What is Brutalism? Simply put, Brutalism is an architectural style that emerged during 1950s which derives its name from the French term béton brut or “raw concrete,” It is usually characterized by the use of exposed concrete, often used to create geometric, grid-like monoliths that dominate their surroundings. Brutalist buildings are generally characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. While concrete is a chief component, other materials, such as steel, timber, and glass, are also featured.
Brutalism is an extremely polarizing style; the people who love it love it, while people who dislike it, really dislike it. I love it. For me, Brutalism is the architecture version of jazz; it's conceptual, innovative, and ever-changing. Looking at it fills my head with possibilities, and makes me feel good. Whenever I see a Brutalist structure it makes my fingertips tingle, and I literally feel invigorated in a way usually reserved for people on mind-altering substances. Anyway, "The Brutalist" made me sad because it was light on the actual architecture. It made me think about how awesome it is to live in a city with so many fine examples of Brutalist architecture, so I wanted to share my favorite Brutalist buildings in Chicago. Some of my selections will be instantly recognizable, while others are known only to locals and Brutalist enthusiasts. This post is a love letter to the city I live in, Brutalism, and a memorial for the structures we lost. And as usual, you can either read about the history of these buildings or look at the pretty pictures; it's up to you!
Marina City
AKA: "The Corncob"
Year Built: Between 1964-68
When people think of iconic Brutalist structures in America, Marina City is often at the top of the list. Marina City is not just a stunning example, it's in a lot of Chicagoans Top 5 Architecture Buildings in the city, and a favorite with tourists.
In many ways, Marina City began as an urban renewal project on behalf of the Service Employees International Union at a time when White Flight and Suburbanization was making a huge dent in the city's population. They were thinking of ways to entice young people to live and play Downtown, and the complex was built as a "city within a city", featuring numerous on-site facilities including a theater, gym, swimming pool, ice rink, bowling alley, stores, restaurants, and, of course, a marina.
Here's a excellent PBS short about the history of Marina City, with lots of great images and some interior photos:
The two towers contain identical floor plans that contain almost no interior right angles. The bottom 19 floors form an exposed spiral parking ramp operated by valet with approximately 896 parking spaces.
I know it's safe, but I still have nightmares about a car snapping the cables and falling into the Chicago River
The 20th floor of each tower contains a laundry room and gym with panoramic views of the Loop, while floors 21 through 60 houses studio and one bedroom apartments (450 per tower). On each residential floor, a circular hallway surrounds the elevator core, which is 32 feet (9.8 m) in diameter, with 16 sector-shaped units arrayed around the hallway. A 360-degree open-air roof deck lies on the 61st and top story. Originally rental apartments, the complex converted to condominiums in 1977, but still contains a number of rental units.
Because of the buildings unique shape, every single living room and bedroom has a balcony that has an amazing view of the skyline or the Chicago River.
In popular culture, Marina City has been immortalized on the cover of many music albums, including Wilco, Sly and the Family Stone, and Chicago. It also appears in many T.V. shows and movies, including "The Bob Newhart Show" "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" "While You Were Sleeping" and the "Candyman" revamp.
OP Story Time: That bowling alley here is open to the public and is fabulous! The old theater has been converted into The House of Blues, while the ice rink has since been demolished. The new Hotel Chicago was built in what was once the Marina City office building. Lots of changes, but it's still our Corncob and city pride.
Brutalist Scale: 7/10. I realize it's an iconic building with worldwide renown. It's also an expected choice; ask any Brutalist enthusiast about his fav buildings anywhere and for many, MC is at the top of the list.
Metropolitan Correctional Center
AKA: "The MCC" "That Jail Downtown"
Year Built: 1975
I am convinced that the Devil himself whispered "Build a prison, but in downtown Chicago" in Chicago-based architect Harry Weese's ear while he was sleeping, because what the hell otherwise? The Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago is a 27 story skyscraper that's shaped like a triangle that opened in 1975. It's an extremely odd looking building, but all of the details serves a purpose and Weese put a lot of thought into creating practical solutions to the problems that arise when you, oh, I don't know...build a jail in the middle of a major metropolitan areas downtown?
There's no escape happening here
The triangle shape creates a sort of panopticon inside for easier sight lines and access to prisoners for the guards. The building features tall windows that are five inches wide to prevent escape attempts without requiring bars, but beveled out to funnel natural light inside. It also provides a nice view for the residents. The prison yard is on top of the structure and is built in such a way that it enables residents to get exercise and air without safety concerns.
