Highly regarded as one of the most historically significant buildings in Chicago, it’s only natural that we would include the Rookery Building in our ongoing Chicago skyscraper spotlight series. So what does it take for a building to earn such an esteemed title – especially in a city with a skyline marked by its architectural diversity and richness? Let’s take a look.
Big Shoulders Indeed
The Rookery Building was completed in 1888 by architects Daniel Burnham and his partner John Wellborn Root, under their firm Burnham and Root. Overall, the structure is considered one of their masterpiece buildings and was even once the location of their offices. Standing at twelve stories high (188 feet total), it’s also considered the oldest standing high-rise in Chicago.
The Rookery Building rose from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire. Burnham and Root were part of the Chicago School of Architects who worked to rebuild the city during that time, utilizing modern industrial techniques combined with traditional techniques and design, resulting in a truly unique product.
The unique name, too, comes with a story: only a water tank was left standing from the original structure after the fire. A temporary structure was built around this tank, and was nicknamed the “rookery” – in part because of the pigeons and crows that perched on its exterior, but also in part because of the crooked politicians it housed within.
Light Well and Mezzanine at The Rookery. Credit: Alan on Flickr Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Deed
The Rookery Building in the Modern Era
Burnham and Root weren’t the only big names to call the Rookery Building home. At one point, Frank Lloyd Wright once held offices there as well. In fact, Wright even remodeled the building’s lobby in 1905. Just a few decades ago, from 1982 to 1992, a massive renovation project was completed to restore the lobby to this original Wright design once again.
These days, the building is home to tenants such as US Bank, Brooks Brothers, Perkins Eastman and Interactive Brokers Group. Both the Frank Lloyd Wright organization and the Chicago Architectural Society offer tours inside the building, so that lovers of great architecture today can continue to appreciate its history, story, and gorgeous features.
Our team is joined together by a love of exceptional design — so naturally, design is our shared language. From property managers to accountants to architects, we’ve all come to know and love the architect lingo that helps us communicate our passions, our creations and our vision. In celebration and as part of our ongoing series, today we’re sharing Part IV of our inside look at architect lingo.
Poché
Pronounced with an exaggerated accent on the e at the end, the word poché comes from the French word pocher, which means to sketch roughly. To the untrained eye, poché refers to the portions of an architecture plan that are blacked out, darkened or cross-hatched. To an architect’s eye however, these blacked-out portions of the drawing hold much information.
Poché in a drawing demonstrates to architects the wall thicknesses, floor thicknesses and all other solid areas that intersect the plane of the section cut. Because poché makes it more clear how much space these solid areas take up (i.e. a normal line wouldn’t demonstrate the thickness of a wall, but poché does), it means that architects then have a better understanding of what space is actually available to them around these elements.
Architectural drawing of Sterling Ridge.
Charette
While the word charette might be unfamiliar to many, likely the meaning behind it will sound all too familiar. Charette refers to the intense final effort made by architectural students to complete their solutions to a given architectural problem in an allotted time or the period in which such an effort is made. It’s the home stretch of a project, if you will.
The word charette is derived from the word “cart,” and its origins date back to the École des Beaux Arts in Paris during the 19th century. During that time, proctors circulated a cart, or “Charrette”, to collect final drawings while students frantically put finishing touches on their work. Nowadays, the meaning of charette has evolved to refer to a period of several consecutive days, during which time all stakeholders involved in a project are consulted during an open, collaborative process to gather feedback and make refinements to a given plan.
Miesian
If you’re familiar with Modernist architecture (or if you’ve been an avid reader of our blog), this homological word explains itself. Used as either an adjective or a noun, Miesian as an adjective describes that relating to or characteristic of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe or his work and Miesian as a noun describes an admirer or student Ludwig Mies van der Rohe or his work.
In the Modernist discipline, this basically sums up all of us and everything we create. Mies’ “skin and bones” design style and philosophy of “less is more” is largely influential to the formulation of the discipline as we know it today.
Stay tuned for future features on the world of architecture lingo at Optima.
