EXPERIENCE
Formerly known as the
Chicago Architecture
Foundation, the not-for-
profit Chicago Architecture
Centre (CAC) has moved
into new headquarters on
East Wacker Drive, where it
continues to deliver on a
fabulous array of exhibitions,
architecture tours and field
trips. Highlights include an
excursion out to Farnsworth
House, Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe’s Modernist
masterpiece, and a tour of
Frank Lloyd Wright’s home
and private studio in Oak
Park. architecture.orgFounded by artist Theaster
Gates, the Rebuild
Foundation focuses on and
showcases three core values
across art, culture and
informing the local
community: black people
matter, black spaces matter,
and black objects matter.
It’s no surprise then that
groundbreaking projects and
exhibitions seed in its space.
rebuild-foundation.orgLocated in a once gritty
neighbourhood, the
Bridgeport Art Centre is
a creative hub for artists and
designers working across adiversity of forms and fields.
Housed in the former Spiegel
catalogue warehouse and
incorporating three art
galleries, studios, a fashion
design centre and ceramic
centre, it is a great hunting
ground for next-gen talent
and one-of-a-kind souvenirs.
bridgeportart.comSee the first Art Institute
exhibition devoted to Édouard
Manet in over 50 years at The
Art Institute of Chicago
(25 May–8 September).
Featuring the gallery’s
20th- and 21st- century
collections, the Modern
Wing designed by architect
Renzo Piano is a rigorous
steel, glass and limestone box
that sits in sharp dialogue
with the steel ribbons of
Frank Gehry’s Jay Pritzker
Pavilion in Millennium Park.
artic.eduAccording to the critics,
Chicago is the epicentre of
fine dining in America. The
buzzy new bloods are Elske
(Anna Posey’s desserts are
eulogised about), Parachute
(crazy beautiful Korean-
American creativity), Giant
(big on taste but the name
belies the small venue size),
Proxi (audacious Asian and
Mexican flavours presentedin an old printing house
redesigned by Meyer Davis)
and the Bellemore (luxury
layerings of both flavour and
aesthetics). But if three-star
Michelin magnificence is
your thing, make it to the
more established Alinea, the
‘emotive’ science-meets-art
eatery that is a winner of five
James Beard Foundation
Awards, the Oscars of the
food industry.STAY
Reserved for the city’s elite
for 122 years, the Chicago
Athletic Association has
been sensitively redesigned
by Hartshorne Plunkard
Architecture and refreshed
by New York-based designers
Roman and Williams into
a 240-room luxury hotel that
celebrates both the club’s
heritage and its highly
extravagant Venetian-Gothic
style. But don’t read fusty
into that form; this is history
poured through the hippest
of hospitality filters. The only
athleticism required here
now is a sprint to Cindy’s, the
rooftop restaurant and bar
where the seats overlooking
Millennium Park and Lake
Michigan beyond fill fast.
chicagoathletichotel.com ››Chicago
DESTINATION
The visionary city has always been on the design radar,
but a thriving food scene has made it a must-visit.A
sk any fan of architecture to nominate their holiday destination
of choice and the Windy City will score every time. Especially in
2019, when the birthplace of the modern skyscraper plays host to
the third edition of the Chicago Biennial of Architecture — the
event running 19 September 2019 to 5 January 2020 that trains
the spotlight on emerging talent across art, architecture and design. Inviting
a global spread of next-gen studios to exhibit across Chicago’s idiosyncratic ’hoods
(running the widespread gamut from artsy grit to upscale scholarly), this year’s
Biennale is but one reason to book flights right now. Other big incentives include
the city’s reputation for boundary-pushing dining, a brilliant raft of old and new
museums, great shopping and a music culture that continues to play a seminal
role in innovating sound — the city’s roots in jazz and soul still resonate in
countless clubs.Mar/Apr 2019 157VList