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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
In a $30 billion deal, Aon is buying Willis Towers Watson, a rival in business insurance and risk consulting, but it raises one question in the mind of most Chicagoans: What will happen to the Willis Tower name now that we’ve gotten used to calling it that?
The deal between the two London-based companies was announced Monday. Executives said the combined operation will use the Aon name, not Willis.
— Chicago Sun-Times
Willis Tower, which once reigned the skyscraper ranking as the world's tallest building for nearly 25 years under its former name Sears Tower, will likely not be renamed again anytime soon as the naming rights contract with Willis Towers Watson insurance does not expire until March... View full entry
A nonprofit consortium consisting of the Getty Research Institute, the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution has taken another step toward preserving the photo archives... View full entry
A plan created by architects Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) and developer 601W Companies that aims to bring the tallest exterior glass elevator in North America to the Edward Durell Stone-designed Aon Center in Chicago has been approved by the city's Department of Planning and Development... View full entry
A recent study of the Illinois State Capitol Dome in Springfield, Illinois has discovered “some obvious flaws on the exterior of the dome,” including significant cracking "on all four compass points" where bracketed structures support the interior stone columns below the dome, The... View full entry
Gia Biagi, principal at Studio Gang, has been nominated by Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot to lead the city's Department of Transportation. Previously, Biagi has served as the chief of staff at the Chicago Park District and has worked at the Department of Planning and Development. Biagi earned... View full entry
The Design Museum of Chicago, Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and NeoCon have unveiled a new Design Impact Grant Program targeted at "elevating the visibility of Chicago's design legacy, assets, talent, and community, and at supporting civic good through... View full entry
Plans for a new 1,422-foot-tall tower designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture haven taken a step forward in Chicago, where developers Golub & Co and CIM Group have unveiled their latest iteration of the spire. The four-sided tower is wrapped by curved and flat exposures and... 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
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
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