Exelon Pavilions, Chicago
The Exelon Pavilions 鈥� Millennium Park鈥檚 high-tech, energy-savvy little overachievers. Built in 2004 for a cool $7 million, these structures aren鈥檛 just pretty faces; they鈥檙e solar-powered machines that crank out enough juice each year to keep 16 energy-efficient homes happily humming along. Think of them as the park鈥檚 quiet green geniuses.
Up north, you've got two sleek black cubes 鈥� minimalist, moody, and very on-brand 鈥� designed to vibe with the neighboring Harris Theater for Music and Dance. That theater, by the way, was the brainchild of Thomas Beeby, a Driehaus Prize winner and all-around architecture rockstar. One of the cubes rolls out the welcome mat as the park鈥檚 official Welcome Center; the other acts as your stylish on-ramp to the underground parking garages. Bonus trivia is that both pavilions are the proud owners of the Midwest鈥檚 first electricity-generating curtain walls. Yes, walls that make power. The future is glassy...
Now heading south, things get a little sunnier 鈥� and a lot more Italian. Enter the two smaller Exelon Pavilions designed by Renzo Piano, the Italian architect whose notable works include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, The Shard in London, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, to mention but a few. With their combo of clean limestone and crystal-clear glass, these buildings were crafted to play nice with the nearby Art Institute鈥檚 expansion plans. Pulitzer-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin gave this whole architect-led approach a standing ovation, calling it a stroke of brilliance. Had the job gone to an average contractor, he joked, we鈥檇 probably be stuck with bland utility boxes. Instead, we got something special...
Kamin called the southern pair 鈥渁lmost like little houses鈥濃�攊f your house happens to be a modernist masterpiece. His ultimate verdict鈥攁 solid 3 out of 4 stars. Not perfect, but in architecture terms, that鈥檚 practically a red carpet review...
Up north, you've got two sleek black cubes 鈥� minimalist, moody, and very on-brand 鈥� designed to vibe with the neighboring Harris Theater for Music and Dance. That theater, by the way, was the brainchild of Thomas Beeby, a Driehaus Prize winner and all-around architecture rockstar. One of the cubes rolls out the welcome mat as the park鈥檚 official Welcome Center; the other acts as your stylish on-ramp to the underground parking garages. Bonus trivia is that both pavilions are the proud owners of the Midwest鈥檚 first electricity-generating curtain walls. Yes, walls that make power. The future is glassy...
Now heading south, things get a little sunnier 鈥� and a lot more Italian. Enter the two smaller Exelon Pavilions designed by Renzo Piano, the Italian architect whose notable works include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, The Shard in London, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, to mention but a few. With their combo of clean limestone and crystal-clear glass, these buildings were crafted to play nice with the nearby Art Institute鈥檚 expansion plans. Pulitzer-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin gave this whole architect-led approach a standing ovation, calling it a stroke of brilliance. Had the job gone to an average contractor, he joked, we鈥檇 probably be stuck with bland utility boxes. Instead, we got something special...
Kamin called the southern pair 鈥渁lmost like little houses鈥濃�攊f your house happens to be a modernist masterpiece. His ultimate verdict鈥攁 solid 3 out of 4 stars. Not perfect, but in architecture terms, that鈥檚 practically a red carpet review...
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Exelon Pavilions on Map
Sight Name: Exelon Pavilions
Sight Location: Chicago, USA (See walking tours in Chicago)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Chicago, USA (See walking tours in Chicago)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Chicago, Illinois
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Creating your own self-guided walk in Chicago is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.6 Km or 1.6 Miles
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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.6 Km or 1.6 Miles
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Travel Distance: 3.9 Km or 2.4 Miles
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Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.0 Km or 0.6 Miles
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Travel Distance: 1.0 Km or 0.6 Miles
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The Chicago Loop District鈥攅ssentially the city鈥檚 historic downtown鈥攈as long been a stage for architectural innovation and an open-air museum of American architecture.
The construction boom started after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which destroyed much of the central business district, gave architects a blank canvas to rebuild the city from the ground up. What followed was a surge of... view more
Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.7 Km or 2.9 Miles
The construction boom started after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which destroyed much of the central business district, gave architects a blank canvas to rebuild the city from the ground up. What followed was a surge of... view more
Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.7 Km or 2.9 Miles
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Travel Distance: 1.7 Km or 1.1 Miles
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Travel Distance: 1.7 Km or 1.1 Miles
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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.5 Km or 1.6 Miles
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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.5 Km or 1.6 Miles
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