SKYSCRAPERS ARE SCRAPING TOGETHER: Architect Bruce Graham has died. If that name escapes you, next time you are in Chicago all you need to do is look up to be reminded of hislegacy.
I think of Graham, and of SOM in general during most of its peak years, as kind of the Macy's of architecture. SOM didn't have a program or a point of view, and it always felt to me that SOM's ambitions were either vertical or financial, rather than aesthetic. SOM has built an awful lot of good buildings, but I can't think of a single great one.
The view out my living room window (in an old Mies building) is dominated by the Hancock building and everyday I feel like I am living 'in the future' because of it, even on days like today when the top of the building has been swallowed by clouds.
I think of Graham, and of SOM in general during most of its peak years, as kind of the Macy's of architecture. SOM didn't have a program or a point of view, and it always felt to me that SOM's ambitions were either vertical or financial, rather than aesthetic. SOM has built an awful lot of good buildings, but I can't think of a single great one.
ReplyDeleteThe view out my living room window (in an old Mies building) is dominated by the Hancock building and everyday I feel like I am living 'in the future' because of it, even on days like today when the top of the building has been swallowed by clouds.
ReplyDeleteI've always had a very soft spot for The Daley Center, and Graham's part in creating the Museum Campus is a wonderful thing as well.
ReplyDeletethank you for a wilco reference... i am happy to have that song as my afternoon earworm. (is it still an earworm if it's welcome?)
ReplyDeleteProbably Lever House is the best.
ReplyDeleteThank you for noting the Wilco reference.
ReplyDeletewould be a shame for it to go unacknowledged!
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