Aerial view of the MCC where you can clearly see inmates exercising
Personally, I find this building rather delightful. It reminds me of a punch card masquerading as a building and looks wild as hell amidst the older buildings in the immediate area.
Brutalist Scale: 10/10. The diabolical act of imprisoning folks in a building that also gives the inmates an ringside view of everything in life they're currently missing is brutal as hell.
Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist
AKA: "That Weird Ass Building On Wacker"
Year Built: 1968
The Metropolitan Correctional Center isn't the only Weese building in Chicago. Built in 1968, this downtown church features travertine stone instead of concrete but still has many Brutalist features including a semicircular sanctuary with two tiers, containing 764 seats within its concrete circular structure. The structure's octagon shape fits harmoniously within that three street intersection in that section of Wacker Drive.
Its minimalist outside contrasts with an inside designed for optimal acoustics and seating arrangement, ensuring stellar sound quality during services. It also contains 350 hidden microphones integrated into the structure, enabling congregants to share testimonies without leaving their seats.
©Jason R. Woods
Brutalist Scale: 6/10. While interesting and a marvel in engineering in its own right, quite frankly there are other Brutalist structures in the city that are more interesting. Nevertheless, the sheer oddness of *this* structure in *that* location has increased my fondness for it over the years.
St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital and Medical Center
AKA: "St Mary's" "The Spaceship"
Year Built: 1975
If a building could be called “gloriously insane” it would be this one. I mean, look at it. This is “Lovecraft, but make it concrete.” Designed by architect E Todd Wheeler, St Mary's chief innovation was making every patient's room a single room. The tower was built with nursing stations in the center core, with patient rooms surrounding for maximum access and privacy.
I don't care; I love this gigantic brutalist spaceship monster structure. It brings me joy every time I see it. I love how it towers over everything in the vicinity, and how when steam comes out of the vents it looks like it's about to blast off. I love how people in the neighborhood bring out of town visitors to see it, just so they can say "WTF is this?" I love how it's an unofficial tourist attraction in the area and how children's eyes light up when they see it.
OP Story Time: Many rotations ago I had an emergency appendectomy at this hospital, and not only was my room spacious and airy, the care I received was top notch and it was overall a good experience. A+, would go again for the care as well as the aesthetics, etc.
Brutalist Scale: 8/10 because I'm biased as hell but I don't know...this one is a bit too much even for a lot of Brutalist aficionados.
River City
AKA: "The Party Palace"
Year Built: 1986
Just look at this. Living it up on the river George Jetson style. What's not to love here?
This housing complex wins the award for most drama as it was originally apartments that were converted into condos, only to be acquired by a venture capitalist company and converted back into rental apartments. Mess.
River City is situated alongside the Chicago River and consists of two 7- to 14-story, serpentine residential towers constructed of reinforced, poured-in-place concrete "shells" with 449 residential units. It was also designed by Bertrand Goldberg, and unlike its sister building Marina City (whose market is young single people in the city who want a smaller space) River City units vary in size from studios to 4-bedroom penthouses. Building perks include a 50,000 square foot health club with full-size pool, an underground indoor parking lot, and a 70-slip marina with a bubbler system that prevents freezing and permits year-round use.
Chilling in the private park
The roof of the base structure is a transfer floor that holds Skyline Park, a 1-acre, landscaped private park for the residents; as well as River Road, a 10-story, enclosed, skylighted atrium between the two residential towers.
Inside atrium that highlight the different apartments floors and unique shape of the building
Like Marina City, Goldberg had a utopian vision of a "city within a city" and the original plans for River City were originally on a much grander scale. It was to consist of a series of 72-story mixed-use skyscrapers, clustered in groups of three, and joined every 18 stories by triangular platforms containing resident services ranging from medical clinics to educational and training facilities for “lifelong learning. Needless to say, he was unable to secure approval for such an ambitious project, and after going through several redesigns over the next decade Goldberg and the developers decided on the current structure.
The River City compound is about 50ft off the ground so it's hard to photograph at street level. At this angle, you can see the townhome section.
