INTRODUCTION
1 The Urban Drama
DISASTER
RAISING UP A FALLEN SKY
The Best Way to Fill the Chilling Void in the Lower Manhattan Skyline Is with a Great New Urban Center, Not a Reproduction of the Destroyed Twin Towers
DONT ABANDON NEW ORLEANS
The Big Easy, an American Masterpiece, Deserves to Be Saved; Its Rebuilding Should Stress Substance over Show
SECURITY
LAND OF THE SORT OF FREE
In a Nervous City, Places like the Federal Plaza Run Scared, While the Daley Plaza Hangs Tough
FORT WASHINGTON
From the Heartland to the Capital, Federal Buildings Put on the Armor of a Nation under Siege
HUBS OF FRUSTRATION
Airports—A Symbol of Our Freedom of Movement—Have Become Dehumanizing
THE PROMISE AND PERILS OF REBUILDING
A BRILLIANT TIGHTROPE WALK AT GROUND ZERO
One Plan for WTC Rises above the Rest
TOWER OF BANAL
Latest Freedom Tower Design Erases Original Vision of Remembrance and Renewal
RECLAIMING THE PUBLIC REALM
A PEOPLES PARK FOR THE FUTURE
Why Millennium Park Has Instantly—and Interactively—Established Itself as Chicagos New Town Square
THE MILLENNIUM PARK EFFECT
It Has Emerged as a Sparkling Example of How Big Cities Can Get Big Things Done
2 The Building Boom
WRETCHED EXCESS
MONUMENTS TO MEDIOCRITY
The Demands of Business Overwhelm the Art of Architecture in a Surge of High-Rise Residential Construction
ONCE GRAND, NOW BLAND
Boom in Branch Banks Is Shortchanging the Character of Neighborhoods
A MICKEY DS ON STEROIDS
When Supersize Isnt Necessarily Better
A GALLERY OF ROGUES
For Every Gem Produced by the Long-Running Building Boom, There Are Even More Clunkers
GEMS AMID THE ROUGH
A SPARKLING NEW HIGH-RISE, THE CONTEMPORAINE, HERALDS THE REVIVAL OF MODERNISM
LIGHTER-THAN-AIR SERTA HEADQUARTERS ELEVATES THE ORDINARY
WAVES OF CREATIVITY
The Aqua Tower, by Rising Star Jeanne Gang, Is One of Chicagos Boldest and Best New Skyscrapers
DOES SUPERTALL MEAN SUPERB?
THE DONALDS DUD
Trumps Skyscraper, Shortened by the Post-9/11 Fear of Heights, Reaches Only for Mediocrity
SCALING AESTHETIC HEIGHTS
Skyscraper Adapts to Our World in a Stunning New Way
LETS TWIST AGAIN
Third Times the Charm for Lakefront Tower—or Is It?
HOW TO BUILD TODAYS SUPERTALLS
Elegance, Not Machismo, Is behind Chicagos Unprecedented Reach for the Sky
A SKYSCRAPER OF MANY FACES
In Trumps Context-Driven Chicago Skyscraper, Beauty Is in the Eye—and the Vantage Point—of the Beholder
THE NEW BURJ DUBAI, THE WORLDS TALLEST BUILDING, SHOWS THAT NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE EXCESS
3 The Age of Icons
CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE
WINGED VICTORY
Santiago Calatrava Marries Sculpture and Structure, and Molds a New Identity for the Milwaukee Art Museum
A MUSICAL ARK FOR LOS ANGELES
Frank Gehrys Spectacular Disney Hall Draws Energy from the Citys Chaos and Steers It toward a New Vision of Community
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGHS AND LOWS
Daniel Libeskinds Denver Art Museum Addition Is a Striking Urban Presence but Doesnt Soar as a Showcase
BLADES OF GLASS
The New Spertus Institute and Its Gemlike Wall Form a Welcome Counterpoint to Chicagos Michigan Avenue Historic District
FROM THE SPECTACULAR TO THE SUBTLE
A BRIGHTER IDEA
Steven Holls Bloch Building at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City Redefines the Museum Addition
CHICAGOS TEMPLE OF LIGHT
Much More than a Container for Art, Renzo Pianos Refined Modern Wing Opens to Nature and the City
A SIDEWALK THROUGH THE SKY
With Quiet Nautical Flourish, the Nichols Bridgeway Connects the Modern Wing of the Art Institute to Millennium Park
BIG STARS ON CAMPUS
BOLD NEW LOOK ON CAMPUS
Can Sexy, Signature Buildings Successfully Fuse Form and Function?
