Skyline from a different angle

It’s generally a good event if you’re thinking of it two days later. Sunday I had the opportunity to go on a Chicago lakefront architectural cruise guided by Geoffrey Baer, who has hosted a number of PBS programs on Chicago architecture and history. As is always the case with this oh-so-architectural city, there was a lot to take in.

For many years (years ago) I sold real estate on Chicago’s near-downtown Gold Coast and Lincoln Park, and during my college years worked for temp agencies so there is hardly a pre-1977 office building or pre-1992 apartment or condo that I haven’t been in. In short, I thought I had seen ‘em all. But, in a metropolitan area we tend to see things either from street level or from the windows of another building. Seeing the downtown area from river level, while details were pointed out by a knowledgeable guide, really knocks your perceptions out of whack.

It’s hard for me to see architecture as pure art. To me, a building is mostly about usability and function, and harmony with its surroundings (with nods to Mies and Wright). I’ve been particularly impressed with the kind of analysis Christopher Alexander et al make in the book A Pattern Language, which ably documents how space can influence and shape behavior, use and comfort. Building as fine craft, yes, but as art, not so much.

Seeing downtown skyscrapers, infrastructure and transportation from river level somehow abstracted the beauty of the structures for me, and I was much more able to appreciate line, surface and inter-relationships. That was awesome enough. But then the magic happened. As we headed back in from the lake portion of the trip, a fog began rolling in, obscuring the lower half of most of the buildings hugging the beach. Suddenly, Chicago seemed some hi-rise Brigadoon or Fata Morgana. Truly, we were in the fairy realm.