OP Story Time: Management continues to be a mess with no idea about what to do with this property, nor respect for the architecture. Architectural preservationists complained when the raw concrete interior of the "River Road" atrium was painted white (a big no no with Brutalist structures), and that, along with other half-baked ideas they have, well...time will tell *sigh*.
Brutalist Scale: 8/10. Being a floating party palace is an awesome thing, and I love how Goldberg reuses design elements in his work.
Ida B. Crown Natatorium
AKA: "The Neighborhood Jewel"
Year Built: 1961
©Jason R. Woods
The Brutalism influence can be found in structures other than hospitals or residences. Named after the matriarch of a settler family who settled in the West Town neighborhood in the 1890s, The Ida Crown Natatorium is one of two Natatoriums built in the city in the early 60s, and brings the elegance and drama to Brutalism with its dramatic roof canopy and glass window walls. Although Marvin Werner was the principal architect, Dimitri Nesterenko, the structural engineer, was responsible for the roof design. The eye catching arched roof canopies are both striking features and practical design solutions, providing a simple and efficient structural system and an open interior space unencumbered by columns.
The simple, elegant design uses a bold clear-span structure to create a column-free interior space for the pool and deck. The glass window walls allow light to flood inside the building, making it light and airy. The window walls along the side of the pool has a series of large glass panels. These panels can be slid aside in good weather to open up the Natatorium to the outside and provide direct access to a sun deck which wraps around two sides of the building in an “L “configuration. Above these sliding panels red, green, yellow and blue window panes are sprinkled among the clear glazing give a Mondrian type of effect.
I love this building. Something about the hardness of the building skeleton combined with the lightness of the wall of windows is extremely appealing to me. As one of the more unusual buildings in the area, it gets a lot of visitors as well as swimmers. I've always love the curves and lightness of the design, and the reflection of the trees on the windows make you feel like you're outside while in the pool. I'm glad it's part of the Park District, that it's a free neighborhood resource, and that it and the adjacent field house are assets in this community.
OP Story time: This building means the world to a lot of people. For many generations, children (many of them Black or Brown) from the West Town community and beyond learned how to swim here, or utilized the adjoining fieldhouse for activities. While the neighborhood has changed considerably over the years, the Natatorium continues to be a neighborhood institution, welcoming swimmers of all levels.
Brutalist Scale: 6/10. Rather than being a more traditional Brutalist structure, it's a delicate, more elegant form of Brutalism with a definite Mondrian influence.
Raymond Hilliard Homes
AKA: "The Projects, But Make It Modernist!"
Year Built: 1966
There have been some arguments amongst Brutalist enthusiasts as to whether or not Hilliard Homes is a true Brutalist structure, or merely modernist in nature. What we do know is that this compound was designed by Bertrand Goldberg, it's one of the few public housing buildings that's on the National Register of Historic Places, and the same attention to detail that is evident in a lot of Goldberg's other Chicago buildings is also in Hilliard's design.
Chicago was no stranger to urban renewal projects in the 1960s, and there was an increasing demand for affordable public housing on a national level at that time. Above all, Goldberg's design philosophy was that good design should be accessible to everyone, and that other public housing projects in the city (*coughcabrinigreencough*) were designed to basically punish residents for being poor. He fully believed that Poor People Deserve Nice Things Too, and wanted to design housing that the residents not only would feel comfortable living in, but they would also be proud of. The same design sensitivity that went into his creation of Marina City and River City also went into Hilliard Homes, except Goldberg designed the structure to be supported almost exclusively by the outer shell (as opposed to Marina City, which is supported by its core). Apartments were roomy, with great light in all of the units and interesting layouts. Above all, unlike the majority of the cinderblock Chicago Public Housing stock, the apartments actually seemed to have more of a "home" vibe than institutional. The twin cylindrical towers were reserved for seniors, and the two adjoining half-circle buildings were reserved for low-income families.
Unlike at the other housing projects around the city, the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) vetted residents very carefully, and as a result the vacancy rate at Hilliard Homes was extremely low, with a years long waiting list. Then, something remarkable happened. The residents realized they were living somewhere pretty special and as a result, hallways were clean, trash was at a minimum, people often planted flowers on the property, and overall the residents not only had a lot of love and pride for their apartments, but also for the buildings and community as a whole. Crime and social problems at Hilliard Homes were considerably lower than at other CHA housing projects; notably, it was the only Chicago housing project complex never to require a uniformed police detail.
