of facts and figures is primarily collecting the information of both neighbourhoods and understanding what makes these border conditions in a factual way.

- The racial diversity in Oak Park versus the ethnic

of vegetation across the street. On the streets that did continue, the immediate change at the cross-section was striking, the Oak Park side well maintained and nice green scenery, on the other side of Austin boulevard the complete opposite. It felt like two different streets

Chicago are afraid to enter certain parts of the city, this is not your Chicago. The homogeneous part of the city you life in, is your Chicago.

My perception of Chicago was therefore a collection of segregated neighbourhoods forming the city. Giving the impression that a great amount of the Chicagoans live in their homogeneous bubble, not interacting with one another. Clear borders on the ethnic demographic map between each homogeneous neighbourhood only

homogeneous Austin - A huge gap in median income between one another - The immense difference in crime rate - Education level of its residents, and Oak Park with some of the best schools in Chicago versus a great amount of poorly achieving schools in Austin - House value and mortgage rate

carrying the same name.

These physical boundaries really reminded me of Delmar boulevard in St. Louis, coping with similar segregation problems. A street separating two different

the neighbourhoods, but is this border really as strict as

neighbourhoods, or actually two different worlds. But what is happening at Austin boulevard is maybe even worse. In Delmar there is also a clear border, but it is a border which brings both communities together, the Caucasian and African American communities.

affirming this perception. But I am wondering is this

we see on the demographics and info-graphics? Do you

Austin boulevard on the other hand is in my opinion

actually true or are the demographics of segregation an exaggerated view on the city and its neighbourhoods?

And are those borders really there and visible on the street?

see this on street level as well and do they really live this segregated or are these facts and figures just an exaggerated view on real life?

the opposite, it’s also a border, but rather an extension of the homogeneous neighbourhood of Austin. But I was asking myself, how do the residents perceive and explain their neighbourhood?

All these facts and figures creating a border between

One way to find out, is to see for myself and observe One way to find an answer to these questions is to investigate the borders of two extremes. With borders I mean the place where the borders of the homogeneous

and write down my thoughts and observations while being there. So I did. During the metro trip heading to the border of Austin and Oak Park, I caught myself on

During one of my many trips to the Austin boulevard I made a survey. I showed some residents a ‘neutral’ map of Oak Park and Austin, which was not indicating a clear

ethnic neighbourhoods meet, the edge. In this case the street that divides Austin and Oak Park, Austin boulevard.

being a bit nervous. I was made nervous because of the negative image created by the facts and figures, although I had never visited the area before. During my

border between neighbourhoods so that it wouldn’t lead to any assumptions. I asked them to point out on the map where they live and to draw the area they perceive

I chose to focus my investigation on these two adjacent neighbourhoods because, if we have to believe the statistics, are two radical extremes. Oak Park, a rich

metro ride to the Austin boulevard, I passed right through the centre of Austin. A place where you don’t want to walk in at night or even during the day if I have to believe

as their neighbourhood. Next to this I also asked if they visit Oak Park/Austin often and if they felt like there is some kind of border between the neighbourhoods

suburb within Cook County adjacent to the city of Chicago, is one of the most affluent multi-cultural

the crime statistics. But from above, riding the CTA metro line looking down I got my perception. All these

or something holding them back to visit one of the neighbourhoods, in addition I asked them to point out

municipalities in the U.S. which successfully repelled segregation by selective integration policies. Directly next to Oak Park is the neighbourhood of Austin located,

open parcels, boarded up houses and people hanging out and drinking during the day, are the demographics really as bad as they seem?

what they really appreciate in Oak Park or Austin.

Almost every individual I spoke drew a clear border of their perceived neighbourhood along Austin boulevard,

part of the city of Chicago. It is the largest community area by population in Chicago and can be seen as

The first thing I noticed when leaving the station entering

also a lot of the people I talked with said: “Be careful out here!”

the opposite of Oak Park. A homogeneous (African American) neighbourhood, coping with poverty and high crime rates. All these statistics so far and different from

Austin boulevard, the so called border, was the chain of apartments on the Oak Park side. A chain of multifamily houses giving me the impression of a brick wall delimiting

I spoke to multiple residents along the Austin boulevard, one of them was Gerald. I asked him if he perceived

each other, but geographically so close together. Just a street separating the neighbourhoods, like a border

the east border of Oak Park. Austin on the other hand, has predominately single family homes or big parking

Austin boulevard as a kind of border and if there is a big difference across the street, he instantly said yes. “At

dividing two different countries.

areas giving the opposite impression of a delimiting.

A different observation after walking for an hour, was the feeling of being in a homogeneous neighbourhood,

this side of Austin boulevard people know and take care of each other, on the other side no one does. I know my neighbours and they know me, even the police officer

based on multiple topics during my time in Chicago.

Topics consisting of: maps/space/functions, facts and figures, my own perception/observation of the neighbourhoods and those of its residents and the extreme scenarios; to get a grip on and understand the area in different ways and not only the prejudice of an

although theoretically I was on the border of a multicultural municipality. I had the impression that the ethnic diversity of Oak Park, was actually a statistic created by housing the African American community along Austin boulevard. Creating a border within Oak Park itself.

that’s passing by just a second ago knows me. He was checking you out (me) just like me and my neighbour, because nobody stands here on the corner like you did.

But that’s also the difference, police here in Oak Park arrives within 2 or 3 minutes when something happens, on the other side of the street they arrive within 20-30

unsafe and uninhabitable environment (e.g. Austin) we can find on the internet.

Understanding and mapping the area, consisting out of space and functions, gave me an insight in how Oak Park and Austin are formed and used. But also what

Another thing that really caught my attention was the physicality of the border. Not only the chain of multifamily houses delimiting Oak Park, but also the poor accessibility from Austin to Oak Park. More than 90% of all the roads coming from Austin are not continuing and

minutes, it happened a week ago with a car accident just around the corner! That’s one of the problems, Chicago doesn’t want to work together with the police in Oak Park”.

To understand these border conditions I did research

30

“For me there is a clear border, it’s not about white or black because you also have a lot of whites living in Austin, it’s the way of living. You see kids riding their

“Oak Park is a model of diversity for other neighbourhoods like Austin which really got struck by the white flight and also nationwide. But the problems we now see is not

The Walled City In an attempt to understand the border and intervene in a more utopian way, I used the data I collected,e.g.

bike on the sidewalks and cursing, you don’t have that on this side of the border (i.e. Oak Park). Even if you look at the paper pickup we have here in Oak Park, in Austin you don’t have things like that. But I would say that till Menard avenue it’s still kind of Oak Park and safe to walk, after you pass it you’re entering the real Chicago.

a racial thing, it’s the poverty and drugs on the street.

Of course both neighbourhoods are different, Oak Park is like Alice in Wonderland for residents of Austin.

When I ride along Austin boulevard the difference is clearly visible, but I think throughout the years we are comfortable with each other, we tolerate each other and

maps, statistics, interviews and implemented this in the notion of the wall. It was a research about the wall as a way to intervene in an extreme and utopian way, with the intention to eventually use certain aspects of this utopian way of thinking to change the current conditions. How could this translate in different scenes, ranging from

There is also a myth going on, that everybody is rich on the other side of the street (i.e. Austin Boulevard), but actually where all the same”.

I also spoke to Dave in his real estate office, who is a real estate agent in Oak Park, but owns a lot of houses

our differences. I think Oak Park side of the border is an aspiration zone for them (i.e. residents from Austin), which is a good and a bad think, I guess.”

Next to him is Pamela, resident of South East Austin, she drew the area’s on the map you see in the beginning

extreme to more extreme interventions, where a physical ‘wall’ intervention breaks or even creates segregation and stimulates interaction. Division, inequality, isolation, aggression, distraction, all the negative aspects of the wall, could be ingredients of a new phenomenon:

in Austin as well (including the oldest house in Austin).

He grew up in Austin, but during the seventies he and his family were one of the last white families in Austin due to the white flight which eventually led them to move to Oak Park as well.

of the chapter, showing me the area’s that are ‘safe’ to walk through. She told me that although there a certain parts that are not safe, you have other parts in return that have beautiful architecture, some even one of the oldest in Chicago.

architectural warfare against undesirable conditions like Koolhaas said in his exodus.

Border condition - Oak Park Top; Austin Below

As previously discussed I investigated an extreme way to direct and force interaction between people ranging

of the neighbourhoods, it can work as catalyst for the rest of the area.

in Chicago. When I spoke with some residents from Austin, they were proudly making me aware of this fact.

from different ethnic, education, and income. But how can this be done in a more natural and humane way

So what I tried next is to define the border in a more

This is for me an example that people still care and are proud of their neighbourhood, no matter what prejudice

The First Steps

natural and human way and to focus on the good things of both neighbourhoods. It is collaged in an urban axonometric plan which gives an impression about

tells me other. Sometimes doing nothing and showing what qualities exist, is the best thing to do. The area has lots of potential and making the residents, but also

At the end of my stay and investigation in Chicago one thing became clear, there is a border. Perhaps it is not

how the residents see Oak Park and Austin and what they think as the good parts of their neighbourhood. It

outsiders, aware and curious of these qualities could trigger interaction between one another. And I think

a strict as one street (Austin boulevard) or as physical, although the residents tolerate each other, they are two different worlds not interacting with each other. And in my view this is one of the fundamental problems of the homogeneous and segregated neighbourhoods. Austin

also shows what is important for the neighbourhood. In short it means reinventing or re-presenting Oak Park and Austin. An example shown on the axonometric drawing is the Rockne rugby stadium, a sport becoming increasingly popular under the youth in

those are the first steps of a desegregated Chicago.

has got itself a bad name over the years, people are afraid to go or live in Austin. I think if you manage to create an interaction with a ‘good’ neighbourhood (in this case Oak Park), even if it’s just within a small part

both neighbourhoods. People call it an unifier, a place where everybody comes together during match day.

Another one to mention are Schock’s famous residential houses in Austin, which are some of the oldest homes

while focussing on the good parts of the area?

In Chicago Issue #1

Border

31

Built area

Infrastructure

Public transport

Single family residential

Multi family residential

Commercial

Education

Parks and sports

Religious

Healthcare

Industry

Vacancy

32

In Chicago Issue #1

Border

Border by Teresa

Border by Madison

Border by Gerald

Border by Delphina

Border by

Border by Loera

Border by Teresa

Border by Madison

Border by Gerald

Border by Delphina

Border by

Border by Loera

33

34

In Chicago Issue #1

Border

35

S M A RT

C I T Y

What’s the smartest for Chicago?

Wouter Kamphuis

Chicago seems to not be able to stabilise it’s population.

After years of excessive growth the city is currently (and

both simultaneously and transversally, acknowledging and using technological advancement to provide

Suburbanization Suburbs first emerged on a large scale in the 19th and

has been since the 50s) shrinking. In light of current events such as gentrification and the anticipation

more efficient management of the city’s services and resources.

20th centuries as a result of improved rail and road transport, which led to an increase in commuting. A

of the ‘move back to the city’ it is remarkable how the city has actually never found an answer for the occurrence of decline and suburbanisation. With their

Decline A major issue in a number of American cities like

suburb is a residential area or a mixed use area, either existing as part of a city or urban area or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a

applaud for companies moving back to the centre and announcement of the next giant hike in property tax,

Chicago is decline. Dense cities that have experienced notable population loss. In Chicago this is mostly due

city. Census shows that since the 50’s the population of the metropolitan area is growing, whilst the population

leaders of Chicago appear short-sighted to the fact that gentrification is likely to launch yet another wave of people moving away from the city, but this time through

to people moving to suburbs. Since the infrastructure of the city was built to support a larger population, its maintenance can become a serious concern.

within city limits is shrinking. A suburb is attractive because of an abundance of adjacent flat land, Bigger family size homes, space for children to play and good

force rather than choice.

This project launches a conversation on how Chicago

Large American cities appeared in a time of high industrialisation and rapid immigration. Chicago’s

quality public schools. When simplified this can be shown as a suburban formula aimed at improving quality

could be smart, capitalising on it’s strengths to benefit city and citizens alike. It approaches Chicagoland as network of cities and shows a growth strategy focused on multiple centres as opposed to seemingly endless

population multiplied tenfold from 1850 to 1870, endured the 1871 Great Chicago Fire and rose to more than 500,000 by 1880. This figure entered the seven digits by 1900 as it became a center for railroads, meat

and reducing cost. Considering desired qualities are not the same for every person I believe this is mostly due to one’s moment in the cycle of life.

Starting with the age to leave home (18-30) and live

urban sprawl. This strategy is based on implementing

processing, timber brokering, and finance. The overall

on one’s own. Either going to college or start working.

a notion of transit oriented development for the metropolitan area that would better connect people to the centre of Chicago and surrounding areas and might relieve stress from the forced displacement of citizens.

boundaries expanded, with affluent neighbourhoods

This phase connects with small one person living spaces or couples moving in together, located near multiple amenities. Lower income effects ways of travel and needs in housing both on location and quality level.

This changes when people get children (20-50) as

Smart City The newest label to qualify a city with it’s meaning somewhat difficult to define. After research on the topic I would simplify that a smart city aims to enhance quality, reduce cost, engage citizens and use ICT

No zoning ordinance, still the most frequent tool of American local landuse planning, explicitly anticipates that the locality or its neighbourhoods will lose population.

this is likely to cause a shift in preferred amenities. A higher income gradually makes travel more affordable.

At the age of 50-60 the raised children probably leave the house and start their own 18-30 life cycle. They will come over sometimes but the home has a chance

(information communication technology). It is important to understand that technology and urban planning do not always align. The life-cycle of technology advancement is often measured in years. Urbanism is frequently meant for longer durations nearing 50-100 years in the

for the local elites and ethnic enclaves for the working classes. During the 20th century, American city and

of being underused. Coming up on 60-80 years of age possible grandchildren further change the demands on housing and amenities. At a certain old age it is common to move to specialised homes where there is better care for elderly health and safety.

future. This makes it important to asses developments in their importance and sustainability in the long term.

Furthermore it is important to note that technology is simply a means to an end, and should never be the goal in itself. Understanding this is key in realising what

regional planning tried to manage the pressures of rising urban and later suburban populations, as well as the effects of industrial growth by means of local zoning ordinances, state land-use regulations and a multitude of laws. Population and economic growth provided both

‘’Now it is a problem that after young people live in a prosperous city for a few years, they’re finding it increasingly hard to get the economic foothold that would allow them to leave. Median wages have fallen for

developments are more valuable to a city.

