At breakfast, Arthur multitasks while seated at the dining table. He hand-stenciled the pattern on the wall in the background.

The walnut staircase and slide in a Chicago town house leads from the main level to the basement. To protect people on the ride down, a “crash pad” fashioned from a standard gymnastic mat covers the wall at the slide’s base.

Natural light filters in through a series of apertures, including a clerestory window above the kitchen area. Just below, a Ligne Roset chair rests on the terrazzo floor.

A wall of bamboo adjacent to the atrium floor provides a dramatic and seductive green entrance—“natural art,” Eric calls it.

A new exhibit by architectural theorist Alexander Eisenschmidt and art historian Jonathan Mekinda explores proposals to inject more creative energy into Chicago architecture.

PORT A+U architects Christopher Marcinkoski and Andrew Moddrell explored the potential of extending Lake Shore Drive further east and expanding the city’s downtown Loop district.

Flooring includes Teragren bamboo, cork in the kitchen, and porcelain at entry points. American Yellow Birch was used for the cabinets and trimming. Photo by: Eric Hausman Photography

Chicago architect Brad Lynch demolished the 1940s bungalow he’d been sharing with his family for nearly two decades, and in its place built a brick-clad structure that would function as a modern counterpoint to its more traditional neighbors.

The residence is set back a few feet from the site’s edge, allowing more light to flood into neighbors’ windows and leaving space for trees. “The idea was to make a strong gesture to incorporate ideas of openness,” Lynch explains. “It’s not just a box if you look at it closely. It’s a series of planes that fit together."

The floors are polished concrete, a money-saving move that allowed for splurges like the floor-to-ceiling windows from Chicago Tempered Glass set in Tubelite frames.

Architect Kevin Toukoumidis and his team at dSPACE Studio reworked an unusual layout of a Chicago home to fit its new owners: a family with two children and a dog. The result was a radical change without dramatic intervention, particularly of the home's large central atrium space.

Like the communal spaces, the bedroom features a shining subway tile wall.

Rooftop space at IDEO Chicago. The company's West Loop office, including this impressive deck for outdoor collaboration and entertaining, was built by architectural firm Perkins+Will in 2009.

Front desk of the Chicago office of IDEO, the international design and innovation consulting firm. "Chicago had all of these great industrial offices—there was no shortage of light, lofty spaces to visit,” says Ikin.

The Bulls Eye Rug is a 190cm x 160cm hand-selected piece and is part of the Curator's Collection, which composed of re-used and recycled materials.

The couple supplemented the rawness of the open living area with funky secondhand finds from the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s.

A freestanding Antonio Lupi tub defines the updated master bath, which also features an open-plan layout and a skylight by Velux.

Custom white oak millwork creates a spine that separates the living areas from the entrance stairway.

This home in a former Chicago church fully utilizes an original stained-glass window in its light-filled kitchen.

Public, Chicago Ian Schrager’s Public Chicago, designed by Yabu Pushelburg, achieves its aim of being both sophisticated and affordable. A muted color palette allows accents to emerge. The array of planetary lights in the hotel’s bar, Pump Room, is a prime example.

314 Park (Coda Design + Build) Empty nester Leanne Star’s 2,400-square-foot North Shore home made significant strides in sustainability, just by taking a simple turn. By orienting sideways, 314 Park gains a massive southern exposure, that, coupled with multistory windows (lined with an elegant groove pattern), double-wall construction, and solar tube lighting, provides natural light while conserving energy. The light helps showcase a living room filled with art, a clean-burning fireplace, and a dining table by local artisan Michael Dreeben.

In the living room, a pair of Frog chairs by Piero Lissoni for Living Divani join custom leather furnishings. The family can finally display all their books and artworks, including the large-scale piece, Topophilia-Imbuing in Monet, 2005, by Keiko Hara.

“This way you have a sequence,” Lynch explains. “The stair is a circulator, and after you take off your coat, you can go downstairs to the powder room or up to the living floor.” On the other side of the millwork, he devised built-in storage and niches for display, as shown in the master bedroom, located on the second floor.

Looming over the LaSalle St. “canyon,” this Art Deco-era skyscraper has a way with the imagination. The tower is a favorite destination of moviemakers, most recently gracing screens as the backdrop for a high-speed showdown between Batman and the Joker in The Dark Knight. When it’s not hosting superheroes, the building is home to the less thrilling but equally important Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The visitor’s center, located in the lobby, offers information and exhibits on the history of the building and its tenants. Photo by: Mohammed Benni

Named for the giant flocks of pigeons that once roosted onsite, the Rookery is really two buildings in one. Viewed from the street, the red marble and Romanesque adornments of the Rookery’s facade are echoes of the grandeur of the 19th century. Inside, the vaulted ceiling and bold geometric metalwork of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed lobby are pure Prairie School. While the Rookery is privately owned, the lobby is open to the public during business hours. Photo by: Rachel

Despite the controversy over its upcoming name change, the Western Hemisphere’s tallest building remains as impressive as ever. When it was completed in 1973, the 1,450-foot Sears Tower was the world’s tallest building, a title it would hold until the Petronas Towers surpassed it in 1998. With its blocky, glass-and-steel aesthetic, the office building continues to be one of Chicago’s most recognizable symbols. The main attractions for visitors are the 99th- and 103rd-floor skydecks, which look out over Lake Michigan and four different states; visibility tops 50 miles on clear days. Admission is $12.95 for a full-price adult ticket. Photo by: Adam Fagen

Dedicated in 1897 as Chicago’s first public library, the Chicago Cultural Center‘s scholarly opulence more than fits in on Michigan Avenue. On an architectural level, the Beaux Arts-influenced design is as ornate as they come, complete with grand, red-carpeted staircases, Romanesque arches, and the largest Tiffany glass dome in the world, measuring 38 feet across. In addition to its intrinsic attraction, the center is one of Chicago’s most visited museums and features an eclectic array of art exhibits, live music, and dance performances. Admission is free. Photo by: Susan DeMark

At Arup’s Chicago SoundLab, audio engineers listen to and model a space’s acoustics in order to optimize sound for performance and navigation purposes.

Because the house is located in a historic area, the exterior updates were limited to new windows and ipe cladding around the front door.

The family gathers for meals at a center island from Arclinea; the bar stools are by Harry Bertoia for Knoll. Entertaining was difficult in the Lynches’ old place. The openness of the new layout has resolved that problem, and the family frequently opens their doors to guests. “When designing the new home,” Lynch recalls, “I asked, ‘What have we always wanted to do more of but weren’t able?’”

The artwork extends nearly the length of the entire north-facing wall of the living-dining-kitchen area, which overlooks the back courtyard and the garage.

The south windows provide much of the winter-free heat as well as the opportunity to break down the wall’s mass into a dynamic composition. Photo by: Eric Hausman Photography

The traditional massing masks a super-performing house, built to last for centuries. Photo by: Eric Hausman Photography

The exterior was clad with LP SmartSide in alternating bands of textured and smooth siding and basement areaways are constructed of site-salvaged brick-filled gabions. Photo by: Eric Hausman Photography

The photographs are by Ruth Thorne-Thomsen. On the ground level, a CB2 sofa overlooks the back courtyard.

Aluminum-clad wood Zola European windows provide Passive House performance. Photo by: Eric Hausman Photography