When you picture the work of architecture titan Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, you probably don’t picture a fraternity house. But back in 1952, the German-American architect created a design for Indiana University’s Alpha Theta chapter of Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. However, the design was never constructed and forgotten about until 2013, when an alumni and former fraternity member dug up the news. Indiana University then located the documents through the Art Institute of Chicago and New York’s Museum of Modern Art so the project could become a reality.
Instead of a fraternity house, the building will be home to the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design. Extensive research helped update the building to modern features while keeping the integrity of the Modernist design. The plans for bedrooms were simply swapped out for offices. 70 years later, this incredible design will finally come to life and inspire students and creatives for generations to come.
For the full story, check out Architectural Record’s recent feature on the project.
This spring, the design world lost a woman of fortitude, ingenuity and groundbreaking creativity. Cornelia Oberlander, a Canadian landscape architect, passed away just before her 100th birthday due to complications from COVID-19. Although her passing is mourned, Oberlander left behind an incredible and inspiring life story and legacy.
Cornelia Oberlander was born into a Jewish family in Germany in June of 1921. As the Nazi party rose to power, her family faced increasing dangers and chose to leave the country two weeks after Kristallnacht. Oberlander was eighteen by the time they emigrated to the United States in 1939, and there she was able to nurture her interests in the power of plants to heal. Her mother was a horticulturist who wrote gardening books for children and nurtured Oberlander’s appreciation for nature. Inspired by the landscaping and public spaces in Germany, she was determined to design parks from a young age.
Oberlander received a BA from Smith College and was among the first class of women to study at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, founded by Walter Gropius, a leader of the Bauhaus movement. Armed with a degree in landscape architecture, Oberlander was on a mission to improve lives with public spaces nourished by nature. And indeed she did; she started out working in Philadelphia, where her initiatives in public housing included places for children and green space. After moving to Canada, she advocated for communities and designed over 70 urban playgrounds. Her notable projects included the Children’s Creative Center at Montreal’s Expo ’67, Vancouver General Hospital Burn Unit Garden and the landscape design at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, Vancouver (photo below). Over her lifetime, Oberlander was honored with Order of British Columbia, the Order of Canada and Vancouver Freedom of the City Award, amongst many other accolades.
Cornelia Oberlander’s work will impact landscape architects, urban designers and creative minds all over the world for years to come. Her beliefs in the ability of design to bring about social change and healing are ones we as creatives should all hold in high regard, as we build systems and buildings that elevate the human experience.
If you ask anyone – Chicago native or tourist – to name one building in the city, odds are they’ll say Willis Tower (or perhaps Sears Tower, since the name only recently changed). This goliath skyscraper towers over the skyline, standing as a landmark beacon from vantage points even miles away. But how much do you really know about the famed Willis Tower? Today, we take a closer look at the building’s rich history.
The History of Willis Tower
One of the most contentious debates among Chicagoans this millennium has been whether they’ll call Willis Tower by its new name – or stick to tradition and refer to it as the Sears Tower. The tower was first envisioned in 1969 by the department store and its original namesake, Sears and Roebuck Company. Needing a place to house their 350,000 employees, the leading retailer commissioned architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill to complete the task.
And complete the task they did. Groundbreaking on the superstructure occurred a year later in 1970, and when the tower was completed three years later, it stood proud and tall at 108-stories as the world’s tallest building (surpassing even the World Trade Center in New York City). This soaring frame was made possible by a steel-framed bundled-tube construction, and boasts being the first building to use this structurally efficient and economic method.
Though Sears and Roebuck Company sold the tower and moved out eighteen years later, the newly-named Willis Tower continues to host companies such as United Airlines (its largest tenant) and its new namesake, Willis Towers Watson.
Looking down from The Ledge at Willis Tower
Not Your Average Office Building
Having held the title of the world’s tallest building until being unseated from the throne in 1998, Willis Tower naturally had to welcome visitors to come witness the outstanding views. The building’s world-renowned observation deck, the Skydeck, has been open since 1974. Located on the 103rd floor and standing at an elevation of 1,353 feet, visitors (on a clear day) can see as far as Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin as they feel the building sway in the wind.
In 2009, the same year as the building’s name change, the Skydeck underwent renovation to now include glass boxes that jut four feet out over the skyline, informally dubbed “The Ledge.” Thrill-seeking visitors experience the sensation of floating above the city skyline while enjoying the famous view – a view which draws in 1.9 million visitors annually.