A smart city meets the demands of it’s citizens so they are not required to live elsewhere. This is done by improving the quality of its citizens’ lives by

the norm and the ideal to guide development. In the following decades American planning devices focused on growth control, growth management and eventually smart growth, not showing signs of understanding it’s position as declining. (Popper & Popper, Smart decline

millennials almost across the board, which means young people have had a hard time saving money and building the good credit needed to secure a mortgage and buy a house elsewhere.’’ (Frey, W. Brookings Institution, 2015)

sustainable social, economic and urban development

in post-carbon cities, 2010)

In Chicago Issue #1

Smart City

39

CHICAGO’S BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS BASED ON TRANSPORT Accompanying its strong asset base, Chicago has significant challenges. After a strong post-industrial economic recovery in the 1990s, growth in population, employment, productivity, and GDP all underperformed trends in other major U.S. cities in the first decade of this century. This is partly because the region is not fully utilizing its stock of labor, as persistent concentrated poverty, high crime, and underperforming schools curtail economic opportunity in African-American and Latino communities. Chicago’s struggles with local accessibility also contribute to the underutilization of labor. The City of Chicago boasts one of the more comprehensive public transit systems in the country, and local leadership has recently stressed alternative forms of travel, including bike lanes and car-sharing programs. But where the region struggles is connecting workers to jobs. Nearly 80 percent of the metropolitan area’s working-age residents live near a transit stop (the average among top 100 U.S. metros is 69 percent), but only 24 percent of the region’s jobs are reachable via transit in under 90 minutes, well below the 100-metro average of 30 percent.15 Decades of sprawl have pushed two-thirds of jobs beyond 10 miles from the downtown.

15 minute commuter circle OUTSIDE INWARD - High speed rail - Commuter rail - Metro (subway) - Car (inner city) - Light rail (L) - Streetcar - Bicycle - On foot 60 km / 37 mi 24 km / 15 mi 13 km / 8 mi 8.8 km / 5 mi 6.9 km / 4 mi 2.7 km / 1.7 mi 2.5 km / 1.5 mi 1.2 km / 0.8 mi -

SOURCE: the brookings institution; the 10 traits of globally fluent metro areas

Downtown commute from:

Time in minutes 0 15

30

45

60

1. Waukegan National Airport (45 miles) 2. Dupage County Airport (41.8 miles) 3. O’hare International Airport (18 miles) 4. Bolingbrook’s Clow InternationalAirport (32 miles) 5.Chicago Midway International Airport (10.8 miles) 6. Gary Airport (24.5 miles) 7. City of Joliet (39.7 miles) 8. Village of South Holland (22.7 miles) Commuter rail Metro Car Light rail (L) Streetcar Bicycle On foot

In Chicago Issue #1

Smart City

Commuter distance: analyses of travel times, connecting people to jobs.

41

75

16

4 10 kilometers

miles 1.6 6.4 16

1 4 10

Agriculture Conservation Open space Industry

Open space Agricultural Conservation Infrastructure Industry Haarlem, NL

10

Amsterdam, NL

16

4

Gouda, NL

West Chicago, DuPage

6.4

1

Zoetermeer, NL

6.4

1

1.6

The Hague, NL

O’Hare, DuPage

Food processing

miles

Dordercht, NL

Chicago, Cook

Tech hub

kilometers

Bolingbrook, Will/DuPage

Network core

Leiden, NL

Waukegan, Lake

Campus

Land use

Rotterdam, NL

Rural

1.6

Joliet, Will

High-speed rail hub

miles

Chicago Heights, Cook

Rural

kilometers

Gary, Lake (IN)

Rail industrial

Type Space

Industry Non-project space

42

Reference Projection

decline

smart city

gentrification

Decline Caused by not meeting needs

Smart city Focuses on development, improvement and renewal

Gentrification Happens when citizens are not included

Is caused by not meeting needs

Focuses on development, improvement and renewal

Happens when we do not include all citizens

Social development

Economic development Improve sustainable

Increase quality

Urban development citizens not required to live elsewhere

Services Improve city management efficiency of

Reduce cost

Resources

Gentrification Although the opinions on the origin of gentrification

anticipation of the ‘move back to the city’ the smart thing for Chicago is to establish a plan of growth for

it possible to establish Chicagoland as independent network of agriculture, education, technology, food

vary, there is an overlap in the overall definitions as to the effects that occur. Gentrification is concerned with

the region.

processing, commerce and rail industry. After tracing agriculture, conserved areas, and certain woodland

a middle-class oriented transformation of an area, effecting local housing stock price appreciation, growing house expense burden for low-income and working-

Proposal To group industrial corridors, residential areas and airports in sub-centres spread over the metropolitan

land-use, the remaining space is divided in industrial zones and mixed use areas both expected to grow. Each sub-centres requires a specific inner plan of mobility to

class households, and in so doing changing the local social composition. Seeing that modern household sizes

area, connecting them with a commuter rail improved to meet an average speed of 160mph. All sub-centres

connect the area to the centre and every area demands it’s own urban program. As a reference I projected 8

are getting smaller I believe that when younger people move in to a home previously owned by a low income family the number of residents per household will keep shrinking. This is why addressing gentrification is of importance to the decline happening in Chicago. Beside

hubs will be within 17 minute travel of downtown. 8 Mile radius circles approximate 15 minute travel by subway between edges. 8 mile circles are placed to cover hubs and most amounts of industry. This way the positioning near a sub-centres combined with the high speed

cities of the Dutch Randstad (7.2million people) onto the Metro area of Chicago (9.1million people).

simple numbers of population, gentrification progresses class inequality and undermines diversity. After years of excessive growth the city is currently shrinking. In light of decline, suburbanisation, gentrification and the

commuter rail results in an average 30 minute commute to downtown. Both the global average and the same as taking the light rail ‘L’, green line from Harlem. All sub-centres posses potential in local qualities making

In Chicago Issue #1

Smart City

43

44

CHICAGO DISTRICT smart city strategy

kilometers miles

1.6

6.4

16

1

4

10

Linetypes

Program

U.S. High-speed rail

Transporthub

Commuter rail

Residential Office

Subway / Lightrail Contemporary borders

Retail Education Research Health

CHARACTERISTIC Campus

Hotel Production

CHARACTERISTIC Food processing CHARACTERISTIC Technology hub CHARACTERISTIC Network core

CHARACTERISTIC Rural

CHARACTERISTIC Rail industry

POTENTIAL US High speed rail hub

CHARACTERISTIC Rural

In Chicago Issue #1

Smart City

45

ST

LO U I S Esmeralda Bierma

After our intense first three weeks of absorbing ‘the big city’ Chi-town, it was time to explore the Midwest more and get a feeling of the scale by taking a roadtrip to St. Louis.

nature, the materials, the expression of its time... Vasily Kandinsky says: ‘a true work of art speaks immediately to the spectator. The spectator should immediately respond to the work of art’. Farnsworth House

Pruitt Igoe, the social housing project in St. Louis in 1951, was thought to be the epitome of modernist architecture - high-rise, ‘designed for interaction’, and a solution to the problems of urban development and renewal in the middle of the 20th century. Instead, it was big failure.

Around 1970 the building was almost abandoned and two years later

certainly does speak directly to the spectator. I could not wait to take off my shoes (this was obligatory for entering the interior) and walk on my socks in this weekend house like it was my very own holiday home. The wooden block that creates zones within one space is my favourite – the setback between, above and under the panels makes the object friendly.

Futhermore I loved the mini beam handles on the kitchen cabinets – you

they decided to demolish it. It was Charles Jencks who wrote that the destruction of Pruitt-Igoe was ‘the day Modern architecture died’. The documentary Pruitt-Igoe Myth gave us a good insight that it is not just the architecture that failed and even blinded us to the real problems that led to decline of social housing: the social, economic and legislative issues.

see it when you open the cabinet and hold the small section of the beam in your hand.

With this food for thought from watching The Pruitt-Igoe Myth movie, we finished the night and next morning 8 o clock we left the city with our 12 person Ford van.

and farming, one of the biggest drivers of local economies in the Midwest.

The sun set in the gently undulating landscape of Illinois and we drove into St. Louis by night. After dropping our stuff at hostel Huckleberry Finn, where we slept together in a single creepy room with bunk beds,

The first stop one was in a South West suburb of Chicago: Bollingbrook,

we hit the town. Beers and pizza and we ended up seeing two live bands

a typical democratized American dream neighbourhood - driving through empty curved streets with perfectly mown lawns on both sides and of course the catalogue houses that seemed straight from the sitcom Desperate housewives. On some of the houses was a sign for an open

performing: The Yanks in the Irish pub and Kim Massie, the soul mama of St Louis in another bar. Kim was big and fat and had a great and powerful voice that blew us away. Roman fell in love immediately and bought the CD as a souvenir.

Our journey continued along Road 53. It was still a few hours drive to St. Louis. On our way we saw the landscape pass by. Mainly corn agriculture

visit. We got excited to see one of these ‘dreamhouses’ from the inside and parked the car. We rang the bell at the frontdoor, but nobody answered - than we realized that you always enter a house through backdoor. The office was in the basement, which was almost as big as the house itself.

The next day we felt like Chinese tourists doing Europe in one week (one day Paris, one day Rome, one day Londen and so on). After this rush they can show the pictures at home, proving to themselves and others where

The office-woman said we were allowed to walk through the house on our own. It was enormous and the interior confirmed our image of how a ‘dreamhouse’ should look like: all the rooms had their own walk-

they have been. We had the morning at WashU with a lecture of Derek Hoeferlin on Dutch and American water management, a campus tour by Donald Koster and a 30 minute visit at the museum of St. Louis with the

in closet and bathroom, the masterbedroom even had a jacuzzi, most materials looked expensive but were fake. The double high entrance with a balcony from where you can look down on the people entering the

extention of David Chipperfield. With Nick Chilton, a local student, we went to the Pruit-Igoe site, where nobody took care since the demolishing of the building – the site was fully taken over by nature, everything wiped

house, french balconies that you can not use and a Mexican gardener. We took a photo of Jorik – our American Dream expert with the secret desire

as if there never was a building before. In the afternoon we finally made it downtown, where Nick showed us around. Walking between the cluster

to live here once – standing in the double height entrance hall behind the balustrade. We left quickly. Back in the van we noticed geese flying around everywhere. Roman remarked: ‘The Mexican gardener drive around, releasing geese to enhance the scenery: ‘He esse the gringos are

of St Louis’ early skyscrapers of the late 19th century, we encountered the most important one of them: Wainwright Building of Louis Sullivan.

It was Frank Lloyd Wright who called the Wainwright Building ‘the very first human expression of a tall steel office-building as architecture’. The

here. Release the geese!’ We were all laughing – even the flying geese look like if they are part of the idealized streetscape. The mood was settled and we continued our trip to Farnsworth, just one hour to go.

walk continued to the Gateway Arch by Eero Saarinen which is an icon of St. Louis. Normally it is possible to enter the 630-foot monument and go up, but as the site was under construction we could only touch the skin of this tallest stainless steel monument of the world.

After having had so many lectures during our Bachelor of Architecture, where they show and talk about the Farnsworth House of Mies van der Rohe, we finally got to the meet the masterpiece itself. A great opening scene which slowly revealed the floating inside-outside piece. Our tour guide was talking about the relation between Farnsworth and Mies van de Rohe and the issues with flood waters. Meanwhile my mind wandered off

Grabbing some snacks and drinks for the way back, we left the town. Still a long drive back home but finally out of the rush. Sleeping, reading, listening to music or playing games and meanwhile Roland drove us home safely into Chicagoland.

a bit: this steel and glass house was really beautiful: its simplicity but yet so rich in everything. The love, the care for proportions, the integration with

In Chicago Issue #1

St. Louis

47

KE E S

K A A N

How to spend time.

Interview by Yanthe Boom, Wouter Kamphuis

The Architectural Biennial draws many a creative mind to the city of Chicago. In search of a more global recognition it attempts to create opportunity for designers, planners, shapers of the world to discuss the future of cities, buildings and the people that live there. One of these minds is Kees Kaan from KAAN Architecten.

Is that the reason we see so many Mies towers in Chicago?

No, I don’t think so. The towers of Mies have been copied a lot.

getting right in middle of it all on street level. Several viewpoints, great architecture from many decades and the color of the bridges complimenting the river. The beauty of experiencing a city by having dinner in the streets.

The title of the lecture during the Chicago Architecture Biennale was Beautification. When Googeling the term, we came acrouss a source that says: “With regard to a city, or urban area, this most often involves planting trees, shrubbery, and

Kaan was invited to lecture and join a discussion panel on ‘SOM Legacy’ with Brian Lee from SOM and Reinier de Graaf from OMA. We met up with Kaan to discuss his interest in Chicago, Zeitgeist, Beautification and what determines his method

other greenery.” It is probably not what you are trying to tell - what does beautification mean to

& praxis. We met Kees around 5PM in the lobby of the Hardrock Cafe on Michigan Avenue and

you?

suggested we’d have a night out in ChicagoFirst stop, the Hancock Tower.

When preparing the lecture, I wanted to tell something

YB/WK: In your article (the building site of modern

about what I have seen and learned in this city. And that has to do with Louis Sullivan on one hand, and Daniel Interior of the Auditorium Building

architecture, on Louis Sullivan in Chicago) in Lectures on Architectural design (fall 2014) you wrote about zeitgeist: ”‘Normal buildings’, the ones architects try to develop on a daily basis are mostly commissioned by professional clients. Being strongly embedded in reality, this ‘normal’ architecture reflects ‘Zeitgeist’”. Would you consider The Hancock as a normal building, because it fits in a certain period in time?

KK: I use Zeitgeist to tell that, as an architect, you do not have to reinvent the wheel every time in each project.

Be innovative yes, but not every project can be original, because we are trapped in the box called Zeitgeist.

Even if you built the craziest imaginable building, it is still embedded in convention; it is being used by the people of today. Innovative in terms of formalistic architecture is not innovative, but just looks different.

You see a lot of buildings in which too many ideas are tried to fit in, and in the end it is just rubbish. Mies van der Rohe, on the contrary is an example of an architect who does the same thing in his projects and becomes really good at it. “I don’t want to be original, I want to be good.” In other words, study certain topics very well and make them your own, become really good at it and only then you get an eye for the things you normally wouldn’t see.

In Chicago Issue #1

Kees Kaan

Can Zeitgeist be seen as the context in which you design?

Burnham on the other. Architects from the end of the ninetieth century, who both put a mark on the city, and in a way on America. Sullivan, with his one-liner form follows function, could be seen as a forerunner of modernism who claimed the skyscraper and designed

Certainly in time, technology and cultural sense; it contains everything. It’s the context you work with and work in. You can’t look out of the box actually. Even if you think you do, you don’t. If you have the ability to

influential buildings in the city. Daniel Burnham was less rigid in term of following the rules of the Chicago school.

