Feature: All in All, It’s Just Another Brick in Chicago with Brick Tours
Brick expert Will Quam shared his love and knowledge of the clay rectangles on lsat weekend as part of the spring 2026 Chicago Humanities Festival. The author of Fire and […]
Review: Lift Up Your Eyes and See the Bricks, Fire and Clay: How Bricks Reveal the Hidden History of Chicago, by Will Quam
Open Will Quam’s Fire and Clay and you’ll find your notion of Chicago (and its suburbs) transformed. You’ll suddenly notice all the brick buildings and walls and individual rectangles of […]
Review: “Louis” and “Dan” to Each Other, Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan, by Trygve Thoreson
Louis Sullivan and Daniel Burnham lived parallel lives. Both were born in the East and came to Chicago in their youth. Both were poor students and relatively aimless until they […]
Feature: Visit the Fair Trade Museum to Fight Against Fast Fashion and Fascism and Make Mutual Aid Donations
Sustainability author and educator Anna Lappe said, “Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.” Shopping is at the forefront of a […]
Dispatch: We Recap Films About Wacky Houses, Czech Design, and An Architect of Grief at the Architecture & Design Film Festival
The Architecture & Design Film Festival, opens in Chicago tomorrow, Thursday, February 19, and runs through Sunday, February 22, at the Chicago Cultural Center and the Gene Siskel Film Center. The festival […]
Feature: The 118th Edition of the Chicago Auto Show Is a Blast From the Past
The time has come again for us to darken the doors of McCormick Place for a flurry of trade shows and conventions the likes of which much of the world […]
Preview: Architecture & Design Film Festival to Offer 10 Feature Films on Sustainability and Design Themes
The Architecture & Design Film Festival, a touring international film festival, returns to Chicago next week. The festival runs Thursday, February 19, through Sunday, February 22, at the Chicago Cultural Center […]
Review: Seeing Beauty in the Ordinary, Chicago Homes: A Portrait of the City’s Everyday Architecture
One of the many joys of reading Carla Bruni and Phil Thompson’s Chicago Homes: A Portrait of the City’s Everyday Architecture is the way the book dazzles the reader with […]
Review: Imposing the Human Mark on the Landscape, Earth Shapers, by Maxim Samson
Early on in Earth Shapers: How We Mapped and Mastered the World, From the Panama Canal to the Baltic Way, Maxim Samson writes, “Every landscape tells a story—the challenge is […]
Review: The Fabric Closest to Our Skin, The Virtues of Underwear, by Nina Edwards
In Jane Russell’s first movie role in 1943, her bra was the star, even though it barely seemed to be there. The publicity posters for The Outlaw, directed by Howard […]
Review: Design Museum Recreates Classic Great Ideas Series With New Voices and Expanded Focus
The Design Museum of Chicago has reached back into design history for a landmark advertising campaign developed by a Chicago corporation; the curators have recreated it as a modern-day exhibit […]
Feature: Outdoor Art on the Mart and at the Morton Arboretum
It’s outdoor art season in Chicagoland, finally, and two venues are bringing the bright, bold colors to our blooming prairie. Architecture and design firm Perkins&Will, in partnership with Chicago’s Department […]