Naturally, such a structure attracts thrillseekers of a different kind as well. In 1981, a man named Dan Goodwin donned a Spiderman suit, some suction cups, camming devices and skyhooks scaled the entire tower. The attempt took him seven hours, despite the Chicago Fire Department’s best attempts to stop him, and he was arrested when he reached the top. In 1999, another Spiderman impersonator, Alain “Spiderman” Robert attempted the same journey as his predecessor, this time with only his bare hands and feet… he was mostly successful.
If that last paragraph tempts you to try your own risky ascent, know that an annual charity event, named SkyRise Chicago, legally allows visitors to climb the tower’s 103-story staircase, making it the world’s tallest indoor stair climb.
Whether it’s from a passing car on Lakeshore Drive, peering up into the sky as you traverse downtown, or running up a 103-story staircase, there’s many ways to appreciate the rich history and beautiful views the Willis Tower brings to Chicago’s city skyline.
As part of our ongoing “Women in Architecture” series at Optima, we’re taking a look at another pioneering female figure: Beverly Willis. Willis’ career set an unprecedented tone in the industry – to quote her own website, she “accepted commissions for which there were no built precedents, adopted practices that did not become mainstream until decades later, and sought research-driven solutions unique to each project.” Let’s dive in below:
The Life of Beverly Willis
Beverly Willis was born on February 17, 1928, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her mother was a nurse and her father was an oil industry entrepreneur and agriculturist. The couple split during the Great Depression, at which point Willis was only six years old, and she wouldn’t see her father again for another several years. Left alone, Willis’ mother struggled to provide for her two children and they were placed in an orphanage. There, they worked for their keep and often fought back against the establishment, learning the lifelong lesson that “pushing boundaries was a way to survive.”
Willis saw her father again, for the last time over the summer when she was fifteen. She worked alongside him in his shop and earned a man’s wages, which she later used to pay for flying lessons. It was 1943, the middle of World War II, and with her ability to fly a single-engine propeller plane, Willis qualified for the Women’s Air Service.
After her time in the service, having learned many trades’ skills, Willis went off to study engineering at Oregon State University. Ultimately, however, she graduated with a Fine Arts degree from the University of Hawaii in 1954.
Beverly Willis at work on her fresco for the United Chinese Society, Honolulu, 1955. Beverly Willis Archive, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print).
Career and Accolades
Willis learned much from her art studies and mentors – including Gustav Ecke, a scholar of Chinese furniture, who introduced her to Asian art and architecture, and Jean Charlot, who exposed her to the history of European art and fresco painting. Armed with this knowledge, she founded her own studio, the Willis Atelier, in Waikiki, Hawaii. There, she continued her murals, fresco paintings and multimedia installations. One of her most notable projects during this period was her fresco work on the Shell Bar at the Hilton Hawaiin Village hotel, which also used an innovative sand cast mural panel technique she herself had pioneered.
In 1958, Willis moved to San Francisco where she opened her own design office and deepened her architectural prowess. She was successful in retail design in particular, but transitioned to residential design with her special program at the Robertson Residence. There, she created notably disability-friendly design far before disability guidelines such as the ADA ever existed.
Beverly Willis & Associates, preliminary section showing uses for San Francisco Ballet Building, San Francisco, 1979. Beverly Willis Archive, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA (http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print).
Two other notable projects during this era included her renovation of the Union Street Stores from 1963 to 1965, which, according to The Architectural Forum, “some historians describe as an initial contribution to the advancement of the Modern adaptive re-use of historical buildings movement.” She also designed the San Francisco Ballet Building in 1973. It was the first building in the US specifically designed for a ballet company and school, and paved the way for many others like it to follow.
Willis was also famously one of the first to use a computerized approach to design. Her firm invented CARLA (Computerized Approach to Residential Land Analysis) in 1970, a program which was quickly adapted and used nationally. In 1997, the National Building Museum published her book, “Invisible Images– The Silent Language of Architecture.” Understanding that women were often excluded from the historical narrative of architecture, Willis also founded the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (BWAF) in 2002 with the goal of changing architecture culture through research and education.