He was responsible for the World Fair of 1893, which, for me, marked the beginning of a new period and the

zoom in on certain things in the box, you put limitations on yourself and you can really focus, like Mies did. By not doing too many themes, the universal themes will become important. Though, it can be quite tricky, quality that is not always immediately appreciated and

end of the Chicago School. Burnham turned away from what he called ‘the black city’ and introduced a more classical vocabulary with the World Fair. He paid a lot of attention to the landscaping and public realm and with its white classical buildings it turned out to be the white city.

not always easy to explain to clients. Especially in these times with commercial clients who change their minds every day, it is very hard to stick to precision. If you want to do something with great precision you need alternative clients.

Chicago was eager to show they had culture, were civic and civilized and not only wild and commercial.

The white city became a symbol for that. Later, Burnham switched more to urban planning and made a masterplan for Chicago. He had to convince the

Now the Hancock Tower is a great place to start in Chicago because of the view. It’s distance from the downtown core presents a good position to fully take in everything that goes on in a city this scale. You can see

businessmen in Chicago that it was important to make the city beautiful and that they had to invest in the city.

At first my interpretation of Burnham was that he wanted to go back to European classism, which is not really progressive. Later, I understood that Burnham realized

what followed from Burnham’s grid, the impact of developments the city has been through.

Next stop is a small restaurant located at the Riverwalk. The transition from overview on top to

that it is important to look after the visual interests of clients, but also collective interests: boulevards and parks. In short, let the whole city benefit from the project and improve the quality of life. Beautification in that

49

50

In Chicago Issue #1

Kees Kaan

51

‘’Focus on one idea and execute that perfectly rather than multiple ideas that are executed decent.’’

sense is to convince the market to do collective efforts to make cities better.

to move beyond the scientific, the categorised, and try to understand what it really is, how it works or worked.

One of the best known designs by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, completed in 1889. The

Are Zeitgeist and Beautification topics that

Often the reason behind a design is more practical than architecture critics might try to let you believe.

building is still being used for a number of different events such as opera, concerts and dance.

Yes, in the lecture I explained this implicit on the basis of

Do not take anything for granted (zoete koek). I know, because I read what critics write about my designs and it’s remarkable how often I see something that just isn’t

What is your method or way of work as you enter a new project?

my projects. I always seek to explain the general values.

How can you make something with your architecture

true. It’s nice to hear glorified story to it, but often it’s just much more simple and determined in practice.

We look at how we spend our time. The most important

that escapes the issues of the day, the ‘Zeitgeist’. Try to keep it simple so you can achieve higher qualities.

Additionally, each project must somehow make the

A very nice example in Chicago context is the White City. The pressure on the project was so high timewise

thing is the concept. We put most of our effort into thorough research from where we almost always find our concept and this concept will last us the entire project.

influences your work for a long time?

collective better. The city has to become better from the project and a building should not draw too much attention without content.

that it was simply impossible to develop the buildings

What first brought me to Chicago was back when we

We often test multiple concepts simultaneously to check the resilience towards certain elements of the project.

This way we try to estimate when and where the design process might get tough. This happens mostly intuitively.

In this process we develop the narrative that finally gives shape to the project. At a certain moment the project reveals itself, it shows what it wants to be. For example

had just started Claus en Kaan and we went to both New York and Chicago and we’re really intrigued by the particular scale and boldness of this city. I was fascinated by the buildings like they are personalities.

I started reading about Chicago and that is the way

the NFI (Netherlands Forensic Institute) - when we had the fundamental idea we were also convinced that this was what the building wanted to be. But we also saw that it was rather simple almost banal, so what do we have then? It took a lot of courage to go forward with

What started your fascination about Chicago?

the snowball effect started. At first I was attracted by thoughts of Frank Lloyd Wright and later architects like Sullivan and Mies. What always gets me is the personal,

of the exhibition in sustainable materials. Instead wood

It is most important to incorporate all input and obstacles

the story of the architect as person. Back in the day everyone knew each other, Wright worked for Sullivan

and plaster was used and when the discussion on color arised. Burnham decided that everything simply had to

you are dealing with. Sometimes the track of a project offers you one month to come up with a clear vision

and had dinners with Burnham. Architecture critics tend to put everything in boxes, styles, times and lose the fact that it’s just a dirty reality where a lot of elements pass by each other by coincidence. The reason why I am telling this is that I want students to understand that they

be white just to avoid lengthy discussions and execution on refined color schemes. Everything was simply painted white. When finished people were struck and amazed and the withe became the iconic identity of the fair.

while the same project will last you about 10 years of work. This really shows why it’s so important to have a sharp clean concept that will carry all the way through the project.

should think and carry out research as an architect and not as an architecture critic. As an architect it’s important

We head over to the Auditorium Theatre on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Congress street.

Kees Kaan lecturing at ArcheWorks

52

that simple idea.

In Chicago Issue #1

Kees Kaan

53

C HICAGO

PU B L I C

SC H O O L S

W hen comple xity becomes obstacle - the CPS causing ov er cro wdedness, under utilization, division and competition in itself.

Kelly Kleijweg

Willis Wagons used to relieve over-crowdedness in the 1960’s

In Chicago Issue #1

Chicago Public Schools

55

Air Force High School

Chicago Military High School

7.15 am

6.00 pm

Military Academy 329 9-12 1 U

Type: Number of students: Grades: Perfomance: Utilization:

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Charter 535 6-12 2 U

6.30 am

Selective Enrolment 1672 9-12 1+ E

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

8.00 am

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Neighbourhood 1687 9-12 2+ E

8.00 am

Neighbourhood 634 9-12 2 U

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Charter 416 9-12 2+ U

YCCS - Adams

YCCS - McKinley

YCCS - Youth Connection

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Charter 193 10-12 1+ E

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Charter 174 10-12 2+ E

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Asian Black Hispanic White Other U Underutilized E Efficient

56

Career Academy 746 9-12 2 U

Unknown

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Charter 329 6-12 2 E

Urban Prep - West High School

4.00 pm

8.00 am

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

4.00 pm

Charter 331 9-12 2 U

Young Women’s High School 7.15 am

Charter 258 10-12 2+ E

3.16 pm

Perspectives - Joslin High School 6.00 pm

Urban Prep - Bronzeville High School 3.15 pm

7.00 am

Type: Number of students: Grades: Perfomance: Utilization:

Juarez High School 4.30 pm

Phillips High School

5.30 pm

Dunbar High School 4.30 pm

Contract 324 9-12 2 U

Type: Number of students: Grades: Perfomance: Utilization:

8.00 am

Perspectives - Math & Sci High School 8.00 am

8.00 am

Jones High School 2.45 pm

Special Education 136 9-12 ?

U

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Chicago Tech High School 3.05 pm

Military Academy 323 9-12 1 U

Type: Number of students: Grades: Perfomance: Utilization:

Graham High School 7.15 am

6.30 am

Type: Number of students: Grades: Performance: Utilization:

Charter 341 8-12 2+ E

3.30 pm

Long hallways lined with lockers and classrooms, bustling with happy students going about their day in school.

Large cafeteria’s where every clique has their own des-

massive inequality in the performance of the different schools within the system, troubled times are not over yet for CPS.

their children to private schools, this number doesn’t surprise me. It did however make me even more curious about the experience within the schools. Do they really

ignated tables and no one dares to mess with the status quo. Big yellow school buses, after school sports in the gym or under the lights during Friday night football games. Everyone knows what American high school life is like; or so they think. We’ve seen it portrayed so often in movies and TV shows, it’s become some sort of

Chicago schools After this historic research into CPS, I became curious about the situation right now. You see the negative headlines, the comments on how it is still one of the biggest, but also one of the worst public school sys-

feel underutilized? Is the performance level also reflected in the physical environment of the schools? What are these (large) urban high schools like?

To get an answer to these questions, I visited 3 CPS high schools: Whitney M Young Magnet Charter school (efficient, selective enrolment), Benito Juarez Commu-

enchanted world.

The first time this enchantment broke for me was when I arrived at my high school in a small town in Pennsylvania. Fascinated by the America(n high schools) shown on TV, I felt the need to experience this life for myself,

tems in the nation, but what does that mean? In order

during a yearlong exchange. While the main picture painted on TV was quite accurate - the hallways lined with lockers and the importance of sports and school spirit - this small rural high school was also quite different. Since everyone had pretty much known each

72% CURRENT ENROLMENT OF IDEAL CAPACITY

other since birth and the amount of students was quite low, it was an environment where no real groups were to be distinguished, the jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, etc all mingled together during lunchtime and after school activities. Apparently not everything shown on TV is what

An efficient school has an enrollment of 75-80%

it’s really like.

nity Academy (efficient, neighbourhood), and Roger C Sullivan High School (underutilized, neighbourhood).

The first school I visited was Whitney Young HS. Originally the plan was to go there to interview the principal, but the plan changed while I was there and it was actually more interesting to be able to walk around the school and see and feel the building and atmosphere. Whitney Young is different from the other two schools I visited in that it is a citywide selective enrolment school and serves grades 7-12 instead of 9-12 like the other two high schools. Walking around the building it really felt like an American high school, with the lockers, the massive hallways, the band room, auditorium, and even special dance classrooms. But because it teaches to young (7th&8th grade) and smart students, it also felt quite like my secondary school in the Netherlands, with the way the students behaved and how small some of the students were. Overall, the vibe was quite positive and it

History

to narrow down the topic, I focused solely on the high schools within CPS, which already encompasses 195

When I first googled Chicago Public Schools, most news headlines weren’t positive. The third largest school district in the United States has quite a few issues with

schools, and 8 different types of schools offered, from the ‘normal’ neighbourhood schools with attendance boundaries, to special education and citywide schools

seemed like a good and enriching learning environment.

money, dropping enrolment numbers, school closings and just an overall bad reputation. These issues are hardly a recent thing. Ever since the first official pub-

with selective enrolment criteria. CPS provides data on all these schools regarding number of students, programs offered and performance rating. But what fas-

bourhood high school in Pilsen, the area we lived in for 3 months. Although the Pilsen area has been getting better the past few years, some of the things at the school

lic school in Chicago was founded in 1834, there have been multiple events that show that problems within

cinated me the most, is when I came across something called ‘Space utilization’. Space utilization is the efficien-

still reminded of the fact that it is meant for students from a less affluent neighbourhood. I visited the school

CPS have always been there. I think this also has a lot to do with the way Chicago has grown since it’s received its charter in 1837. The time before World War I was a

cy of space use in a school building. This means that the maximum capacity for a school is 30 students per permanent classroom in the building. The ideal enrol-

on the day they had an open house, which resulted in me spending an hour sitting with the security guard before the principal had time to speak to me. Instead of

time of rapid growth, with immigrants from all over the world settling in Chicago and the need for the public

ment of a school, which dubs it ‘efficient’, is 75-80% of the maximum capacity. Schools with an enrolment

walking around the school by myself, I got a tour from two teachers, who told me a lot about the school. A few

school system to ‘aid in the assimilation to American life’. After World War II, the superintendent aimed to end blatant political interference in public schools and

under this ideal enrolment are underutilized, if they’re

of the things that really made this school different from Whitney Young HS for me, was the auto shop they had in the school, which is meant for the education of stu-

CPS benefited from the postwar baby boom and the buoyant economy. The next major event that put CPS in bad light are the racial segregation issues of the 1960s.

Chicago as a city has long been divided into different neighbourhoods with different ethnic populations, but in the 1960s, with the migration of the white population to the suburbs and the growth of the African American population within the city, certain public schools in these African American neighbourhoods had to deal with massive over-crowdedness. Instead of building new schools or making predominantly white public schools in the area take in black students, the superintendent aimed to solve the problem by putting up temporary mobile classrooms near the overcrowded black schools, later dubbed ‘Willis wagons’. This situation led to protest and was not good for the reputation of CPS. Nor were the massive number of teacher strikes in the 1980s. At one point CPS performed so badly that the US Secretary of Education called Chicago Public Schools ‘the worst in the nation’.

The second school I visited was Juarez HS, a neigh-

dents that want to pursue a career in that area, and the fact that the school is really open to the community. The building has a lot of useful resources, like gyms, a pool, and an outside soccer field, and instead of fencing in these areas, like Whitney Young does, these areas are opened to the community after school activities are over,

OVERCROWDED

EFFICIENT

and thus provide useful amenities to the surrounding area, which they can theoretically also get in the neighbourhood park, but there is a long waiting list, while the school can also provide. This also brings in a little necessary extra money for the school, since due to its budget

UNDERUTILIZED

Current enrollment in CPS high schools achieves only 72%

over, they’re called overcrowded by CPS. According to this calculation of the current High Schools within CPS 9 are overcrowded, 78 underutilized, 97 are efficient and of the other 2 the status is unknown.

issues, CPS only provides a small amount of the money these schools need to function. Whitney Young has the ability to hold fund raisers for the maintenance of certain aspects of their buildings, because their students usually come from wealthier families, but schools like Juarez and Sullivan don’t have this ability.

Quite a few things have changed since then in the way

Present Knowing the history of CPS and factoring in the decline of the population of Chicago within the CPS school dis-

The last school I visited was Sullivan High School. This is the only underutilized school I visited and though I hadn’t been at Juarez during a school day, it was quite striking how calm and quiet Sullivan was during the change of

CPS operates, but with recent money issues and the

trict and the tendency of more affluent citizens to send

classes. (Although the principal usually stands outside

In Chicago Issue #1

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57

his office in the upstairs hallway because it is a spot where a lot of fights used to take place during these class changes). The second time I visited Sullivan, to

Young there were no metal detectors, though there was a security guard, and the main office is located directly across the main entrance. There is no direct connec-

head around the fact that the system that is called ‘Chicago Public Schools’ has such a massive number of schools (almost 700), and such a wide range of school

take pictures of the interior, the school was even more quiet, due to an assembly taking place in the auditorium.

With most of the students in one place, it almost felt like an event during the weekend, which not every student has to attend.

tion to the classrooms on the other side and other floors of the building. At Juarez the metal detectors were put back in place when the open house was over, indicating that the entrance is quite a different situation on a normal school day. Sullivan high school also has metal detectors placed directly at the entrance, as well as ma-

types, performance levels and inequality in the funding of the separate schools.

There are certain standard ‘American High School elements’ each of the schools had. The large hallways with lockers, the gyms, cafeterias, standard classroom furniture etc. But each school felt different, mostly because of the difference in students. The mixed ethnicities and

chines through which the students should put their bags.

I guess these measures are meant to make the schools safer, but they also set quite a grim tone as to what to expect beyond the entrance area.

Having really thought about it now, with a little distance

some extent a way to protect a certain standard of education and makes it visible when those standards are not met, but the dry data also erases the differences in students these schools in different areas of Chicago face.