The property was in pretty bad shape in the early 1990s, but the CHA financed a redevelopment process that took 9 years. I'm not sure what happened, but apparently at some point in the 2010s eventually a lot of the residents (a combination of the poor and middle class, which is a unicorn by public housing standards here) banded together, said "enough" to the CHA's *alleged* mismanagement of the building and eventually created some sort of Coop that is free from CHA influence and rebranded as a mixed-income property now known as The Hilliard Towers?
Hilliard Homes today
Good for them! The towers are still there, shining brightly on the horizon as you travel along Cermak Avenue. I smile every time I see them.
Brutalist Scale: 8/10. Creating humanist housing that is well designed for everyone regardless of income is in itself a Brutal act these days. I salute Goldberg for being a visionary in that regard.
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago's "Circle Campus" was created between 1963 and 1968 as an “instant campus” in response to major growth in college enrollment following WWII. Its creation resulted in the displacement of thousands of Italian and Mexican residents in that area, and sparked major protests at that time. The East Campus is primarily designed with Brutalist architecture because architect Walter Netsch was so enamored with the style, and his intention was to make the campus a functional place with limited distraction to emphasize study. The original campus layout included a huge outdoor amphitheater so students could gather in good weather, and a network of walkways on the second floors of the buildings to allow students to travel between campus buildings as well as the nearby UIC Blue Line rapid transit stop.
An image of the campus circa 1966 featuring the elevated walkways.
Credit: Chicago History Museum
These design details were removed in the 90s to make the campus more "friendly" (plus those concrete granite and concrete walkways were slippery as hell in the winter, so there were some legitimate safety concerns), but the major Brutalist structures on campus remain. The movie "Candyman" (1991) is an excellent time capsule of what the campus originally looked like before the renovations as both the walkways and amphitheater are featured in the movie. The campus is “one of Chicago’s strongest individual architectural statements—and one of the most violently disliked,” according to the AIA Guide to Chicago.
Ramp to Behavioral Sciences Building at the UIC, c. 1970.
Credit: University of Illinois at Chicago Historic Archives
Besides the buildings I mention here, other notable Brutalist structures on the campus include the Science and Engineering Offices (which has narrow recessed windows and concrete-framed scissor-style staircases visible from the outside) and several clusters of minor 3 story "Hall" buildings dotted around the East campus (including Taft Hall, which is sadly on Preservation Chicago's endangered buildings list)
UIC University Hall
AKA: "The Tower"
This building is relatively normal looking compared with the other buildings on campus. The building is 20 feet wider at its top than at its base, and has an exposed reinforced concrete skeleton and narrow recessed windows. Falcons have also been known to nest at the top and they have their own webcam, so there's that.
Brutalist Scale: 7/10. I mean, it's Brutal and all and the narrow windows are really groovy, but there are much wilder examples of Brutalist architecture on this campus, such as...
UIC Architecture and Arts Building
AKA: "The A and A"
Year Built: Varying opinions, but generally believed to be between 1966-1968
The Art and Architecture building’s striking angular forms and geometric skylight windows embody Netsch’s signature aesthetic known as “Field Theory.” Built for the university's Art and Architecture students, the building octagon shape has uniquely designed windows that act as light wells for the basement classrooms and art and design studios.
closeup of the cleverly designed "ground windows" that give light to basement classrooms and studios
Originally intended to be built in two phases, the second phase was cut as part of the campus budget and the building sits today, still incomplete, with only 40% finished. As the Art and Art History Departments have long relocated to their dedicated loft building on the outskirts of campus, the building is currently occupied by the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts consisting of the Architecture, Graphic Design, New Media, and Industrial Design departments.
Front entrance of the A&A building. The two podiums are all that remain of the second floor walkways to other buildings on campus that were demolished in the 90s.
Cons include design details like a steep stairway that looks like it goes to a blank wall but is actually a fire door. People who have spent time in the building also recall dead-end hallways and stairways once intended for the second phase that never happened.
Seriously though, what the hell? Where are those stairs going? Is it a stairwell for ghosts?
A confusing room numbering system combined with a building shaped like an octagon spiral = never knowing what the hell floor you're on. In addition, it was unfinished; the wall faces on the east side abruptly cuts off, leaving an ugly featureless surface of cinder block and grey, while the other sides of the building get an abundance of natural light. However, once you get used the ins and outs of the building it's not so bad to get around in. It's cavernous, with so many hidden corners and crevices to explore. Overall, it's one of my favorite Brutalist buildings on campus.
