Ghost Façade: 618 S. Michigan

Speaker: Elva Rubio, Gensler Architects In the 1950s, the Arcade Building’s original terra cotta façade was removed and replaced with a modern blue glass and metal exterior. By 2010, the replacement was failing and declared unsafe by the City of Chicago. With no original façade and a tight budget, and located within the Historic Michigan Boulevard Ford Center for the Performing ArtsDistrict--thus subject to design review guidelines by the city-- what was the best course of action to repair the building? Ms. Rubio will discuss this Columbia College project and the challenge of replacing a deteriorating mid-20th century façade with an innovative new design, which features a image replicating the original 1913 terra-cotta exterior.

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