Schools with students from less affluent areas have al-

younger students at Whitney Young, the predominantly Hispanic students at Juarez, and the small amount of students at Sullivan. The entrance into the building also played a large role in the feel of the building. At Whitney

from the project and Chicago, I think the thing that struck me most about CPS is the diversity of schools within one system. The statement I made a few weeks ago already covers this, but it’s quite weird to wrap your

ways had more trouble with drop outs and more violence within the schools, while (citywide) selective enrolment schools don’t have to deal with these issues because they simply don’t allow these students to come into their

Proposal The data CPS has about its schools, doesn’t tell everything about how the schools function. Yes, it is to

Schools get federal funding through No Child Left Behind, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the National School Lunch Program, and a few specific Federal Grants.

Federal

Debt

The state provides CPS with General State Aid, a poverty grant, and block grants, as well as a contribution directly meant for Capital.

Pensions

State

Schools

All schools get a certain amount of money per student: ‘student based budgeting’

Local

Most of the local funding for CPS comes from property taxes, which is also used for parks, the county and the city, amongst other things.

10% xE Residential

Chicago Public Schools

Capital

A small amount of the budget is directly invested in the buildings CPS owns

25% xE Commercial 25% xE Industrial

Property Tax

Central office

Investment

Network

Above: CPS funding system Right: Roger C.Sullivan High School

school. I think this is one of the main problems within CPS. You have so many different types of schools, from small neighbourhood schools in less affluent areas, to career academies, to citywide selective enrolment charter schools, that it is hard to maintain one way of

than the additional after school activities, the school and building can play a more important role in the lives of the surrounding community. By making the school more important, the community will be more connected to it, value everything the space and the building offer more,

public schools in certain areas becomes less, but the need for other amenities, like work centres, adult education, libraries, etc. rises, it’s useful to not always focus on building something new, but in also (re)using the resources that are already present. Especially in com-

dealing with schools within the system. Every type of schools and every specific school, needs a specific plan to deal with the problems and challenges it faces. This can’t be solved with architecture, it is to be solved on a management level within CPS, and thus not within my

and this could have a positive effect on the performance of the school as educational institute. After proposing a ‘24H-school’/community school, I came across a page on the CPS website that states this is already happening in a few schools, where they also offer a medical clinic

munities where education is valuable, but not valued, the combination of multiple uses and the connection of communities to these places can empower the community. A more efficient multi-use of educational institutes can benefit both the schools and the community.

expertise to propose a solution for this problem. However, I do believe, because I have experienced it myself, that a high school can play an important role in a community, when it comes to hosting events, playing a large role in the day-to-day life of students, staff and parents, besides just the mandatory education. If these schools

for students and the surrounding community, open the building to host events that aren’t directly related to education and thus playing a larger role within the entire community.

Especially in a city in decline it’s important to take a look at what the needs are, what is already there and

offer more than just the standard curriculum, more even

how these two can be connected. When the need for 58

In Chicago Issue #1

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59

Classrooms and offices

Classrooms and offices

Gym

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Pool

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Cafeteria

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Health clinic

Health clinic

Auditorium

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Library

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Parking lot

Parking lot Data center Outside sportsfield Garden Daycare Job center Adult education

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Parking lot Data center Outside sportsfield Garden Daycare Job center Adult education

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Gym Gym Pool Pool

Cafeteria Cafeteria Health clinic Health

Auditorium Auditorium Library Library

Parking lot Parking

Data Datacenter Center

Outside sportsfield Outdoor Garden Garden

Daycare Daycare

Job Jobcenter center

Adult Adulteducation training

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ming im st ke ep sw

24H school proposal

In Chicago Issue #1

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61

LO O P T he artefact.

Maria Rohof

The first notion of the Loop station in 1895 Sanborn map correction, pasted over the original drawing from 1891

In Chicago Issue #1

Loop

63

Map of two blocks around the Loop, adapted from the original Chicago Sanborn maps, collaged with historic building development

64

I struggled with the city Chicago. The scale of this city was something I haven’t experienced before in a non-touristic way. It was difficult for me to

At first Yerkes tried to block the elevated transit system, because they were a danger for his street railways and expensive to build. But he made up his mind when he

Time, the fourth dimension, is an important factor for a city. Within time there is movement which is visible everywhere. Busy street life, traffic, 24 hours a day.

describe what this city was and I still don’t know.

It’s a city hiding secrets waiting to be discovered.

“Through time you see the silent waves of the city, getting lower and higher with time as buildings are demolished and rebuilt” - Maria Rohof

One late afternoon I was viewing the city from afar at the lakeside, asking myself what particularly interested me

realised that he couldn’t stop the elevated lines from being build. He changed his focus point, and bought the existing elevated lines of “King Mike” in 1894.

Now it was up to Yerkes to do something with the situation downtown. The ideal goal was to connect all

about the city really. I saw the traffic in front of all the highrise buildings, the sun slowly faded away, that showed the presence of time. There was one specific thing about the city that kept my interest when I was looking at this image. Something that represents movement

the different lines in one loop form. The main problem hereby winning over all the property owners. So he started making deals, for example stairway entries in front of retail establishments. Yerkes formed the firm The Union Elevated Railroad Company in November

of my research started. The invisible time. The Loop itself functions as an anchor in the city where its context is constantly changing. I wanted to get to know these changing surroundings.

and seemed to have some friction with its surroundings.

It is something that makes the city unique in a way.

1894: the start of the Union Loop. Because of his politically strong position he could make this complex project happen. He started to build the first L shaped track in 1895 and finished the last one in 1897. Under different company names like the Union Elevated

So I looked for detailed information like heights and other dimensions of buildings. That was the reason to really dive into old maps. I called almost every library in Chicago to ask where I could get the information I needed. I found my luck at the Newberry library where

most honest part of Chicago. By honest I mean that in my opinion a lot of architecture and culture in America is not original. The Loop is showing me ‘the real’, in a way ugliness. Really showing it’s true identity, in a transparent way, you can see through it, it’s not hiding

Railroad and the Union Consolidated Elevated Railroad, Yerkes managed to complete the Loop that Chicago was asking for.

This new elevated Loop structure was so good that the

Patrick A. Morris worked as a Map Cataloguer. I started a mail conversation with him about the Sanborn Maps of Chicago. These maps are made by a company that made very detailed fire insurance maps all over the United States. All the cities are divided into different

anything. “What you see is what you get”. I had a lot of

transit use increased 50% also for the other existing

area’s and named as volumes. For the Loop area I

This seven meter high, iron structure, the elevated Loop of Chicago was fascinating me. It’s maybe the

unanswered questions of how, what, why the Loop still is there, in the middle of the city. I started exploring.

This sentences from my film is something were the core

needed Chicago Volume 1, South Division.

Morris explained “Because every copy of a given Sanborn

The start of the “L” The elevated Loop or the Loop “L” was built in a time when Chicago was growing rapidly. Building it was not

volume is unique in terms of how long it was revised by former owners, you should examine as many different hard copies of volume 1 as possible to see the Loop at

very easy because of the existing laws that did not help the transit system evolve. This conservative political climate had as a result that from 1869 till 1900 over 70

different time periods.” He gave me a list where I could find the other Chicago libraries that had holdings of the Sanborn Maps. So from then on it was just collecting all

companies took a shot at setting up an elevated railway system.

these different editions.

Finally the South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Company (1888) was the first one who was capable to build it. On

During the research I got a grip on how these maps were working. Every Volume 1, South division, was divided into block numbers that mostly contains one or

the 6th of June 1892 they opened the line with steam locomotives. It was built in city owned alley’s because it

two building blocks, for my research I picked the building blocks next to the loop. This resulted in a big hole inside

was difficult to arrange all the signatures of the property owners along the streets, resulting in the nickname “Ally ‘L’”. It was situated from old congress to 39th street

Charles Tyson Yerkes

lines. All of the Chicagoans could go directly to the

the overall map I created, with the 45 block numbers (see page 64). Soon I discovered that fragments of changes were pasted, for example a new building, over

and extended to Englewood and the Stock Yards. After this first build line a lot of other elevated lines where build by different companies, the biggest company was owned by Michael C. McDonald. His nickname was “King Mike” because he earned his fortune via gambling

central business district or change train lines without walking anywhere. Also al lot of the loop stations were directly connected to store entrances, for example the Carson Pierre Scott & Company’s department store.

the old drawings. So this resulted in a pattern with layer over layer.

and after that became a specialist in the field of public transportation.

Soon after the completion of the Union Loop, Yerkes sold it to the Chicago transport stocks and moved to New York. In 1905 Yerkes died of kidney disease.

or microfilm, I could see the changes. Unfortunately there were a few large gaps between the years. It was extra frustrating knowing that the information was overlain by the new layers.

Elevated lines around the city-centre were formed and expanding but as a result of the conservative property laws it was very difficult to connect these lines through the centre of Chicago. This is the moment Charles Tyson Yerkes stepped into the field. The most influential developer of Chicago’s transit system in the nineteenth century.

‘The reality and reliability of the of the human world rests primarily on the fact that we are surrounded by things more permanent than the activity by which they were produced’

After collecting all these years (1891, 1895, 1906, 1911, 1950, 1969, 1974, 1988 & 1989) in hard copy

Final Model I was searching for a way to express this research of change in a visual way. A real 3D model were I could put my found information in to make this changes through time visible, the invisible time.

The Union Loop Yerkes was born in Philadelphia on June 25, 1837 and moved to Chicago in 1881. He started focussing on the street railway system of Chicago in 1886 but he couldn’t get what he wanted: a monopoly having all the street railway lines. The South Side’s Chicago Street Railway

The research After some research about the Loop, I realised that not only the Loop itself interested me but especially its

For the model I used everyday materials, built up from the city. I was lucky to find a cardboard box of a Tempur mattress, so I could make the entire shape in a 1:700 scale. That resulted in a composition where found buildings were sized to this scale, in a way that the differences in height were still visible. The buildings

did not fall for his bribery and blackmailing.

context.

found as images represent it from the perspective of the

In Chicago Issue #1

Loop

Hannah Arendt

65

“Monumental space offered each member of a society an image of that membership, an image of his or her social visage ‌ It thus constituted a collective mirror more faithful than any personal one.â€?

Henri Lefebvre

66

I think this part of a monumental space is very important for the Loop, what kind of function has the Loop beside it’s obvious one? The Loops creates a monumental space inside the city of Chicago who gives

in all its beauty and grace was built to outlive us; it was an attempt to grasp eternity. It transcends our individual destiny. A dead woman is one of us - but the bridge is all of us forever.’ - Slavenka Drakulic

the city and their people a identity.

if there comes a time and the city don’t need the Loop anymore for his purpose the option to demolish it has to be there. Otherwise it becomes an attraction, or worse a museum piece, like Quincy station where it’s already done. It will lose it’s charm.

Collapse of the Mostar’s bridge at the Bosnian war: ‘Why do we feel more pain looking at the image of the destroyed bridge than the image of massacred

For me the Loop has an expiration date. In the book The Chicago Union Loop Elevated Structure - Reasons for not listing there was an article from WLS-TV Editorial (1978). They wrote: “There’s no question right now

For now the Loop has served for another 37 years after this article is written. The qualities that the Loop bring to the city like: the experience of the elevated/view on

people?….Perhaps because we see our own mortality in the collapse of the bridge. We expect people to die; we count on our own lives to end. The destruction of a monument to civilization is something else. The bridge

the “L” is a vital part of Chicago’s downtown life. Each day it brings thousands of workers and shoppers to the heart of the city. Without it the city would be paralyzed.

But, preserve it forever and ever??” I like this approach,

the city, the crumbling/imploding effect, grid awareness, transparency, orientation point, sound, traffic flow/movement, the continues, etc. are still there. For me they really make Chicago, Chicago.

In Chicago Issue #1

Loop

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68

Screenshots from a final movie “See Know Love The Loop” see complete film at: seeknowlovetheloop.wordpress.com

In Chicago Issue #1

Loop

69

REINI E R

D E

G R A A F

“Charisma can’t be learned, but it is often the architect’s last line of defense against demanding clients and unsavory economic realties.”

Interview by Jorik Bais, Kelly Kleijweg

It is the key line of one of Reinier’s many written pieces.Although he refers to himself as having no charisma, he is a spellbinder when it comes to lecturing. The seriousness of the topics he discusses, get cooled off by a small side-note joke that makes everybody laugh, except for himself. A similar charismatic attribute we noticed during our very first encounter. The interview was supposed to be held in the lobby of the Hard Rock hotel in downtown Chicago. Upon arrival we pushed ourselves through the gold shimmering brass doors which distinctly signify the hotel class. Although one would expect the backstage appearance of black vinyl covered wood and

aspects. You get that a lot in discussions with clients, that words fail you. And that’s where charisma comes in. But it’s also rooted in a deep belief you have yourself in unarguable things. A reasoning is proof, and is the first destruction of belief. I’m not a religious person, but that’s also why God can’t be depicted. Because if you have to see it to believe it, then you can’t believe anymore. And architecture for that matter has a very large spiritual side, because it has to do with things like beauty and the perception of truth doesn’t come to you purely in language and numbers. Nevertheless, in a world where everyone owes everyone an explanation, those things are very important. Because if you believe, you can believe, but you also can be scammed.

metal, it is only the low light condition and the loud music that mimic the Hard Rock Stage.

behavior. When the alternative fades you see the emergence of economical inequality and deterioration of a system like pensions and such. That structure that was originally defined by the pressure of the alternative. But still, I don’t know.

An architect does not create middle-class. But I think in the end it’s the architect’s obligation to dive into the financial situations that shape products and the production of them and be aware of these conditions. I don’t have solutions. The only thing we can do is realize the problem and then communicate it, because that is the initiation of any solution. Most architects however, don’t even think about that. The moment they design a white building without ornament they feel modern and progressive. It’s in the end submitting to something that everything but progressive.

We noticed a ping-pong table in the lobby and Is conducting research like that not very close to being a politician?

started playing to kill the time. When Reinier arrived he walked up to us with a stretched out hand, reaching for the ping-pong bat. He was in for a game. Apparently Reinier has a past in playing ping-pong and his determination of speaking is visible in his competitive way of playing. After hitting the Chinese business man sitting behind us several times, trying to master the effect ball with a by himself proclaimed bad quality bat, we started looking for a quiet place to start the interview. The game transformed the setting from formal to informal and thus we decided to have the interview in his hotel room at the end of the hallway on the 9th floor.

I think it’s something that applies to most people that have experience in their field, have seen something of the world and have done something and failed, because you usually learn the most from failure. Those are the people that are more experienced than most Reinier de Graaf visiting Farnsworth House

A city like chicago, a city where you can find a literal spatial translation of economic inequality in the morphology of the city, on which scale should

I don’t know. First of all the United States of America have more socialist foundations than commonly thought.

talented people going into politics these days, they’re all in different jobs. It’s weird, we (OMA/AMO) made an exhibition for the Venice biennale, called ‘Public Works’.