Her extensive portfolio and accolades speak for themself. And lucky for us, today, Willis is 93 and her humanistic approach to design and innovative approaches continue to shape the architectural world.
Optima Verdana is one of our latest projects, coming soon to the Wilmette neighborhood of Chicago. In contrast to other projects in our portfolio, the name may seem eclectic. So how did we arrive at the name Verdana?
To start the naming process, we focused on the design elements of the building and what set it apart. We knew the green space would be one-of-a-kind; the development will feature our signature vertical landscaping system that we’ve implemented across our Arizona communities. Translating it to Chicago’s ecology and weather is no small feat, but our team is making it happen. The system will include self-containing irrigation and drainage, and feature hand-selected plants that will stay green year-round — even during the most extreme weather conditions.
Inspired by the innovation and striking visuals of the vertical landscaping system, we pursued names that related to green space, abundance and growth. Verdana draws from the word verdure, defined as lush, green vegetation or a condition of freshness. The name is unique, welcoming and inspired, much like the building and residences themselves.
Optima Verdana is currently under construction, scheduled to be completed in 2023. Stay tuned for more updates on the project, on our blog!
As part of our ongoing “Women in Architecture” series at Optima, we’re taking a look at another pioneering female figure: Julia Morgan. Like many of the women in this series, Morgan boasts a series of industry firsts. Morgan was the first woman admitted to the architecture program at l’École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Artsin Paris, and the first woman architect licensed in California. Learn more about her extraordinary life and work below:
The Life of Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was born on January 20, 1872, to parents Charles Bill Morgan and Eliza Woodland Parmelee Morgan as the second of five children. Morgan was also born into generational wealth — her mother Eliza was the daughter of a cotton trader and millionaire. This financial mobility also provided geographic mobility. The Morgans lived on the West Coast, but travelled often to New York to visit mother Eliza’s parents. It was on one of these trips that Julia Morgan (now age six) met her older cousin Lucy Thornton, who was married to successful architect Pierre Le Brun.
Morgan kept in touch with Le Brun, who encouraged her to pursue higher education, and in 1890, Morgan did just that. She went on to study engineering at the University of California, where she was often the only woman in her math, science, and engineering courses. When she graduated in 1894 (with honors, no less), Morgan became the first woman to earn a B.S. degree in engineering at Berkeley. Encouraged by her professor and mentor, architect Bernard Maybeck, Morgan then went on to be the first woman admitted to study architecture at Maybeck’s alma mater, the prestigious École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Morgan was able to apply to the architecture program thanks in large part to a union of French women artists who pressured the school. When Morgan went to Paris and met this group of women, they introduced her to feminist ideology. And though the Beaux-Arts program prohibited older scholars and Morgan’s 30th birthday (and deadline as a student) approached, Morgan nonetheless earned her certificate in architecture — making her the first woman to do so at the Beaux-Arts, and trumping the certificate completion time of her mentor Maybeck by two years.
Hearst Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley. Credit: Sanfranman59 on Wikimedia Commons, Multi-license with GFDL and Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.5 and older versions (2.0 and 1.0)
The Work of Julia Morgan
Morgan’s extraordinary track record and changemaker ways also carried over to her career. After her education and experience in Paris, she returned to California where she worked with San Francisco architect John Galen Howard, the supervisor of the University of California Master Plan. In this role, she was the primary designer for the Hearst Greek Theater and also provided the decorative elements for the Hearst Mining Building.
In 1904, Morgan became the first woman to obtain an architecture license in California and she opened her own office in San Francisco shortly after. In addition to being a woman of firsts, Morgan also became a woman that could withstand a series of natural disasters. When her office burned down in 1906, she reopened just a year later in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district. Meanwhile, her first reinforced concrete structure, the 72-foot bell tower at Mills College, El Campani, was constructed in 1904 — and just two years later, famously survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake unscathed.
Casa Grande Hearst Castle, designed by Julia Morgan. Credit: Daderot on Wikimedia Commons, made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication
The survival of the bell tower launched Morgan’s career and rounded out her reputation, while the devastating aftermath of the earthquake provided countless opportunities to rebuild local structures. Morgan famously redesigned the landmark Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco in just one year, using her new signature: earthquake-resistant reinforced-concrete. This project greatly impressed the Hearst family — among many others — and earned Morgan future projects such as the Hearst Castle (one of the most defining projects of her career) and the opportunity to design a series of YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) buildings across California.
