The Ritz-Carlton Chicago: Field Notes on a Sealed Ballroom
A hotel occupying upper floors above Michigan Avenue, with interior ballrooms and high-level guest rooms.
The Blackstone: Working a Building With Two Vocabularies
A 1910 Beaux-Arts hotel on South Michigan Avenue, with period public rooms and contemporary renovated interiors.
Virgin Hotels Chicago: A Venue of Small Rooms Rather Than Large Ones
A hotel in a 1928 Loop office building, with a series of smaller event spaces and a rooftop bar.
The Robey: How Light Moves Through a Narrow Tower
A 1929 Art Deco tower at the Wicker Park six-corners junction, with upper-floor rooms and a rooftop.
The Willis Tower Skydeck: Field Notes on Glass at 1,350 Feet
An enclosed observation deck on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower, with glass on all sides and projecting glass ledges.
The Four Seasons Chicago: Four Ways Out of the Vertical Venue Problem
A hotel occupying upper floors of a tower above the Magnificent Mile, with function rooms and guest floors on separate levels.
The Museum of Science and Industry: When the Exhibits Are in the Photograph
A monumental 1893 building in Hyde Park, housing aircraft, locomotives and industrial machinery at full scale.
The Chicago History Museum: Making the Glass-Dome Frame
A museum on the southern edge of Lincoln Park, with a stained glass dome, mosaic floors and park frontage.
The Shedd Aquarium: Four Ways Out of the Bright-Aquarium Problem
A classical aquarium on the Museum Campus, with an Oceanarium wing whose windows face Lake Michigan and the skyline.
The Palmer House: How the Frescoed Ceiling Frame Is Actually Made
A grand hotel in the Chicago Loop, known for its frescoed lobby ceiling and sweeping staircase.