It’s about architects who never had their own firm, but always worked for the municipality or the government.

If you look at the ‘New Deal’ of Roosevelt, a collective idea to strengthen the middle class to help the nation out of its financial crisis, you realize that America is way more socialist than you might think. I also think that Western-Europe and America were more socialist under

And there was a period in the 50s, 60s where those people made masterpieces. There are great buildings that have the municipality as an author. The Greater London Authority had that, and that was a talent pool that later hatched people like Archie Gram. But that was

the pressure of the alternative. You have to give the masses just about enough to resist to a radically different system, like communism. So it was the pressure of this system that forced western civilization to appropriate

a huge talent pool of people who took pride in working for the government. I mean, none of the students in your studio will probably apply to work at the municipality in Rotterdam. But in essence, politics is a direct extension

we as architects address these problems, or should we even address them?

JB/KK: You describe yourself as a man without charisma, yet you manage to control a crowd with humor during your lectures. How does that relate?

RdG: I don’t really think about it. Humor is also a way of making yourself more comfortable in front of an audience.

There’s not really that much behind it. Although, the piece I wrote about charisma is serious, because I do think that in architecture and architectural decisions there are a lot of things that need to be defended, but often the rational, quantifiable data to do so are missing, even though there is a feel for the importance of those In Chicago Issue #1

Reinier de Graaf

politicians, about whom you sometimes wonder whether they have ever been outside of their own country. And what of course has happened with privatization and the flight from the public sector, is that all talented people are seeking salvation elsewhere. There are very little

71

“There is no shame in not having a project as long as you produce the maximum you can, to make an intellectual attempt.”

of that. In high school the biggest loser used to be the class president, and that is now pretty much the type

You can be annoyed the next morning that you’ve lost, but you have to continue working on the next project

At some point the whole world is going to be too expensive. Africa obviously is the next in line until it hits

that goes into politics. It has always surprised me. If you look at Diederik Samsom now, that’s the class president type.

in the afternoon. All our projects have that high tempo.

I write a lot, but it’s more or less detached from my profession as an architect. Sometimes you just have

the equilibrium. As an architect you can’t deal with these kind of issues. This has to be addressed by politicians.

And what irritates me in relation to the Architecture

It’s not nice to say, but it’s the truth; the biggest losers of architecture are the ‘class presidents’ that work at

to realize that you can’t do more than acknowledge a certain problem or condition. We work with a big group in

Biennial in Chicago is that because of the disability to solve these big issues, they tend to romanticize

the municipality or in-house departments of developers.

That’s really the worst of the worst.

our office and the notion of being able to address every problem by yourself is absent. Your incompleteness is being complimented by the qualities of the other. When

dysfunctional situations. For example; you end up with an analysis of patterns of movement through favelas and it is presented as the next intelligent thing, whilst it might

There are similarities between our studio and the practice of AMO to some extent, AMO being the

I hear Kees Kaan talk about how he does everything by himself, like arranging taxes and such, I have respect

not be the only possible model. It is in fact the outcome of something bad.

conceptual side of OMA, why did the office make that distinction?

for that, but I also know that an office can function differently. There is no shame in not having a project as long as you produce the maximum you can to make an

I think that the statement that modernism ended with Pruitt-Igoe is a ridiculous supposition. Modernism has

It’s not really a physical distinction, it functions with people of the office within the office, but it’s more of

intellectual attempt. Or that you have done everything to get to the bottom of a problem. Within that is shame, but

ended because of something completely different.

Modernism has ended because of a system in which

an orientation. It’s the privatization of a type of work.

It was the work we were already doing, because we were always thinking about more than just a building

not with the lack of having answers to everything.

In our studio we are dealing with the topic of

money was divided in an entirely different way. If you built economically, you build cheap houses. If you build economically now, you still build expensive houses,

and space. But except for the fact that a building might be a little bit more intelligent because of that fact, you couldn’t really see the fruits of that study. It’s a lot of experience you carry with you because of previous work that finds true meaning within the privatization of its

‘decline’ and ‘urban decay’ within Cook county.

How can we address a problem of this scale and complexity without working within a scale that forces an ideology onto people that might seem to work initially but ends up failing like Pruitt Igoe?

but with a huge margin of profit that disappears into the pockets of certain people. That’s exactly what is happening, and then you build the same white building, the same modern balconies, the same slab floors, the same modern construction technologies, that serve a

existence. Also, we had more and more clients in need of the autonomy of this system. Some clients think they

Pruitt Igoe is more complex than that. Originally it was

completely different purpose than for which they were invented.

are in need of a building, but in the end it is not the solution to their problems. If you as an architect only make buildings, you will in the end always claim that

a neighborhood for the middle class. It was racially segregated, but because of that the neighborhood was mixed; you had one half for whites and one for

The point is, Pruitt-Igoe has become a symbol for something that doesn’t work, but in the meantime you also have severely impoverished suburbs, so it has

building a physical object is the only solution although you might know it’s not. So because of this distinction

blacks. That’s why nobody fled the city. People had the guarantee of segregated living conditions. When racial

nothing to do with the architecture. Of course it does have to do with poverty and crime and everything that

we can deliver objective research without it hurting the economics of the office.

segregation became forbidden in 1956 the market formed its own segregation that initiated suburbanization.

The fact that there was no fence between you and your

comes out of that, but for that matter you can also make numerous reports on South Central Los Angeles or go to Compton and make a documentary on that and

Some of your projects are more about doing research instead of just thinking about the physical

poor neighbor resulted in fear and thus the white middle class massively fled towards the suburbs. If markets are

conclude that the single family home doesn’t work. It was of course instrumental, that happening, in propelling

appearance of it. At a certain moment you realize that you can’t solve the big underlying issue with architecture. Doesn’t this bother you?

free it results in the subversion of solidarity. This was still national, but today we see this problem worldwide.

There is less and less work because companies find

the career of an architecture critic. Every generation has the urge to demonstrate that the previous generation has failed, in order to legitimize their own existence.

I don’t care if we lose a competition, although it has not

cheaper areas to produce their products. In India people earn $1,70 an hour. If you would produce an i Phone in

And in reinstating what they have torn down, I am

always been this way. You always have to make sure to keep a high tempo within the things that you are doing.

the United States it would cost $6000.

72

essentially doing exactly the same. Because at some point you have the status quo, and then rebellion follows;

but what follows after rebellion? It’s very hard, to rebel against rebellion, especially when it’s about a generation

relationship with it, you make it eternal, which it was never meant to be. And you create more problems that

having a world government. It would be a kind of talkshow.

of baby boomers, because they are with so many, that you don’t believe the rebels. And what I also often do, is glorifying that which has demolished the previous

are then attributed to modern architecture.

In relation to your article about the international

In the end it comes down to subsidiarity; dealing with problems on the appropriate scale. I continue to think there will be a shift with more power of the city in

wave of rebellion. Not necessarily because I believe that Pruitt-Igoe was 100% ideal, I just rebel against the

mayors convention; cities are continuing to grow and thus gain more power. Do you agree with

relation to the nation. I was invited to one of those mayor conventions and asked a couple of critical question

rash conclusion that that was the problem. I only glorify Pruitt-Igoe because I’m extremely critical on the sort of observations that people like Jencks and Colin Rowe

Benjamin Barber that mayors will form a new type of parliament?

and because of that there was no room for any public intervention afterwards, so he got mad. So the whole parliament of mayors became an eastern European

make.

I don’t believe that you can tackle problems of the biggest scale via means of the smallest intervention.

parliament on the very first day. It was also a very bizarre convention. For example, the mayor of New York sat

That is also what you meant yesterday, when you said ‘we have to get clients involved again’. How do you achieve that?

next to the mayor of some unimportant small city.

But the idea in general also causes problems. If you look at big cities, like Atlanta for example, what Atlanta are

Well, I went to visit the Farnsworth House, and Mies

we then talking about? Atlanta is a metropolitan area of a bit more than 5 million inhabitants, but Atlanta as a city

knew how to do that. That even the subsequent generations sell the house by auction and that the price is driven up so much, that even the Preservation Society

has less inhabitants than Rotterdam for example; 450 thousand inhabitants. The mayor thus has a mandate over those 450 thousand whilst the problems are in fact

can’t afford it anymore and government money has to be used in order to buy it. It’s a beautiful black hole he created. But he is of course a cheeky one, Mies.

the result of urban sprawl. So in the end it affects 5 million people. On that level you have a friction that has to be solved in advance in terms of city councils and such before burdening mayors with world politics.

Probably a lot of people that are not inhabitants of the

What did you do think of the state of the Farnsworth

city but only work there, cause huge traffic jam issues.

These are issues he can’t deal with because they are

House?

Well, they refurbished it nicely. You know, it’s a museum.

And Peter Smithson said that very nicely about Villa Savoy, and about Corbusier homes. He used to have

Reinier de Graaf lecturing at ArcheWorks

bigger than the city itself. So first and foremost a city must be able to govern itself. I see that mayors will become more important, but i think any notion and

all these pictures of how they used to be when people lived in them and every now and then there was just a

The moment you give mayors the same power as the higher politicians they will show the same shortcomings

conclusion by Benjamin Barber in relation to this topic is very sad. He is operationalization is solely to strengthen

Persian carpet or a wicker chair or a piano in the wrong spot. And at one point the Foundation Le Corbusier took it over and put all Corbusier chairs in it. And Peter

in the end.

Mayors are mostly popular because they just because they are not dealing with the big scale national problems.

the sales numbers of his book. Those solutions are merely quick-fix solutions and gimmicks.

Smithson said: ‘You see what happens, it becomes a Richard Meier’ so I thought that was very strong.

They can steal the show with quick results.

Cities are indeed growing and more and more people

But heritage is just like putting money in a foundation.

When you put money in a foundation, the money is dead. That’s also what happens with a building, you

move to the cities. Some cities are in fact bigger than nations. Democracy has always been about the question of amount so it is undeniable that there will be a shift

can’t do anything with it anymore. And besides, the weird thing in particular with modern architecture, is that

in which cities become more important in the political constellation. The question however is, if a parliament

it was never meant to be eternal, it was never built to last forever. But nevertheless, by developing an emotional

controls power, who controls the government? You would end up with a parliament of mayors whilst not

In Chicago Issue #1

Reinier de Graaf

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ENTE R

T H E

SO L I D

Privatized public realm and publicly accessible private realm result in a lack of citizenship to act according to preference.

Jorik Bais

In Chicago Issue #1

Enter the Solid

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Building heights

Governmental

Leisure

Residential

Retail

Higher education

Industry

Medical

Offices

Parking

Religious

Vacant

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Once a rapidly expanding city, Chicago needed a system to facilitate efficient navigation throughout its period of vast growth: the grid. This rigid matrix distinctly separates

In ancient cities like Rome, the public/private distinction was clear. Streets were accessible, the ground floor was consumer-oriented and the upper floors were

use them as short cuts. In the present day, most of them are now closed to the public.

The Nolli map questions the border of the built fabric,

the American city from any other. It is mesmerizing to let your eyes glide along vastly spread high-rises until they meet the horizon, ornamented and modernist façades illuminated by the flashing lights of Chicago’s elevated transit system, as its cars make 90-degree turns. The built appears as solid, while the grid forms the void that

residential and thus privatized individually. The un-built and ceremonial spaces were the publicly accessible realms of the city.

either as a representation of existing conditions, or as the reactionary of an ideal. This map does however not show the individual perception of a border, and could not be used as an actual guide through a city, which appears to be fully closed off.

forces it into a system: a systematized repetition of poché and blank space. It never fails to impress.

Significance lies in the differences between the public and private realms. In the wake of suburbanization,

of Rome. It found its purpose as a city planning map until 1970. Although commonly misperceived as showing public/private distinctions, it in fact illustrates which parts of the city are open to reinterpretation (poché) and which parts are not (void). Ceremonial spaces are

Solids and voids of Chicago In contemporary Chicago, the streets are filled with cars, leaving only a sidewalk for the pedestrian. Ground floor consumer space remains, but it is interspersed with corporate lobbies. We can find functional similarities

corporate ownership has taken over the heart of the city, creating a center of companies and firms with 9-5 schedules. A monotonous loop of movement during the day, a repetition of glooming monoliths at night.

Origin of the Figure Ground Map

mapped as voids, showing their indefiniteness as iconic inheritance. Apart from mere poché and void, there are also courtyards, separated by fences to indicate private ownership, but which were nevertheless accessible to the public to find and explore these hidden ‘Edens’ and

between the hidden courtyards of Rome with the alleyways of downtown Chicago, but the latter undeniably fail to impress on an aesthetic level. The vertical is vague in its function and accessibility, which begs the question: what is truly private/public?

To investigate this question, it was necessary to map

that urban poché (the private) and void (the public) was not enough to map these entangled categories: in addition to the complexity found on the ground level, verticality adds a tremendous amount of layers unseen in

mapped according to a scale of intensity, which is solely subjective, using individual thresholds. The thresholds then determine whether or not a person would enter a particular space. Apart from sensory conditions

any figure-ground map, resulting in the statement:

determining the inviting character of a space, personal conditions also affect the intensity. For example, a craving for coffee makes its smell more inviting, while the sight of a mainstream coffee house chain or a memory of poor taste might be rejecting: Starbucks

the land use of the city’s central business area to find its most vertically dense and corporately privatized region. The project thus focused on the space between Washington, Adams, Canal and State streets. The exploration started at a plaza, where a bronze plaquette

In 1784, Giambattista Nolli drew the most famous precedent of all figure-ground maps: the Nolli drawing

conveniently and explicitly stated its public character: “Right of access by permission and subject to control of owner — property line”

Contemporary spatial privatization creates a complex set of conditions which blur the public/private distinction within vertical cities.