Though Morgan’s accolades are highly impressive, she lived a notably modest and quiet personal life, having never married, written or spoken much about herself. Despite these humble traits, Morgan nevertheless leaves an ongoing legacy in the strides she made for women in architecture, and the iconic structures she left behind.
As things begin to reopen, it’s only natural to daydream about future travels and interesting destinations. And while you’re at it, consider dreaming about a stay in an architectural masterpiece. Today, we’re sharing a few ways to discover Modernist architectural gems for your next vacation.
Welcome Beyond
Welcome Beyond is a German website created by brothers Oliver and Chris Laugsch. The two personally curate a selection of handpicked vacation rentals and small hotels across 38 countries. Though their selections cover a broad swath of architectural styles, each shares the common thread of high-caliber design.Our favorite of their five picks in the US is Saddle Peak House in Los Angeles — this Modernist retreat exemplifies the best in design integrated into its natural environment.
Ramp House in Austin, Texas; photo courtesy of Boutique Homes.
Boutique Homes
Despite its name, Boutique Homes features rentals that defy “quaint” in the traditional sense. Developers Veronique Lievre and Heinz Legler yield over a decade of experience designing, building and decorating in the hospitality industry to provide best-in-class selections to the refined vacationer’s eye. Their site’s collection spans numerous countries, architectural styles and budgets to provide something for every type of design lover.
Gunflint Lake Cabin in Grand Marais, Minnesota; photo courtesy of PlansMatter.
PlansMatter
PlansMatter, founded by architectural enthusiasts Connie Lindor and Scott Muellner, resulted from their own passion for finding unique vacation destinations. They love nothing more than staying in a place with “architectural intentions and a story to tell” and wanted to make it easier for others to find just that, too. Their international roster includes both jaw-dropping vacation rentals and hotels like you’ve never seen before.
Kid & Coe
Kid & Coe founder Zoie Kingsberry Coe started this family-friendly vacation rental finder after travelling the world with her own kids in tow. Eager for more baby-friendly stays that didn’t make compromises in design excellence, Coe makes sure no other parents ever experience her own travel woes. The site features rentals, hotels and most recently — a home swap program.
We hope that this summer brings new chances for wonderful travel adventures!
As part of our Chicago Skyscraper Historyseries, we’re exploring some of the architectural feats that have defined Chicago, and buildings across the world. The Wrigley Building, established in 1924, was one of the first major office buildings north of the Chicago River — paving the way for many workplaces that followed. And that wasn’t all that set this show stopping skyscraper apart…
The Wrigley Building is located at 400-410 North Michigan Avenue on the southernmost end of the Magnificent Mile, directly across from the Tribune Tower. As mentioned above, at the time of the building’s groundbreaking in 1920, there were no other major office buildings north of the river. Chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. hand selected the oddly shaped lot for the headquarters of the Wrigley Company. Unbeknownst to Wrigley, this would set off a building boom in the area, and eventually lead to the establishment of a strip of Chicago’s finest skyscrapers.
The Wrigley Building certainly set the tone for those who followed. Designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by architect Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, the building is a luminous beacon recognizable to locals and tourists alike. The building facade is made of six shades of gleaming white terra cotta, getting lighter and more luminescent as the structure climbs into the sky. This coloration was a choice made by Wrigley himself, having seen the famed White City display at the World’s Columbian Exposition years ago in 1893, and having never forgotten the shining hues. The Wrigley Building is cleaned regularly to maintain its sparkling white stature.
The building’s southern tower went up in 1920, and the northern tower followed in 1924. These two towers are connected by two separate bridges (one on the 3rd floor and one on the 14th floor), another defining feature of the renowned architectural gem. The 14th floor bridge, which was constructed in 1931, was added to connect the two disparate offices of a bank in accordance with a City of Chicago statute.
The Wrigley Building has since earned landmark status in 2012, and although the Wrigley Company is long gone, they’ve no doubt left their mark on Chicago’s skyline.
