Marina City: Bertrand Goldberg's Urban Vision
| Date/Time: | Wednesday, 06 Apr 2011 from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Location: | Kocimski Auditorium, 101 College of Design |
| Cost: | free |
| Phone: | 515-294-7428 |
| Channel: | College of Design |
| Categories: | Lectures |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Chicago has many iconic buildings, but perhaps none as instantly recognizable as Bertrand Goldberg's Marina City, commonly referred to as the "corncob buildings." Occupying an entire city block, the mixed-use riverside complex consists of two cylindrical 65-story residential towers, a saddle-shaped auditorium, and a midrise office building. Each tower contains more than 400 apartments and a continuous, upward-spiraling ramp of parking spaces. Built in 1964 at a moment when Chicagoans were fleeing to the suburbs, the hugely ambitious project was architect Goldberg's attempt to save the city of Chicago.
In their book, Marina City: Bertrand Goldberg's Urban Vision, authors Igor Marjanovic and Katerina Rüedi Ray present a new history of this architectural landmark. Featuring newly available archive photographs and drawings, this unique building's biography contains lively essays that explore not only the building s architectural achievements, but also the ingenious marketing campaign and complex network of political partnerships necessary to realize Goldberg's vision. The culmination of thirty years of thought and development, Marina City became an instantaneous icon that made Bertrand Goldberg the first Chicago architect to achieve superstar status with one project. From the financing to the structural engineering, this one-of-kind volume fills in missing chapters of modern architecture, urban politics, and labor history.
Marjanovic is an associate professor of architecture and undergraduate core coordinator at Washington University in St. Louis. He received the 2009 Education Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects for his Florence studio. Together with Rüedi Ray, he runs ReadyMade Studio, which was featured in the Ten Visions: Chicago Architecture exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004-2005. Their co-authored books include Marina City: Bertrand Goldberg's Urban Vision (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010), Practical Experience: An Architecture Student's Guide to Internship and the Year Out (Architectural Press, 2005), and The Portfolio: An Architecture Student's Handbook (Architectural Press, 2003).
Marjanovic's writings on Alvin Boyarsky appeared in Chicago Architecture, Critical Architecture, AA Files and ARQ. He previously taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was interim director of undergraduate studies, and Iowa State University, where he was director of the College of Design's Core Design Program. He holds a BArch from the University of Belgrade, Serbia, and MArch from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and he studied at the Moscow Architectural Institute.