Chicagoans are justifiably proud of our city's buildings. People come from all over the world to see Chicago’s architecture and to learn how and why it developed. Many famous architects have not only worked but also lived in Chicago: Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The skyscraper was invented and perfected here, and even though we can no longer lay claim to the world’s tallest building, the current record-holder was designed by the same Chicago firm whose innovative engineering (due to Bangladeshi-born Fazlur Khan) gave us the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center. While the city has continued to produce new generations of acclaimed homegrown architects, such as, most recently, Jeanne Gang, Chicagoans have also embraced contributions by notable out-of-towners, from Henry Hobson Richardson in the 19th century to Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, and Renzo Piano in the 21st.
However, this course is not simply about brick and stone, glass and steel. Learning about architecture will afford us the opportunity to get to know the city’s history, its geography, its culture, and the people who have designed, built, demolished, preserved, lived in and worked in Chicago's buildings. We will examine questions about public housing in Chicago, about class, race and politics, and also about the distribution of greenspace and city resources. Our excursions will take us around the Loop, south to Bronzeville and north to Uptown.