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John LaPlante, a longtime city employee who served as the first commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, died Saturday at 80 after testing positive for the novel coronavirus less than two weeks earlier.
The son of a Cook County judge and the head librarian for the Chicago Public Schools, Mr. LaPlante was a “municipally minded” Roseland native who cared deeply about his city and its government, according to his daughter Leslie.
— Chicago Sun-Times
LaPlante worked for the City of Chicago for over 30 years, starting as an intern in the 1960s for what was then the city’s department of public works. He served as chief traffic engineer in the 1980s and as the city’s Transportation Commissioner in 1992. John LaPlante. Image courtesy of... View full entry
A new set of renderings have been unveiled for the controversial Obama Presidential Center (OPC) designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (TWBTA) on Chicago's South Side. The latest views present a more transparent and animated complex that has been tweaked to address ongoing... View full entry
Chicago is recognized for its iconic architectural history, however, there are some areas of this beloved architectural haven that have not found a voice until now. Writer and photographer Lee Bey has documented buildings located in Chicago's South Side for several years. With the hopes to expose... View full entry
For Archinect Sessions episode #145, we are joined by Kimberly Dowdell, a principal at HOK in Chicago and the current President of the National Organization of Minority Architects. Our conversation covers Kimberly’s impressive path to success in architecture and the leadership role she’s... View full entry
A joint exhibition two years in-the-making brings together architecture students from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and HafenCity University of Hamburg to investigate the "analogous nature" of each school's host city. Stemming from a study abroad research project led by Adjunct... View full entry
Believe it or not, female representation and leadership within academic architectural institutions have come along way over the last 100 years. To highlight this progress, the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is paying homage to previous female graduates who... View full entry
...And other such stories, the third edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) kicks off this week in the Windy City, where over 80 contributors, including Theaster Gates, MASS Design Group, Forensic Architecture, Walter J. Hood, and others, are presenting a bevy of provocative and... View full entry
As part of Archinect's Spotlight on Chicago, we've selected seven firms this week that are seeking to hire the right candidate to join their team in the Windy City. From LCM Architects to Solomon Cordwell Buenz, learn more about the firms that are hiring and the job positions they have... View full entry
Now What?! Advocacy, Activism & Alliances in American Architecture since 1968, an exhibition created by gender equity-focused activist group ArchiteXX highlighting the impact of social movements on architecture and design, is currently on view at the Co-Prosperity Sphere gallery in Chicago. ... View full entry
A collection of engrossing sketches created by the late architect Stanley Tigerman are currently on view at Chicago's Volume Gallery. The exhibition, titled Tigerman Rides Again, presents some of the final creative works produced by the iconoclastic architect who passed away in June of 2019. ... View full entry
Rondeau and the architects said key factors guiding their thinking include working to open the museum to the city on its western, Michigan Avenue side, to Grant Park and the lake on its eastern side and even to the train lines that bisect what is, at about 1 million square feet, the nation’s second largest art museum, behind the Met. — The Chicago Tribune
Over coming months, Barozzi/Veiga will get to work crafting "a five-year, 10-year, 15-year plan" for the campus that envisions a way of opening up the campus, as Art Institute of Chicago director tells The Chicago Tribune. The effort is fueled by nearly $70 million in donations from... View full entry
For the month of September, Archinect is placing a special Spotlight on Chicago, highlighting important regional projects—including the Chicago Architecture Biennial opening next week—profiling local firms and practitioners, and delving into some of the most pressing issues in... View full entry
As many architects know, throughout each phase of a project, finding ways to streamline production and efficiency is vital, as are improving cost efficiency and project delivery times. Several construction companies are combining their use of design platforms like BIM with augmented reality... View full entry
A proposed 8,000-square-foot visitors center designed by Chicago's John Ronan Architects has been dealt a set back following a recent Oak Park Historic Preservation Commission decision to unanimously deny the project's efforts to impact a pair of homes located next door to the Frank Lloyd... View full entry
A Robert A. M. Stern Architects-designed high-rise has recently reached completion. And with a timeline of almost three years, the project's realization has made it Chicago's tallest "strictly residential" skyscraper, with the program lacking hotel, office, and retail program types. The... View full entry