This message founded the interest in the complex

Method and Practice The distinction between public, publicly-accessible and private space is determined by conditions that define personal perception based on either instinct

The project’s initial aim was to map individual rooms as a digital 3D model with software called 123D. However the software failed to collect all of the data needed to

or trial: a clear message of denied access, or a failed attempt to open a door that seemed welcoming. The conditions thus can be inviting, neutral or rejecting, and are based on sensory perception. The perceptions are

fully map the room, instead only mapping the areas that it could bind together from 2D imagery. This first process, though ineffective, laid the foundations of the project’s method. By drawing an isometric view using only the

Coffee -25 sight, -50 taste, + 75 smell. threshold of publicly accessible space in Chicago. What are the actual borders of the public realm, and in which ways are they subjectively perceived? I tested these borders by walking through buildings until I was either sent away by security, or would find myself in front of a locked door or a clear message denying my access. The first day of exploration led to the preliminary conclusion In Chicago Issue #1

Enter the Solid

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OBJECTS 1. Police Cars [-100] 2. Calder Flamingo [+100] 3. Security Camera [-100] 4. Mies Facade [+100] 5. Security Gate [-100] 6. Security Officer [-100] 7. Vista Federal Plaza [+100] 8. Toilet [+75] 9. Working lady [-25] 10. American Flag [+25] 11. ATM [0] DISTINCTON

INTENSITY

PERCEPTION

12. Mies Chair [+75] 13. Chase mini-mart [-25] 14. Starbucks [-25]

+100

15. Vista Exelon plaza [+50] inviting

public

+75

16. Marble table L [+25] 17. CHASE bank logo [-50]

+50

+25

publicly accessible

conditions

neutral

0

-25

18. Security cameras [-100] sight

19. Art Piece [+75]

hearing

20. Fountain [+75]

taste

21. McDonalds sign [-25]

smell

22. Property line [-100]

touch

23. Metro sound [-50] 24. Traffic lights [+100/-100]

-50

rejecting

private

25. Canopy [+50] 26. Chesterfield bench [+50]

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27. Stairs [-25] -100

28. Cassette Wooden wall [+75] 29. Comfortable bench [+50] 30. Office desk [+25] 31. Cassette ceiling [+50] 32. Chandelier [+75]

instinct / trial

Jorik’s threshold

33. Civic opera sign [+100] 34. Security guard [-75] 35. Elevator [+25] 36. Stairwell [-25] 37. View 1 [Trump tower] [-75] 38. Old firehose [+100] 39. Locked door [-100] 40. View 2 [+100] 41. Personal tag [+100]

Above: explanation of the method used Next pages: plates of mapping Chicago

essential parts, the personal perception of a room was revealed, focusing on the subjective experience of key elements rather than every wall, ceiling, door frame, and so on. This project aims to analyse and systematize these essential objects in a subjective way, questioning

a subjective interpretation of accessibility and illustrates ways to legally or illegally enter them. Compared to the Nolli map, it does not present a method that can be used for city planning, but rather focuses on the character of the hidden courtyards of the city. It is a personal

the thresholds and ultimately breaking through them.

interpretation of how distinctions between public and private are perceived in a contemporary city. It maps unexpected places of beauty, which remain unnoticed if not documented or consciously explored. Enter the Solid

Product & Conclusion Enter the Solid reveals the city’s hidden spaces through

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is a reality game with a versatile outcome. It is universally accessible and most participants play unconsciously.

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Enter the Solid

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SEARS

CH I C AG O

TOW E R

Chicago needs to reevaluate it’s downtown office towers in favour for livable contemporary global city.

Roman de Weijer

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Sears Chicago Tower

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A skyscraper among skyscrapers 110 floors, 445 meters high, 104 elevators, over 40 kilometers of plumbing, 2500 kilometers of electrical

many other tenants as sears had hoped. In 1992, Sears started to move out of the building (Katz, 1987).

became available at the same price as an apartment in the city. After the moving of people, businesses followed, leaving office towers downtown partially vacant.

wiring and 350.000 square meters weighing in at 222,5 tons. Even in Chicago, the city of skyscrapers, the Sears tower stands out as a grand structure. However, with a big building come big troubles as it struggled with vacancy since it’s completion in 1973. How could that happen?

The tower struggled with empty office space ever since it created a surplus in office space in Chicago. Nowadays sources say that sixteen percent of the tower is vacant (Harris, 2015). The current exploiters of the tower, the Willis tower group, inform that around ten percent is officially empty(figure 2, the matrix). That might not

Functions got spread out in separate city sectors, only reachable by car.

sound serious, but with a total area of three hundred and fifty thousand square meters the vacant space counts up to over four city blocks.

Vishaan Chakrabarti calls ‘the worst of both worlds’ in his book A Country of Cities. (Chakrabarti, 2013) Both car based and mass transit systems need to be maintained and a space for both systems is needed in both the dense city center and suburban areas, leading

A critical thinking error made the building a reality, but not as successful as hoped. Models that assumed Sears Roebuck & co. would grow as fast it did in the first half of the 20th century predicted the building would be completely filled with the working force of the company.

However, competition from other retail giants like Montgomery ward, Kmart, Kohl’s and Walmart became fiercer. Sears’ market share became much smaller than anticipated in the seventies. Nor did the tower draw as

New suburbs

Urban sprawl Behind the the over positive prognosis of growth made

by Sears Roebuck & co., a bigger problem in the city becomes apparent: Urban sprawl. After the second world war, suburbanization has created a mass move away from the city. Government subsidized Mcmansions

Suburban center

Old suburbs

This automotive centric planning created an urban environment of underutilized mass transit and a large amount of parking spaces and roads. It’s what

to uninviting urban space, lower livability, inactive areas and an unsustainable metropolis(Fig. 1: Urban sprawl illustration.pdf).

Peter Blake states that a certain chaos of human life

City housing

Office center

“Fig 1: According to Chakrabarti, automotive centric density and underutilized mass transit create the worst of both suburban and urban neighborhoods.”

“Fig 2: Densifying the city centers fully utilizes mass transit. In between centers there is space for patches of nature.”

is missing in these cities. Admirable goals like creating ‘mass-production architecture to serve the needs of a mass society’ have failed. ‘While socialistic and egalitarian in spirit’, the modern, or Fordist cities that resulted have produced ‘traumas of a horrendous nature’. “Architects such as Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier were abstract artists, really.” They produced symbols of a new world, a new age, a new life-style. It never occurred to them that people would have to live, work and make love in those spaces (Wohlfert, 1977).

The urban restructuring in ‘post-Fordist’ cities, foremost in the development of inner-city areas, is increasingly focused on a ‘unidimensional logic of commodification, monofunctionality and control.’ (J. Groth, 2005) In Chicago this trend was also followed. Instead of introducing mixed use in even the most inner-city parts, functions are still separated and buildings still monofunctional. Each with their own usage in their own time frame. The north and south side of downtown Chicago

are for living, in between on the west is the office

any time soon. In the months I have kept an eye on the

quarter, and on the east is the tourist quarter with the millennium park, hotels and the magnificent mile among other tourist destinations. This is apparent when you look at the sears tower too. 86 out of the 100 floors is meant for office space. (Figure 3: Section with functions)

vacant space I’ve only seen one office added to the list.

None of them became occupied.

To invite people in and to increase the livability around the tower I want to create a neighbourhood in the

A tower for everyone My goal is to make the Sears tower fully reach its

vacant spaces it contains. A small center with a diverse program. The goal is not to foresee the final result, but to spark this new way of using the tower. Instead of catering only to a specific target group, it focuses on basic human amenities first. Think of a church, a

potential, and eventually create a more lively city center. I want to give functions to the empty space in the building that invites people to the office center and into the building itself. As an icon in Chicago that everyone there knows about this could be made in a nice example of

preschool/daycare/playground, a park, a community center etc. (figure 3: Program studies, multiple pdfs).

Functions that invokes a new way of using a building like the Sears tower and new spatial structuring can connect, isolate, stack, divide or join those functions.

how skyscrapers can work in the 21st century. Now the building is always in the background, you can’t and don’t want get in unless you work there. Besides, the 27 000 square meter that is officially vacant won’t likely be filled

(Fig. 4: Collage.pdf) To start reaching its full potential.

This has to change.

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A

Office space Office vacant Retail Mechanical Lobby Skydeck

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Sears Chicago Tower

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Mappings of the currently unused spaces in the Sears Tower

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Sears Chicago Tower

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Air force acadamy chapel Protestant Chapel Catholic Chapel Jewish Chapel All faith Chapels Meeting rooms Buddhist Chapel

68 580 mm

A center for all major american religions.

998.89 m² 737.81 m² 121.46 m² 857.57 m² 67.08 m² 27.87 m²

17 705 mm

Montessori School in Delft 5 Classrooms 5 Outside study spaces 5 Hallway study spaces Hallway library Students toilets Teachers’ lounge Teachers’ toilet Utility closet Technical room

27 900 mm

Elementary school by Herman Hertzberger 305.1 m² 36 m² 41.25 m² 7.2 m² 34.56 m² 11.88 m² 9.45 m² 4.41 m² 8.64 m²

39 600 mm

22 800 mm

Zaanhof

Public playground in Amsterdam by Aldo van Eyck.

Sand pit Cimbing rack Pull-up bars Blocks 3 benches

123.21 m² 31.68 m² 61.38 m² 61.38 m² 4.86 m²

Total area of square

519.84 m²

22 800 mm

The High Line Total area

20 117 mm

2.33 km long park on top of the old heightend metro lines in the meatpacking district of New York ~50 000 m²

2 330 000 mm

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In Chicago Issue #1

89

DETROIT

ST I L L

E X I ST S

Bob Robertus

After a long week of work for our Friday presentations we got a friendly reminder from our project leader: “Everyone will be in Studio, both Saturday & Sunday from 1100 - 1800. This is not up for discussion... or

within the community of Lafayette park, where she and her husband started living in 2010. The design by Mies van der Rohe breathed his modern minimalistic style, the housing project beautifully contrasted with

we simply cancel the trip to Detroit.” It slightly altered the atmosphere in the group; we cancelled our Halloween weekend plans and reported back for duty at Archeworks on Saturday. The Monday presentations went well and by Tuesday morning 8 a.m. we hit the road, heading to the ‘Motor City’ in our Ford Transit van.

the yellow and green trees that marked the season of autumn. With the people on their block Claudia and her husband constitute a so called ‘co-op’, participants of this cluster pay a monthly amount of $700,- to maintain the communal greenery and the quality of the houses, a social system that isn’t often seen in America. They bought the house for an

The drive from Chicago to Detroit, with an overnight stay at students from Ann Arbor University, took us about a day. The closer we got to Detroit, the more objects started to ‘pop up’ alongside the bumpy road.

amount of $100.000,- which turned out to be a bargain since one of the houses recently sold for three times the money. But this raise of property value also shifted the social structure of the neighbourhood. “The new people are nice but they are just a bit different, the old neighbours all

By the time the city’s skyline emerged, with Marvin Gaye pumping through the speakers, old car tires, a broken bumper and an office chair

know each other and interact in social activities. The new people don’t care for this aspect. It’s not bad, it’s just different.”

already had passed us by.

Detroit; United States’ fourth biggest city during the 20th century, with a population of nearly 2 million people. The strong automotive industry

After the tour in Lafayette park and her own house we got in the van and started of a true cultural drive by. We captured some of the most desolated places of Detroit. sitting in the back of the car we passed old

during the post-second world war era, brands like Ford, General Motors,

industrial areas, abandoned utility buildings where only the contours of

and Chrysler all started in Detroit, kept the city running. Unfortunately for its industry these major companies moved their businesses toward low-wage countries, leaving the city in a deep financial crisis. How would a city which has lost more than 50% of its inhabitants look like?

old fast food franchise signs were visible, neighbourhoods in decay and urban arts projects.

Claudia was eager to show us the beautiful side of Detroit, after bribing a security guard with twenty dollars she showed us the Michigan theatre.

The two day excursion was meticulously planned by Roland, except for the on hour time difference between Chicago and Detroit; time got up in smoke when driving towards the East. This little error resulted

The place used in Eminem’s ‘8 Mile’ was constructed in 1925, but got converted into a parking garage in the 1960s. The ornamented plaster ceiling, the proscenium arch and the upper balcony all referred back to

in a rollercoaster ride for the whole trip. Ten tall Dutch students, accompanied by our guide Claudia (a German architect working for Ann Arbor University), and 2 Estonians, packed up together in one big van

its prior function, as a building it’s the perfect metaphor for Detroit, a place in decay, utilised by just a handful of cars as a parking garage in the abandoned Downtown area; the car left his hometown in a state of crisis

with blinded windows, that suddenly seemed smaller then on our trip to St. Louis.

with all its dark consequences, hitting an all-time low in 2013 when it was declared bankrupt.

The suburbs of Detroit played an important role in the city’s’ history since the beginning of the 20th century. Due to the implementation of a high

But Detroit still exists, it may not be the booming metropolis it once was, but the people still living there made the decision to stay, some probably

tax system within city boundaries and the expansion of industrial areas, residents moved to the outskirts of Detroit. In regard to the economic decline that’s been on-going for the last 5 decades the populations of the

didn’t have a choice, but some did, and they decided to make the best of it. As for my personal experience I need to say that Detroit was a relaxing tour to get away from Chicago, an American city where the capitalistic

metropolis area stayed on a constant level of approximately 4 million people. These people, who made a clear decision to keep living in the

system temporarily failed. Claudia asked us to write something nice about the city, but a nice story is something the city doesn’t need, it showed the

periphery of the city, made it easy for Claudia to move to Detroit. “They care for the city and want to make something of the situation which brings positive energy to the neighbourhood”. There is a strong bond

world it doesn’t need anything but people who care for it.

In Chicago Issue #1

Detroit Still Exists

91

VISHAAN

C H A K R A BA RT I

On experiencing the city between the sky, materiality and social framework.

Interview by Felix Ahuis, Roman de Weijer

From a very young age Vishaan Chakrabarti already knew he wanted to be an architect. Building with Legos was his favourite thing to do as a kid.

Getting his dual Bachelors degrees in Art History and Engineering from Cornell University and his

Related Companies to direct the Moynihan Station Project and oversee the planning and design for the firms development throughout the United States. In 2009, Chakrabarti became the director of Columbia University Centre for Urban Real Estate,

interview. Starting though, his undivided attention is given to us.

Master degree in Architecture at the University of California at Berkeley he started working at Skidmore Owings & Merrill, where he ended up as Associate Partner and Director of Urban Design, as well as a transportation planner at the Port

and was the inaugural Jaquelin T. Robertson Visiting Professor in Architecture for the University of Virginia as well. Next to education his latest venture is the starting of his own business this October, Practice for Architecture & Urbanism, a

How was your week?

Authority of New York and New Jersey prior to that. From 2002 to 2005, he made the choice to move from SOM to serve as the Director of the Manhattan Office for the New York Department of City Planning. Where among other projects,

design firm dedicated to the advancement of cities through civic architecture and strategic urban planning.

How is the transition from working at SHoP to starting your own office going?

A busy man indeed, as is noticeable moments

It’s crazy there are a million things to do, starting with a small firm you have to think about everything, what kind

he worked on several urban rezoning to reshape the west side of Midtown Manhattan and to direct

before we start our interview. Shifting between phone calls, reading documents, giving interviews

of work you want do first of all, what kind of people you want to bring in to your new office, where do you want

the City’s response to the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan after 9/11. From there he moved to

and going through the slides he is about to present in an hour, only ten minutes are available for our

the office to be, what kind of environment and culture you want to create. And there are a bunch of pragmatic

In Chicago Issue #1

Vishaan Chakrabarti

93

FA/RdW: First of all, congratulations with your own firm. A lot must have been happening this week.