Recent renovations take full advantage of the Netsch's original octagon layout to ensure that future Architecture, Graphic, Industrial Design, and New Media majors have light and airy classrooms, a Maker studio and Print Lab, a dedicated private space for graduate students and other amenities.
Brutalist Scale: 8/10. It's Brutal as hell, but I have to take points off for the whack ass layout and the fact that despite recent renovations a lot of it is still unfinished, masking its full potential.
UIC Behavioral Sciences Building
AKA: "The Labyrinth" "The Void" "Oh Fuck, Please Don't Make Me Go In There" etc.
Year Built: 1969
Out of all the Brutalist structures on the East Campus, none are as notorious as the Behavioral Sciences building. The "building" is composed of an interconnected series of building structures roughly the circumference of a city block that is imposing and magnificent to view from the outside. It's a shame this building is...the way it is because it is truly an example of Brutalist Architecture at its finest, with an array of possibilities and futurism.
Front entrance and side view showing what remains of the old walkways
It being the 1960s, my humble personal opinion is that Netsch was feeling himself and imbibing a variety of mind-altering substances (as well as possibly channelling Rudolph Steiner on the Spiritism Speed Dial) because nothing else explains the sheer WTFery on display here. Netsch's design philosophy for this building is based on a practice he called "Field Theory" (essentially a geometric approach to spatial organization, which you can read about here), which is a kind way to say "NOTHING IN HERE MAKES SENSE TO ANYONE WHO'S SANE."
What is this, even? A staircase that leads to nowhere? It doesn't even have the excuse of being a sealed off entryway to one of the demolished walkways accessing the other buildings on campus because it was designed this way. :/
It's like Netsch took all of the A&A Building's annoying "quirks" (confusing numbering system, weird layouts, uneven flooring system, etc), dialed it up to ten, and then added some secret ingredients specifically designed to fuck with your mental health. One step inside, and you understand why some people believe the decades long rumors that Netsch's "Field Theory" was actually a cover story for him designing a structure that is, for all intent and purpose, a psychological experiment. Up is down. A disorientating layout and navigation system is the norm. It is a labyrinth of perplexing octagonal staircases, classrooms without windows, and dead end hallways, while other areas are light and airy with an abundance of windows. The offices in the west wing of the building are notoriously confusing in layout, and it's considered one of the "saner" areas design wise. Sections of it literally seem to fold in on itself, so you often find yourself in a completely different wing of the complex with no clue how you got there, nor how to get back.
This is one of many "intersections" in the complex that look the same but slightly different that veer off into completely different directions, which leads to more hallways and more classrooms until you reach yet another intersection. Make it make sense. :/
Out of the people I know who had classes/worked there I would say 80% mapped out an exact route within the building to get to their classroom, a nearby bathroom, and the exit. No more, nor less; this is not a complex to wander about as it's very easy to get lost. I once heard someone describing navigating the building as "not paying attention to what the hallways are trying to tell me" and that's one of the best descriptions of this place I've ever heard. While it's different with everyone, the only way I can describe it is a sense of mental unease that intensifies the longer you are in the building. Some people feel nothing at all, while others feel so uncomfortable they actively avoid going inside.
The offices.
As I said before, it's a pity about everything else because it really is a remarkable building. BSB is the "Betty Blue" of Brutalist architecture because it's like loving someone who looks absolutely amazing while being completely batshit insane. Nevertheless, I shall admire her magnificence from afar, and give her due respect.
Brutalist Scale: Infinity/10 just for Netsch's audacity to create something so unique and Brutal while continuing to mindfuck generations of students with this building from beyond the grave.
University of Chicago
From its founding in 1890 through the post-war optimism of the early 1950s, the aesthetic of the University of Chicago remained largely focused on the precedent set by principal architect Henry Ives Cobb and his taste for Neo-Gothic architecture that invites students of all stripes (and some faculty members) to live out all of their Dark Academia fantasies on campus. However, the social shifts of the late 1950s and 60s called for a new direction. Chicago was in a new design era thanks to Mies Van Der Rohe and his influence over many significant Chicago area buildings (including the Illinois Institute of Technology campus [aka "Miesville"]), and the University of Chicago wanted in on some of that Modernism magic, as they wanted to build a new library and well as a Lab building on their rapidly expanding campus. The challenge for any architect taking on this project would be how to design a building that intersected Modernist architecture sensibilities seamlessly with the neighboring Neo-Gothic architecture. After reviewing many competing bids from prominent architects, the University decided on two: I.W. Colburn and Walter Netsch.