TRIUMPHANT HOMECOMING
Helmut Jahn Designs an Illinois Institute of Technology Dorm that Looks Elegantly at Home
THOM MAYNES STUDENT RECREATION CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI IS THE LATEST PIECE OF AN EXEMPLARY PUZZLE
4 The Changing Faces of Preservation and Conservation
NEW CHALLENGES FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION
THE DANGER OF BECOMING SKIN-DEEP
Chicago Historic Buildings Become Shells as New Rules of Preservation Are Letting Citys History Slip Away
HEALING PROCESS
Its Unclear Whether Cook County Hospital Can or Should Be Saved, but There Hasnt Been a Full Airing of the Question
WHY LOSING SOLDIER FIELDS LANDMARK STATUS MATTERS
Uncle Sam Draws a Line, Saving Avant-Garde Architecture from Its Worst Excesses
LOVE IT? HATE IT? OR BOTH?
An Architecture Critic Revisits the Building He Despised as a Student and Has a Revelation
THIS MIES BUILDING AT IIT CAN GO
Squat Brick Structure Isnt the Architects Best Work, and the Metra Expansion Merits Its Razing
HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND GREEN ARCHITECTURE
Friends or Foes?
THE BLOOMING OF GREEN ARCHITECTURE
CHICAGO, MY KIND OF GREEN
The Windy City Presents a Snapshot of the Sustainability Movements Strengths and Shortcomings
GOING “NET ZERO” TO MAKE A GREEN STATEMENT
First-of-Its-Kind Home in Chicago Will Produce as Much Energy as It Uses
TEMPLE OF GREEN
In the Grand Rapids Art Museum, a Measured Approach to Design Reveals that Elegance and Environmentalism Are Not Incompatible
5 A New Era and New Challenges
REIMAGINING REGIONS AND HOUSING
GOING FORWARD
Planning for Chicagos Future Requires Burnham-Style Vision—and a Big Pair of Green-Tinted Glasses
SHORTSIGHTED POLEMICS
The Ideological Catfights over Housing Threaten to Marginalize All of Architecture
CHA POLISHES ITS ROUGH EDGES
Architect Dresses up the Dearborn Homes, Georgian Style, and Upgrades Living Spaces Inside
BRICK BY BRICK
Born as a Horse Stable, the Brick Weave House Provides the Perfect Home for a Pair of Urbanite Gearheads
THE BLESSINGS—AND BURDENS—OF INFRASTRUCTURE
A GRANDER CANYON
The Rebuilt Wacker Drive Has Emerged Not Only Fixed, but Finer
CHICAGOS SECOND WATERFRONT
A New Stretch of River Walk Furthers the Dream of Turning a Once-Harsh Industrial Zone into a Prime Public Space
NEW RANDOLPH STATION WORKS WITHIN ITS LIMITS
Renovated Station a Bright Spot in Daily Commute
THE WAY WE MOVE—AND LIVE
Americas Infrastructure Crisis Arrives on Chicagos Doorstep
HIGH HOPES, HIGH BUILDINGS, AND SOBERING REALITIES
GOOD-BYE, ICONS; HELLO, INFRASTRUCTURE
Obama Inaugurates a New Era of Architecture
BACK TO BASICS
President Obamas Infrastructure Plan Wont Match the Great New Deal Public Works Projects, but It Moves America in the Right Direction
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
INDEX