’Building Ideas: An Architectural Guide to the University of Chicago’ by Jay Pridmore

Like many progressive seats of higher education, the University of Chicago presents visitors with an enviable spread of architecture. Building Ideas is the first dedicated guide to a century’s worth of architectural accumulation since the modern era, a programme that shows no sign of abating. The University began with a template of solid, soaring Gothic, in hopeful imitation of the great European universities, most notably Oxford. Over time, this has given way to tough collegiate Brutalism – usually the most inventive and well cared for examples of pure concrete architecture – and refined American high tech.
The University of Chicago was originally founded via a donation from John D. Rockefeller (he later called it ‘the best investment I ever made in my life’), on a site that was once part of the famed World’s Columbian Exhibition of 1893. Today, the campus extends to include Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, one of the icons of American modernism. The university has always embraced new architecture, commissioning Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen and SOM after the war.
Contemporary architects who have contributed to the campus in the modern era include Cesar Pelli, Ricardo Legorreta, Rafael Vinoly and Murphy/Jahn. Tod Williams Billie Tsien’s Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts is one of the most recent and graceful structures to grace the campus, and a recently announced dorm by Studio Gang Architects looks set to continue a great tradition of innovative educational design.
Starting with the original gothic quadrangles, the book traces more than a century of the campus’ physical history
Laird Bell Law Quadrance, designed by Eero Saarinnen and Associates, 1959. Antoine Pevsner's 'Construction in Space in the Third and Fourth Dimension' commands attention in the Law School's reflecting pool. Photography: Tom Rossiter
Inside, the Law School's interiors are as bold its facade. The reading room of the D'angelo Law Library was renovated in 2008 to include low-iron plate glass and floating balconies. Photography: Tom Rossiter
The tome comprehensively outlines the university's transition between architectural styles, from Gothic to midcentury Modernism and beyond
The low slung and transparent School of Social Service Administration, by Mies van der Rohe. Photography: Tom Rossiter
Robie House, by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1909. Photography: Tom Rossiter
The Charles M Harper Center of the Booth School of Business, by Rafael Viñoly Architects, 2004, comprises a mix of immense spaces and more intimate ones. Photography: Tom Rossiter
The Center for Care and Discovery, by Rafael Viñoly, is the architect's second offering on the campus. Photography: Tom Rossiter
Joseph Regenstein Library, by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, 1970. The Regenstein Library links the campus' old architecture to the modern. Photography: Tom Rossiter
The Regenstein is noted for its brutalist limestone facade and interiors, and also houses one of the largest book collections in the world. Photography: Tom Rossiter
Aside from a plethora of striking imagery, the book includes in-depth text, detailing the origins of the university's buildings and its architectural evolution into the 21st century
Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, by Murphy/Jahn, 2011. The newer library is connected to the Regenstein by a bridge, and features a striking elliptical, glass-panelled dome...
...while the interior contains a high-density book storage in the ground beneath the dome. Photography: Tom Rossiter
The book storage and retrieval system of Mansueto Library. Photography: Tom Rossiter
Gordon Center for Integrative Science, by Ellenzweig, 2005. Photography: Andrew Bruah
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, 2012. The tower of the Logan Center draws attention to the south edge of the Midway...
...while its high-rise design also provides views of campus and the city beyond. Photography: Tom Rossiter
The South Campus Chiller Plant, by Murphy/Jahn and Burns and McDonnell, 2008. This building makes a feature of the equipment inside it, rather than concealing it. The transparent curtain walls are made of low-emission, low reflectivity glass. Photography: Tom Rossiter
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
New London show ‘Hardcore’ probes the power dynamics of desire
At Sadie Coles HQ, London, the provocative exhibition ‘Hardcore’ is a bold, explicit exploration of carnal desires and intimacy
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Parisian jewellery brand Héloïse & Abélard is championing secondhand diamonds
Héloïse Schapiro marries fluid jewellery design with sustainable methods
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Vauxhall Astra hybrid is sober and stealthy
Once a mainstay of the best-seller lists, the Vauxhall Astra’s star is fading. Can hybridisation put this modest machine back on the radar?
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
This Shelter Island house is designed as a ‘modern cabin’
Shelter Island house by Koning Eizenberg is designed with a ‘modern cabin’ approach and aesthetic, keeping the owners close to nature
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Rafael de Cárdenas Scholarship at RISD supports access and equity in education
The new Rafael de Cárdenas Scholarship at RISD offers support for students at the school’s Architecture or Apparel departments; we catch up with the architect to find out more
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
St Catharine’s College social hub in Cambridge reimagined by Gort Scott
Gort Scott's design for St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, gives a sensitive facelift to a much loved, bustling campus
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Texan family house foregrounds sports cars, secret spaces and fantastic finishes
Smitharc has shaped a formidable Texan family house in suburban Dallas, using courtyards and setbacks to create a series of intimate spaces within a substantial plot
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Compact Mount Washington house is designed for maximum impact
A Mount Washington house by Anonymous in Los Angeles makes the most of its views, steep site and small size
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Roberts Projects turns historic car dealership into characterful LA art space
Roberts Projects by Johnston Marklee sees the gallery launch its new home in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Studio Gang’s Richard Gilder Center brings organic tactility to New York City
The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation by Studio Gang marks a new era for New York City’s iconic American Museum of Natural History
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts launches its undulating Studio Gang design
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts by Studio Gang opens in Little Rock, USA, blending new construction and renovation
By Ellie Stathaki • Published