VC: Thank you! Yes there is a tremendous amount of happing right now.

In Chicago review with Brian Lee, Vishaan Chakrabarti and Mitesh Dixit

94

things like human resources, computers and setting up payrolls. It is important to get the very basic things right.

So my hands are very full.

and teach. So I was really outside of architecture for 10 years, I was always affiliated with it and I always thought about design. But I wanted to have a much broader

your website, you’re saying PAU will focus on the United States for now, but later on will take on projects in the rest of the world. What strategy

What is your motive to make the move and what is the difference going to be in your work at PAU compared with the work you did at SHoP?

base and then finally after those 10 years I got over my disillusion and wanted to get back in design and did so. So it is interesting, for me I see it as a very natural progression, but it is an unusual path.

will you use with heritage-protected centres in Europe, like in Amsterdam, where you can’t top buildings off?

I wanted to be on my own and start a firm that’s really about the city; it’s primarily about two things, urban

When did you know you needed to write your manifesto? Was it something you always thought

architecture and what I like to call strategic urbanism.

What I mean in terms of urban architecture is that with our architecture practice we want to design buildings that enhance or amplify the experience of the city, in terms of the public realm, the sky, the materiality of

necessary?

the city, the social framework. And strategic urbanism is in my mind really everything from master planning but then with an architectural intervention, not just master planning from 30000 feet in the air, but kind of more tactical kind of urbanism. As well as, you know

help explain complex topics in an egalitarian way. But in the end the book was something I had to get out of me,

For me writing the book was deeply personal. I wanted the book to be accessible to people who were not architects and planners, and we did many diagrams to

Density is not the same as height. Barcelona, for example, is denser than a Corbusian tower in the park framework. Europe is quite advanced in terms of planning density with rail compared to the United States.

So in a place like Amsterdam, if I were given the privilege of working there, I would more likely try to develop great horizontal projects that made the city even more vibrant.

Andrew Baster from Archeworks, who is hosting the lecture by Vishaan, asks if everything is ok and if Vishaan needs his laptop to prepare, he looks at his watch. There is only time for one last question before he wants to withdraw to prepare for his

sometime clients just need help thinking what do with a large piece of land, just thinking of the future of the city

lecture.

in some way. Sometimes it is the city government. It is very broad, but also very focused on the city itself and the fabric of the city itself.

We have read about you that one of your main hobbies is photography. So we came up with the following hypothetical question; now you’re

In your biography it is stated that you started your career at SOM, but it didn’t say why. How did you

in Chicago with your camera, but you forgot your extra film and you only have one shot left in camera to make a picture of Chicago, of what

end up at SOM after graduating? What where your expectations beforehand?

would that shot be and why? like a scream from a rooftop exclaiming that we needed to think of our cities differently, and build in a way that is

I have always been interested in the way modernism interacted with the City, and historically SOM was a firm that designed radical modern interventions in the heart

more environmentally conscious and socially equitable.

of cities. Projects like Lever House, Inland Steel, and Manufacturers Hanover Trust were a great inspiration to me. In many ways, SOM was about “Bigness” before

densify cities, but why did you feel it was necessary to write a book, and not just giving lectures and integrating your philosophy in your projects?

Rem had coined the term, and this in terms of an urban intervention was of great interest to me. Beyond that, at SOM one learns how to build a Swiss watch, and this has

Books are even more important in today’s digital world.

The physical copies of my book were much more popular

It’s written in your book why there’s a need to

Uuuhm…you know it would probably be some Mies detail [laughing]. A detail of when it meets the ground.

Well again I mean, it so interesting how modernism meets the city, that notion of the building floating on the horizontal plain of the city, moving through it, this very different idea about how buildings meet the city.

What do you wish you knew when you were a student that you have learned later on in your career, and that you can pass on to us future

been useful training for me to this day despite the fact that I now practice a very different kind of architecture.

than the digital copies. Reading a hand-crafted book, on beautiful paper, with attention to design, is something that is elemental for humans, something we can ponder

architects?

Before starting your own firm you’ve switched between a lot of career fields, do you think that is part of your success right now?

and debate at our own pace, in a way that a lecture cannot do.

that in order to write you must read. To build you must learn how to build. To teach you must first learn a great deal. Of course we all have something to share, some

In your book Manifesto for an Urban America, the term city is clearly defined: an urban area dense enough to support mass transit. How do you define density? Do you think there is a limit on

knowledge to impart, but students upon graduation rush too quickly into teaching today, too quickly into practicing on their own. Architecture is one of the most complex fields in the world, with a language that is highly

partner at SOM and then 9/11 happened, as I will talk about in the lecture today. At that time I became quite disillusioned with architecture and the role of architecture so I went to work for the City of New York and did what I could to support the city’s rebirth including working on the High Line, Lower Manhattan, Hudson Yards, and

how dense a city should be, like Barcelona where people think of the city as too dense?

specific to it. So in order to write, you must first read.

the expansion of Columbia University.

more how people are interacting together, as supposed to people living in separate homes and very spread out the area. Barcelona is a wonderful city; its density allows people to walk to work, to school, to parks and to cafes.

Yes I hope so. It is one of the unique things that happened with me in a way in that I did not plan. I was working purely as an architect and I was an associate

Was that a conscious choice?

I wish students today better understood the concept

Well it doesn’t have to be a lot of people in a small space.

If you think about a traditional Japanese farming village, it is quite dense, everybody lives along a main street. It is

Yes, it was a very conscious choice. After I left the City I then led a public/private partnership to rebuild New

A part of your strategy is creating a large rail hub

York’s Penn Station and then I went to Columbia to write

and topping buildings off to densify the area. On Vishaan at ArcheWorks

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Living and studying the 18th street.

Esmeralda Bierma

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A Walk - 18th Pilsen Moving cars, people waiting.

The light turns green

The guy looked open-eyed and started to laugh: ‘that is way too far, you wont make it’.

I started to laugh too, because his response only trig-

had an intriguing character and although almost unnoticed, they play an important role in a street/city where everything is fixed, designed and planned for. They are

I cross Ashland.

Listening to spanish chatter. My secret - I know their language.

gered me more that I wanted to walk the whole street.

In this one and half hour journey I took photos of what caught my interest and saw that walking a few blocks can totally change the street and her experience. The observations triggered me to really understand the street in multiple ways, what defines it and how does it work?

the only places that contest the spacial hierarchies of the ordered city. Places where things get their own way.

It is poetic that it is not (yet) determined and still open to anything - a space for your own imagination or thoughts.

In general, people see these abandoned sites as a problem or something which need to be filled in. If the re-

Close to where the South Blue Island Avenue cuts the 18th, I enter a cafe – my favourite.

Sounds of a coffee machine. People gather, read and

The 18th became a living and studying place.

To get an answer to these question, I had to define the

search is done remotely or simply from behind the computer, it is logical to think similar. Nevertheless, being in and around these places provided new insights: it dis-

eat.

I’m taking my time.

multiple scales and manner that I would have to investigate. l. Examining the street by drawing a detailed plan

mantled richness in the seemingly emptiness. The project about the voids carries the potential of these sites,

The front page of the South Side says: What’s Next?

Vacant lots, buildings vacant and decayed, home to who?

of the 18th Pilsen and South Loop where the width of the street, parking lanes, bike lanes, sidewalks, place of the building lines, the fences, movement of cars become visible. On a smaller scale were counted per

being as they are, with my experience and associations with these non-empty spaces. Instead of filling the void it is about showing a different perspective towards it, which could influences the way people will look next

An old Czeck opera, Thalia, 1892. The exfoliated paint

block the street furniture: how many street lights, bins,

time to the void when they pass by it.

on the façades showing layers of time.

I look down. Concrete pavement with leaves. Autumn started.

water pomps, benches, trees are there and how does this relate to the program and use. Often the blocks that were confronted with an increase of vacancy also had a lack in street furniture or a bad maintenance of the

What I observed on the 18th, was that the street was mainly used to get from point A to point B. Usually at such a pace that people pass by the street without

I am searching for something, still uncertain of what it is.

sidewalks. The importance of trees on the sidewalk for

even noticing the buildings, shops and other persons.

Again moving cars.

This time above me.

creating a intimate space where people are more likely to gather. Meanwhile, walking on various days and times the street, there were unexpected encounters with the

Of course, some people use the street as a gathering place, but in general it is used as a passage. In my point of view, the street is a symbol for acceleration of daily

No people.

Light reflections on the structure move with 30 mph. A rope dances in the wind.

users and residents. Some of them even showed their life behind the facade. One of them was Willy Wagner living with his parents and sister in an old Czeck theatre.

life. In the midst of the busy, dynamic life of the street, the voids stand out in their appearance of quietness and deceleration. These characteristics had such an effect

I continue.

He told his story of growing up in the 18th between violet gangs and how the street in Pilsen changed in the last 5-10 years partly due to gentrification. I got into meeting different people, but a bit lost with my project.

on me that I spent more time in and around the voids in order to study and experience them.

Was there a need to do something for the community or was it the street itself that should be reconsidered, or maybe not both of them at all.

The research was continued: the landuse/program of the street, the neighbourhood differences in income

ing down and focus on detail. A form of close-reading the wasted and abandoned. Doing this I discovered the fullness and in a poetical way the potential of the sites - the paradox of emptiness. The voids might evoke two feelings: one of expectation/projection and the other of

I enter the void.

and ethnicity and their effect on the creation of different zones. All open spaces were mapped and how people personalize it or not do anything with it. Noticing the different sounds and smells while you walk the street: the ever present sound of cars, the siren of the police

melancholy. The expectation stands for that what is still possible, the future, the imagination. On the other hand the melancholy stands for what is - probably - not there anymore. The project captures these intensities and characteristics through film, sounds and my association

Space For Imagination Flying into Chicago - out of the farmlands into the grid.

On the corner of 18th and Paulina, where we lived for three months, I told a Mexican guy that I wanted to walk

that use the 18th daily, the trains and trams that cut the street, the chatting people and how the language changes from Spanish to English when you cross the river. The smell of the trash in the alleys changing in tortilla-, coffee- and barbecue smell, emissions of cars

of being there. It is the way of seeing that opposes a consumerist eye, and therefore can liberate and activate the void.

and sometimes fresh breeze passes by.

enclosed by fence, railway, bridge, highway and neighbouring houses. In order to enter the void I had to break in.

Trash. I smell the alleys. Bulging bins on the sidewalks are colourful mountains, fitting perfect in the street.

Vacancy and homeless people.

Industry and the Chicago river: The birth of Pilsen.

At the horizon the downtown towers rise.

The trains under my feet criss-cross into and out of the city.

I am looking into the light, silence.

Nothingness, emptiness has become rare, the place where things get their own way.

Something we can not understand nor program.

the 18th street until the waterfront of Lake Michigan in order to experience an American street that is based on a grid plan. The fact that you can simply walk one street that brings you to the other site of the city was new for me and therefore seemed interesting.

Understanding the last layers and ingredients of the street and putting them together resulted in an analysis of three separate transitional spaces which are void and unseen between relative lively zones. These voids 98

The empty spaces only become legible through a slow-

The voids in the 18th are all characterized by being

Vacanty Vacant undeveloped Vacant commerical Vacant industrial Vacant undefined

Residential

Vacant Undeveloped Land

Multi-family

Vacant Commercial Land

Single-family attached Multi-family detached

Vacant Industrial Land Vacant land - undefined

Multi -family Single - family attached Single - family detached

Retail Retail

Open space leisure Open space recreation Open space entertainment Open space community

Amaneties Reiligious Education Medical

Open space - Primarily recreation Cultural entertainment Common - open space - in Residents

Industrial General industry Storage Manufacturing

Religious Facilities Educational Facilities Medical Facilities

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General Industry Storage

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Voids on the 18th street in Pilsen and South Loop

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Void 1 - Wasteland and found objects The site surrounded by houses and fenced is taken over

Void 2 - Life under highway Again it is about a slowing down and focus on detail.

Void 3 - Industrial landscape with downtown horizon Industrial area that is partly empty, next to the Chicago

by nature. The ground is still partly of concrete - once a parking lot. The materials found on the site; the piles of

Everything moves in its own rhythm: the cars that cross each other under the highway, the rope that dances

river and railways. Historically, this is the birth of Pilsen: it is born out of industry. The voids that I found in

concrete and sand, pieces of wood, brick and glass, tell the story of a demolished building. The trash spread out over the site shows how people use and treat the space.

in the wind and the light reflections that move on the structure. These subtle observations in contrast with the stagnant architectural structure of the highway and its

this industrial zone are fenced with wires. Only when the weather destroyed a part of the fence was I able to enter the site whereas before, I could only observe

Not just a bag of chips or a paper bag but also whole objects like chairs and clothes you can find there. In the

seemingly endless void vanishing point gave me poetical and beautiful film- and sound material. The 24/7 use of

the place from the bridge. Entering the spaces I saw that the voids became landscapes including even water

absence of people the objects become part of the scenery, as if in a still life. The wind is spreading out the forgotten objects and the vegetation is absorbing it. Even

the highway above me with continuous sound of cars gives one the sense of being underwater. Literally you are confronted with the continuous motions of life.

sources. The materials on the site are similar as in void 1 but the amount of wilderness is in a more advanced and developed stage. Sounds of birds living in the place,

between the concrete pavement and piles it seems that the nature is winning. In the void itself it is relative quiet,

distant sounds of the ordered city and train sounds that come from far, come close and far again, sometimes it

you can see and hear the birds in the thicket on the side. Sounds close by like the rustling of the grass. In the distant sounds of engines of the bus that comes by every 10 minutes and cars that use the 18th. Two lifes

is really silent for a moment.

next to each other: the one of the void, where things get their own way, and the street/city, where everything is fixed. Most people who use the 18th have a destination and will not notice the space.

By putting the objects out of the context and photographing them professionally. I awaken the seemingly insignificant by given them connotation. The items have a story behind it: the concrete-, brick- and wood pieces were the building blocks of a building in a different time.

The combination of found body oil next to the onion chips directly speaks to the imagination of a fictive story and the flower is a symbol for the new rich vegetation on the site...perhaps even hope?

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Screenshots from a final movie “Voids”

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FR E E DO M The rewarding crime.

Bob Robertus

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“We don’t know who discovered water, but it wasn’t a fish. I don’t know who discovered water, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a fish. The fish will be the last to discover

if the characteristic American freedom could actually be called a rapist, known as “free-doom”. What if the individual freedom is actually holding back the country?

water.” This project eventually didn’t turn in to an architectural design, since designing anything for graffiti would kill the power of the act of ‘getting up’ in one instance. The project became a personal discovery of a sub-cultural phenomenon, only possible due to a critical distance from Chicago’s society.