University of Chicago Henry Hinds Laboratory
AKA: "The Beehive"
Year Built: 1969
This academic building is an outlier compared to most of the Neo-Gothic architecture that populates the University of Chicago campus. It was designed by architect I.W. Colburn and opened in 1969. Tall limestone towers with redbrick accents soar into the air in a Modernist use of the same masonry materials adorning its historic neighbors, and is a lovely midcentury take on the Neo Gothic architecture of much of the campus, with more than a touch of Brutal.
Its flat grey slabs echo the limestone of the 19th century buildings across Ellis Avenue, albeit in an undecorated manner that reflects the tumult of the mid-20th. Similarly, the building’s towers call out to the red roofs of other campus buildings with their contrasting red brick. It was a forward-looking design that allowed other Brutalist buildings to move ahead, like the Regenstein Library that opened just a year later.
Building was closed but I got a glimpse inside!
Brutalist Scale: 9/10. It's just a fun building that is a perfect marriage of the traditional and modern.
University of Chicago Regenstein Library
AKA: It's just "the library" it doesn't have a nickname
Year Built: 1970
Fresh from the accolades received for his groundbreaking architectural designs for UIC, Netsch received a new educational contract; this time working as the senior architect with Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill for the University of Chicago on a new library on campus. Unfortunately for our Brutalist-loving friend this would pose a significant challenge, as he and the other architects had to find a way to create a building with Brutalist sensitivities that would be harmonious with the campus Gothic architecture. The configuration of the Library offers an interesting response to the problems posed by a complex service facility, large building size, and the relatively small scale of the other campus buildings.
The massiveness of that portion of the building used primarily for books is minimized for the viewer from the west by its division into three "slipped segments." The entire perimeter of the building is broken at regular intervals by projecting bays which further reduce the impression of great size and echo the irregularities of the traditional, gothic University buildings. The exterior walls are formed by deeply grooved, sawn limestone slabs, adding texture, life and movement to the surface.
Ya'll. That cool building next door is actually another library, so you have a library next to your library. Nice!
Brutalist Scale: 9/10. Some purists say that making the exterior walls out of limestone as opposed to concrete is a cheat and as a result it's not a "true" Brutalist structure but all I can say is Netsch toned down the crazy enough to design a beautiful building that has obviously Brutalist lineage, but also blends in naturally with the nearby Gothic architecture.
Bonus Chicago Brutalism: Prentice Women's Hospital
Year Built: 1975
Year Demolished: 2014
As a child, this building fascinated me. It was the "Tulip Flower Beehive building" in my mind and I always enjoyed seeing it on car rides around the city. It was only years later as an adult that I understood the significance of this building not only for women, but for the architectural world in general.
Designed by the architect Bertrand Goldberg, the clover-shaped tower of Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago was created by the pioneering application of one of the earliest 3-D modeling programs. Goldberg began working on the design for Prentice in 1970 and considered several alternative schemes before settling on the formation of a five-story glazed rectilinear platform topped by a nine-story concrete quatrefoil tower, capturing the essence of the Brutalist movement. The four bays on each floor opened onto a nurses station that wrapped around the central core of the building. The concrete shell cantilevered off a central core, distributing the building's weight through four interlocking arches that radiated out from its centre, onto the five-story podium below.
Imagine driving down the street seeing nothing but the usual array of skyscrapers and hard lines when suddenly BAM! you're hit with a floating palace of curves, circles, and softness. Tulip Flower Beehive realness.
Image Credit: C. William Brubaker Collection, University of Illinois at Chicago Library
Upon its completion in 1975, critics and engineers worldwide celebrated Prentice as a breakthrough in structural engineering. The building is often credited with being influential in the promotion of unified patient care, as it consolidated under one roof maternity obstetrics and gynecology services that had previously been separated. The facility quickly gained a reputation for its commitment to women’s health and its innovative approach, which included specialized care for high-risk pregnancies, comprehensive breast cancer treatment, and state-of-the-art gynecological services. The glazed five-story podium also gave the building a dual purpose, housing the Northwestern Institute of Psychiatry.
