Skyline

CHGO, today. Through an opening in UN Studio's pavilion in Millennium Park. Another shot here.

Broad Side

Central Illinois, 2007.

Leaf

CHGO, today. Part of a sunscreen at the new seating area east of Federal Plaza. Mies in the background.

Wood Siding Horizon

CHGO, Lincoln Square. 2009.

XXXX

CHGO, 2008. Near Canal and Cermak.

Curtain Wall Horizon

Near Chicago and Kingsbury, CHGO. 2009.

New Ruin | de Young Museum

De Young Museum in SF. By the the Swiss firm Herzog + de Meuron. I felt at peace here, and wanted to go back immediately. Something intuitive and warm in the architecture. It may have something to do with the 163,000 sf of copper panels...

Slow Me Down

Yellowstone. 2006. Nothing to clutter my mind out here. Nothing to waste my time out here. Nothing but clear blue skies and water like wine out here. Forget about the world and remember your own.

Baker House | Aalto

Aalvar Aalto. MIT campus. 1949. A great pilgrimage to see this Finn's serpentine dorm . With luck, one day I'll make it to Saynatsalo to see the Town Hall. Amazing work. (2008)

Cymbals Eat Guitars

Pitchfork '09 Day 2. These guys were amazing. Put a smile on my face and a shuffle in my stance. Their name is from a quote by Lou Reed explaining how when recording, the cymbals sometimes drown out the guitars...

Sawtooth

Post Pitchfork, near Union Park CHGO, 2009. The building was lit well by an adjacent light.

Steel Pipes

We were at our studio space last night, and I was looking at these pipes again, remembering this series of tool photos I shot last year...

Sears Stairs

CHGO. 2007.

Veins

Tree. Champaign, Il. 2009.

Fly Towers | Krannert Center | Abramovitz

Urbana IL. Krannert Center by Max Abramovitz - 1969. I have been enamored with this building for many reasons over the years. The natural expressiveness of the fly towers are at once ominous and beautiful. The simple palette gives a sense of strength and is a canvas for sun and shadow. And you can walk on and over the structure, which gives a human-ness to the scale and gives the sensation of exploring some kind of modern ruin.

Champaign Public Library | Ross Barney

Ross Barney Architects- 2008. An impressive use of sustainable features here. Skylights, sunscreens, and bamboo add to the subtle palette which make for a cozy experience, yet there's just enough articulation at the exterior to make you think. I felt like there was a slight nod to Max Abramovitz's Krannert Center in the details here as well...photos of that one to come.

Crumpled | Spertus Institute | Krueck + Sexton

Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies by Krueck + Sexton . A breath of contemporary along south Michigan Avenue.

Black + Red

CHGO- CNA building from loop alley.

Greater Fulton

Fulton Market district, CHGO.

AQUA | Studio Gang

Studio Gang - CHGO. Still under construction but already an impressive sculptural vertical landscape... If they could have developed sectional voids to coincide with the "puddles" of glass, that would have been a feat. It's a refreshing new voice on the skyline that has the tourists pointing and questioning, and that's a good thing.

Little Pink Houses

San Francisco from my friend F's rooftop. 2009.

Boston Institute of Contemporary Art

Cantilevered galleries above the outdoor seating area overlooking the Inner Harbor. The gravity defying protrusion is a classroom space with an unobstructed view to the water. By Diller Scofidio + Renfro Architects, 2006. On exhibit now- Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand. A CHGO connection, the site was partially gifted by the Pritzker Family...

Kresge Auditorium | Saarinen

A striking auditorium by Eero Saarinen on the MIT campus in Cambridge, MA. Built in 1955, the roof is actually a thin concrete shell covered in copper cladding. In this shot you see one of only three points where the shell touches the ground. Simple, rational, beautiful Finnish design.

New Gothic | Legacy | SCB

The Legacy by Solomon Cordwell Buenz rising above the University Club on Monroe in CHGO.

Red Door and Dumpsters

At Harrison and Plymouth Ct., CHGO, 2007.

Art Institute of Chicago | Piano

Renzo Piano's subtle yet rigorous addition, members' opening night. Twombly, Richter, and Rothko are inspirational.