The original album cover depicts two nude people and therefore got rejected by music stores, a second cover, with a proper ballerina, eventually made it on the cover.

The artist who designed the images later stated that Kanye West wanted a cover that would get banned

The new world is built upon the principles of Henry Ford’s assembly line: mass production, homogeneity, and predictability. Consumption is made a religion, Society is controlled with the help of biological technologies and by a drug named Soma.

“Soma is what they would take when, Hard times opened their eyes.”

The Strokes – Soma

because of its obscene images.

West By using an extended metaphor, a childhood lover named Windy, Kanye West personifies Chicago in his ‘Homecoming’ song.

It’s a small step from Aldus Huxley to George Orwell’s 1984. In his dystopian view, society is divided in different social classes and controlled by ministries that uses brutal force, torture, mind control and surveillance [Big Brother is Watching You] to keep rebellious individuals in line.

“I met this girl when I was 3 years old, And what I loved most she had so much soul, She said “Excuse me little homie, I know you don’t know me but, my name is Windy and I like to blow trees, and

Elements of both novels can be seen in modern day society, whereas A Brave New World depicts more of

from that point I never blow her off.”

a Western society, 1984 relates to the more totalitarian countries, ruled by dictators.

Borrowing this first line from a fellow Chicagoan rapper and friend ‘Common’, he shines his light on his difficult

Miguel Aguilar

relationship with the city, being a place he loves but where he “can’t come back home” to.

As stated by Neil Postman in his review of both books: “In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us.

Space Jam During the 1990s, the well-known Michael Jordan era, the Chicago Bulls crowned themselves six-times

Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.”

on Chicago: a rough metropolis with a strong contrast between the bright and rich downtown area with its gang affiliated surroundings. But it’s his home, a place that

national champions. For every 90s kid it’s a must to visit the United Centre for one of their games.

The service program took off in 2009 after an episode of ‘Shark Thank’, a TV show where a panel of ‘shark’ investors can team up with entrepreneurs to develop

made him the person he is today, there is no place of bigger importance to him. He can “reach for the stars” in his new city but if he falls down he can always “land on

“Everybody get up it’s time to slam now, We got a real jam goin’ down, Welcome to the Space Jam.”

their ideas. Paul Watts, the initiator of the removal service, got his idea during an afternoon of community service where he noticed the civic pride that his fellow

a cloud” in Chicago.

Quad City DJ’s – Space Jam

volunteers experienced as they stripped graffiti from buildings and poles in their neighbourhoods

When listening to the song on Youtube whilst being in America you’ll notice the lyric “I Never blew her off” is beeped out, it’s a reference to the ‘Windy City’, but

Walking around the stadium, buying food and drinks during the game, catching t-shirts fired by highpressured air guns, cheering for an animated donut-

On yearly basis the City Removal Service of Chicago erases approximately 120.000 writings of graffiti.

authorities probably linked it to oral sex.

bagel-coffee race (made possible by Dunkin’ Donuts), and cheering for a free Big-Mac. The Bulls’ spectators

“Graffiti is vandalism. It scars the community, hurts

On the 2007 album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, West keeps expressing his critical perception on American society.

didn’t came across as a crowd highly critical on the actual game.

Moving to New York made it possible for him to reflect

me that it’s random.”

Online graffiti removal service

The song ‘Gorgeous’ narrates about the poorer parts of America where ‘the devil’ is dancing around, the devil being a metaphor for criminal activity where vulnerable

Dystopia “And that ... is the secret of happiness and virtue - liking what you’ve got to do. All conditioning aims at that:

people eventually engage in since, according to West, they have no other choice. Criminality is a problem with deep-rooted underlying causes, it’s extremely superficial to operate just against its outlet.

making people like their inescapable social destiny.”

The most critical song might be the final song of the album where he re-mastered the “Comment #1” poem by Gil Scot Heron. In “Who will Survive in America?” the country is depicted as a bastard, historically, bastards where looked down upon and where assumed trouble makers who had no future,

view on this future comprehends the idea that modern technologies could have bad effects on our society.

Huxley made clear that power can be achieved via knowledge and that due to new technologies “Man had built higher than he could climb”. According to him Science and Technology should be inferior to mankind.

Henry Ford is worshipped as a god in Aldus Huxley’s “A Brave New World”, the book reveals a futuristic new world’s value system. The authors pessimistic

were poor and often involved in crime. Kanye questions In Chicago Issue #1

Freedom

property values and diminishes our quality of life. The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation offers free graffiti removal services to property owners to help maintain the beauty of our communities.”

City of Chicago

“Penitentiary chances, the devil dances and eventually answers to the call of Autumn.

Face it, Jerome gets more time than Brandon, And at the airport they check all through my bag and tell

Graffiti Removal Service

The city uses an online open interface which makes it possible for anybody, who has a connection to the internet, to report a piece of graffiti. The next day, cleaners who drive around with special equipped vans, will either restore the surface in its original state or paint it over with brown paint.

Kane Miguel Aguilar, who goes by his nickname KANE ONE, is a Chicago based graffiti writer since 1989. He started writing when he was only 13 years old and founded the Graffiti Institute in 2012. In an interview with him he stated that mayor Rahm Emanuel, when he took first office for his first term, cut the budget for Graffiti Removal in third. When I asked why he replied: “Just to shrink the deficit and he also changed the strategy of how it was being removed, because before that, when [Richard] Daley was in office, it was on a by call sort of purpose, and then by cutting the budget

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he also kind of systematised regions of the city. So no matter how long ago you called or how recently you called, your call would get answered by the city like in

keeping their own archive, and only sharing it in very secure circumstances with other graffiti writers. For the most part they only share it within their crew, there

Miguel still participates in illegal graffiti writing but he feels the stakes are really high. Giving lectures and being an accessible public figure people, he feels people

this sort of grid system, so I guess it was to cut manual labour as well.”

are almost hoping that he messes up.

In graffiti history writers’ main goal is to “get up”, train yards are places most liked by writers since the trains get a lot of exposure in the city, but in Chicago I didn’t

is only three crews that do train yards in Chicago, so they all know each other and they have to communicate together. Whether or not they like each other, they have to communicate to keep the heat off, if everybody is painting the same yard it wouldn’t work. You would still be able to see it if you take a particular train line at 3:30

see any ‘defaced’ train. When asking Miguel about these clean trains his answer surprised me.

in the morning or a particular train line on a Saturday afternoon.”

“They still get painted a lot, and it becomes this inner circle of a practice that a lot of other graffiti writers

Unfortunately he didn’t want to tell me what the exact Line he was referring to. Two weeks later the Chicago

don’t even get to see. Because the stakes are higher it becomes still that much more rewarding for people that do it. And the only way that anybody knows, is by those graffiti writers documenting it themselves and

Tribune reported on the following headline.

“But when I travel to another city all bets are off like I’m a kid again I can just do as much crazy illegal stuff as possible. Just because I’m in and out. I feel a lot less consequence, I feel a lot freer.”

Perception Living in Chicago for three months with 9 peers from the same cultural background, makes you think about your developed perception.

“CTA hit by vast graffiti attack on Red Line yard that source says has no cameras.”

“We see the world, not as it is, but as we are” - Anaïs Nin A perception is the result of many (unconscious) impulses. It’s important to understand that the work produced during the semester in Chicago is highly subjective, it’s perceived through my own mind.

Graffiti is often categorised as either vandalism or art, questioning if it’s cultural productive or reductive.

The consensus on graffiti must shift from this urge to categorise the scene into these two corners, towards the realisation that graffiti is a result of the way we live, attacking the outlet of the graffiti scene is just fighting symptoms, by systematically doing so one demonstrates its own ignorance.

The removal of graffiti from public space of the city of Chicago doesn’t allow for the agnostic struggle that is essential for democracy.

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In Chicago Issue #1

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FILLS 10 MARKERS | $ 18,50

incl shipment costs

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receptacle

CORNBREAD NEVER DIES 720.149 Writings on the wall, systematically removed by the city’s streets and sanitation department during the last five years: “Graffiti is vandalism. It scars the community, hurts property values and diminishes our quality of life.” But those ‘vandals’ have a different perspective on the whole, they even refer to themselves as ‘writers’ and ‘city decorators’.

Could it be that these urban artists bring something overlooked to the table?

During and after the second world war the crayon icon “Kilroy was here” gained great cultural value. James J. Kilroy was a former sign painter who worked as an inspector of Bethlehem Steel factory from 1940 to 1960.

He marked the equipment of Americas Army forces with a bald man peeking over a fence whenever he checked the quality of the work.

Since nobody knew who came up with the markings it was soon to be common property, “an Armed Service in-joke”. For the soldier it became a morale booster: “While it was not the stars and stripes, it represented the United States.” During the war, it was said that Adolf Hitler even wanted to capture Kilroy and bring him in for questioning. After the war he became a symbol of Americas involvement in the war and it was the first icon the general public thought of whenever they heard the term graffiti.

After the second world war people kept putting Kilroy on the wall and it was in Philadelphia where the world’s first identifiable graffiti writers “CORNBREAD” and “KOOL KLEPTO KIDD” noticed its appearance, as the latter states: “I used to see that everywhere. Matter of fact, I used to think that it was more than one person as it was done in many different styles.”

It wasn’t this KOOL KLEPTO KIDD but his friend that would eventually become the world’s first graffiti writer: Cornbread, in real life known as Darryl Alexander McCray, got his nickname in a youth center and started writing it on every possible wall inside the building. When he got released he continued doing so in the streets.

After rumours spread he died Cornbread wanted to show he was more alive than ever.

One night he sneaked into a zoo where he wrote “CORNBREAD LIVES” on the side of an elephant. He gained even more nationwide fame when he wrote his name on the Jackson 5 airplane while the band visited Philadelphia.

As a result the world first graffiti writer was born. The graffiti scene started gaining ground all over American cities but it wasn’t until the summer of 1971 when a newspaper article would change the scene forever.

The New York Times interviewed a Greek immigrant called Demetrius, a young high school attendant from a working

class neighbourhood at the north edge of Manhattan. Demetrius had a job as a delivery guy and would get through town on almost daily basis, one of his deliveries brought him to an art gallery where he purchased an extrawide marker. While on the job he started writing TAKI183 on surfaces. He used Taki as a diminutive for a number of different nicknames he was known by and the number 183 represented the street he lived in. His interview with the journalist and the article that resulted from it resulted in the rise of the scene in America and other parts of the world.

Museums in London and Amsterdam even curated exhibitions on this new “urban art” and some graffiti writers earned good money by selling their work. For other writers it was an eyesore to see the works of fellow writers turning into a commodity since it became part of the system the scene usually tries to critique.

Graffiti has been part of our earliest societies that even date back to the prehistoric times. But why are we so afraid of it, why do we want to get rid of it as soon we see it in our public realm? Is it because we just don’t like the look of it and does it really ‘diminishes’ the quality of life? Or are we scared of it because we find no use in it?

Writers spread their message in their own unique individual style, making their writing stand out amongst others. These styles are often very complex which makes it impossible for the public to read and understand the writings. This can make the user of the space feel anxious around the work that’s been put up. Of course there is the argument that graffiti is mainly gang related. Those writings and logos represent groups of people claiming their turf and participate in illegal activities, but this is a small percentage of the total amount of work that’s visible in the city.

A walk in downtown Chicago gives the brain countless impulses to promote consumerism, it promotes the driving forces behind the cities global economy and therefore its completely accepted. But to what extent does the local society aid from this system? Could it be that the act of writing in public space is a personal expression of protest against a system that doesn’t benefit the writers’ well-being?

These writings might just represent the voice of the local protesting against the global.

If a public space without writings on the wall is the ultimate goal for the City of Chicago it might be a good idea to address the more fundamental problem of inequality.

Systematically removing writings on the wall or the ban of aerosol spray paint within city boundaries will never stop the writers.

Above: Final essay Next page: Image of a ripped off essay from Chicago streets

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CHICAG O

( 1 9 8 3 )

by Roy Ayers Floris van der Burght

Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago

known as Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago

Chicago where can I go Chicago where can I go Chicago where can I go Chicago where can I go

What are you doing to me Chicago Running it at me Run at me Chicago Run it at me

What are you gonna do Where you gonna go How are you gonna feel Who are you gonna know

What are you going to do in Chicago Chicago Chicago What are you going to do in Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago

What are you gonna say Each and every day

Now… What are you going to do Chicago.

Chicago Chicago Chicago where can I go

Where are you going to be in Chicago Chicago Chicago Set me free Chicago

Chicago Chicago

Set me free. Set me free Chicago

Chicago where can I go Chicago Chicago Chicago where can I go Chicago Chicago

Chicago

Chicago where can I go

Chicago Chicago

What are you gonna do What are you gonna do

Chicago I really think that I at the BWO different drummer Chicago Chicago

Chicago Chicago Chicago

What are you gonna do What are you gonna do

Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago

What are you gonna do in Chicago What are you gonna do in Chicago What are you gonna do in Chicago

Chicago Chicago Chicago Slow it down

What are you gonna do in Chicago

Stick around Chicago is going to be all right

Where you gonna go Where you gonna go Trying to be me. Trying to be free. but

Chicago Chicago Chicago Chicago

Chicago I love the

Last Notes

I love the You can’t beat me free

Indulged in different themes and topics it is this lyrics and song that display the city and it’s path. Hard to grasp, ambiguity, vast and small, a layer seems to consist out of one but reveals itself after study to be

Trying to be free Show me the way out

numerous. This text does not wrap up. Open ended. City will stay. Stick around see lyrics. Not an ending to project. Open end. Search for what.

Show me the Way

Each column of text, one voice. Chronicly. Listen to song to understand.

Baltimore down the door

To be in a city. To be in a city temporarily. Trying to be an active

Baltimore down the Cross the sea. I suppose they are free I suppose they are free outside of this place known as Chicago Chicago Chicago

participant, being an active participant for a volatile period. Casual engaged with the city in which you reside, then your are a tourist again with a peculiar eye for things. Picking out the things you favour, find interesting or stumble upon. Reached out by the city; his, her (what is the gender of a city) fabric and inhabitants. Engaged again and back again.

You and the city in a dialectic for a brief period, diverging and converging

known as Chicago Chicago Chicago known as Chicago Chicago Chicago

in reason, maybe never coming to a point were ends meet. Both striving and striding for something, a goal, an (orchestrated)coincidence. Leaving Chicago is this. ‘We are just started’ I whispered to O’Hare International Airport on the fourth December. Maybe never.

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