It looks fabulous from every angle.
Image Credit: C. William Brubaker Collection, University of Illinois at Chicago Library
In 2010 Northwestern University announced that the Goldberg building was to be replaced by a new biomedical research center. A strong coalition of preservation groups, architecture and design organizations, and internationally-recognized architects and engineers started what would be known as the "Save Prentice" campaign, demonstrating several viable reuses for the groundbreaking building. This included at least six Pritzker Prize winners who appealed to Chicago’s “global reputation as a nurturer of bold and innovative architecture.” Even Jeanne Gang (principal architect of the world renowned Studio Gang architecture firm) threw her hat in the ring in collaboration with architecture critic Michael Kimmelman, proposing a glassy research skyscraper that would integrate the original concrete structure as its podium. In spite of a unanimous vote of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks that Prentice met the criteria for a Chicago Landmark, the Commission ultimately sided with Northwestern University (mmmhmmm) and cleared the way for demolition to commence of one of Chicago’s most unique buildings, concluding in 2014.
The "Tulip Flower Beehive building" is no more. Its absence is noticeable like a missing piece of childhood, a tooth no longer there. It's not only a personal loss, but it's also a loss to the Brutalism community, the Architecture community, all of those architects, engineers, and Brutalist afficinados who fought so hard to save Prentice, and for Women's Healthcare. Tears were shed, and it's been almost a decade and I still feel a sense of loss. I also refuse to acknowledge that new Stranger Bitch building that replaced it; like, I'm Mariah Carey saying I literally don't know her? Exactly.
Brutalist Scale: 10/10. A true Brutalist gem by every measure, excelling in form and function. Architects are still studying some of the techniques Goldberg used in its design, and a lot of them are still in use today. Words really can't describe what has been lost.
Bonus Chicago Brutalism II: Hidden In Plain Sight
AKA: None
Year Built: ????
Sometimes you can find happiness in the strangest of places. I found this Brutalist stairwell leading to the lower half of the city ages ago, and something about the design and its outside/inside nature pleases me immensely. It is in an area that is low traffic despite being near two major tourist traps and adjacent to a beautiful small park, which is great for a nice lunch on summer days. It's my Happy Place; I get joy being here, and just looking at the structure gives me a feeling of contentment and peace and I can literally feel my energy replenishing, like I have a Health and Mana Bars that are being filled.
Brutalist Scale: No scale, just vibes.
If you read/looked at the images in this post and have gotten this far, thank you for coming with me on my tour of my favorite Brutalist buildings in Chicago. ONTD, do you love or hate the Brutalist style? What are some of your fav Brutal buildings? Let's talk about it!
Sources:
I used a lot of resources in the creation of this post, and a lot of thanks to the following:
- My partner in crime and Dog, who graciously drove me around while I took pictures at some of the sites
- The University of Chicago and The University of Illinois at Chicago. Both universities are used to visitors getting their Brutalism on, and if you're not disruptive and respectful of the space they generally don't mind picture taking
- The Chicago History Museum
- The University of Illinois at Chicago Library
- Jason R. Woods, whose architecture photography is noted here. Woods is also the chief photographer for The Concrete Chicago Map, which is a lovely guide featuring 50 examples of concrete architecture throughout Chicagoland. It's well designed and the pictures are lovely, so if you're ever in the Chicagoland area and want to do a Brutalist architecture tour it's great.
- Instagram users bauzeitgeist and ramzihab for their lovely pictures of St. Mary's Hospital and the Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist, respectively
Fun Brutalism Instas
Brutalism is everywhere. Here are Brutalist Instagrams I enjoy:
African Brutalism See the different ways Brutalist architecture is used across the African diaspora
Brutalism Appreciation Society Brutalist structures from around the world
Cats of Brutalism: A hot mess
Research Articles
Curbed Chicago: 16 Brutalist Masterpieces. Has a lot of sites I mentioned here and quite a few others besides, so definitely worth a look.
Architectural Digest: 5 of the Best Brutalist Buildings in Chicago
WTTW: Ask Geoffrey: Brutalism in Chicago
Chicago Modern: Ida Crown Natatorium
River City Wiki
DeZeen: Prentice Woman's Hospital
Lost Legends: Prentice Woman's Hospital
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