INTERVIEW: On Reading Cities: A Conversation with Michelangelo Sabatino, Director, PhD Program in Architecture at IIT’s College of Architecture

Michelangelo Sabatino, PhD, in front of IIT’s Crown Hall. Image courtesy Scott Benbrook.

INTERVIEW
On Reading Cities: A Conversation with Michelangelo Sabatino, Director, PhD Program in Architecture at IIT’s College of Architecture

Outside the Box
Riverside Arts Center
32 E. Quincy St.
Riverside, IL 60546
Sept. 10 – Oct. 21, 2023

By David Sundry

Let’s start off with a broad question about architecture. What should visitors to this year's Chicago Architecture Biennial be looking for that is unique about architecture in Chicago and the Midwest, and especially what is interesting about the work that is happening today? I'd also like to pair the question with a general reflection on the kind of work showcased in your book, Modern in the Middle, and also in the exhibit that you just put curated for the Riverside Arts Center, Outside the Box. 

Right. Okay, let me think about that. I think some of the work I would suggest, if they're coming to the city, I would suggest that they maybe look at Maurice Cox – the outgoing Commissioner of the City of Chicago's Department of Planning and Development – has done a series of small but thoughtful interventions on the South Side, these kind of public squares – I would definitely look and see what Maurice Cox has done on the South Side. 

And then I would definitely encourage people who are coming to Chicago to go beyond the immediate Loop and to explore the so-called suburbs, because as we know Chicagoland is a big place, and the North Shore, the Western suburbs and the South Side are full of their own gems, and their own identities, whether it's Evanston, Oak Park or Riverside. So, I would encourage people to take advantage of the Biennial to explore parts of the city that are less obvious, that's for sure. and within that, really – Modern in the Middle advocates for – though one might argue that these are single-family houses, and targeting the elite, in fact because they’re relatively modest – they are professionals that commission them. As I said at the exhibition opening, it's really key that we discuss modest – not huge Potter Palmer mansions, but thoughtfully, architect designed single-family homes. Because if we're only going to write about the Falling Waters, or the Farnsworth houses that are the epitome of masterpieces, they will have a very narrow view of what the built environment is about.

A Scandinavian-style wood and brick Mid-Century Modern home at 136 Michaux Rd. in Riverside designed by Fitch, Schiller, and Frank. The home and photograph are one of many featured in Outside the Box at the Riverside Arts Center. Image courtesy the Riverside Arts Center and Will Quam.

I'd like to pair what you just said with this idea that through the biennial there is an audience coming through Chicago that is typically not here. At the reception at your house following the Riverside Arts Center exhibit, a tour group of architects from Belgium stopped by and you publicly discussed with them this common notion that modernism is believed that have arrived in the Midwest through Europe — and you were trying to complicate and counterbalance that history.

Yes, clearly Chicago is a cosmopolitan city, and had a huge German-speaking population, so ideas and views from Europe were certainly circulating. So, clearly they were engaged with ideas that were current in Europe. But some other influences I mentioned would include the Century of Progress exhibition, and there was an effort to cultivate local talent even though they might not be seen as part of the pantheon of the greats, but I'm thinking of George Fred Keck, the House of Tomorrow, and the Crystal House – and here maybe is the difference – folks could visit the Century of Progress exhibition without getting on – in that case it would have actually been a transatlantic to actually go see these things in Europe, so seeing the Crystal House and seeing Bucky Fuller's Dymaxion car in the garage. I mean, they could have experienced that first hand, whereas it’s unlikely they would have gone and looked at the professional journals, there weren't the Shelter magazines then, so something like the Century of Progress, although people like Phillip Johnson complained that it wasn’t “Modern enough,” it still gave people access within a trip whether by train or by car. It was much easier to have their own firsthand view of that sort of thing. So I think those were important years for Chicago, the early 30s and in fact the houses – our own house is 1939 – you see considerable uptick during the 30s leading up to the Second World War and middle class professionals identifying architects to work with. These are all houses that weren't masterpieces, but they were all what I would call a Modern vernacular. they weren't cutting edge and their design, but they were all aspirational in their identity, right? so, I think that's a fair assessment.

Right, so to develop that a little further, obviously a lot of people think of Chicago as the birthplace of the skyscraper, but more importantly it was the steel skeleton frame that was the innovation, and really probably the Otis Elevator, with its braking system, which allowed for the increased height. So, oftentimes people think of Chicago as the home of the heroic skyscraper architecture, more the Sears Tower and the Hancock building. But what I liked about Modern in the Middle was that it seemed as though you were advancing an argument for not thinking about residential and commercial architecture as so separate. Instead of the history of modern residential architecture just being case study houses in L.A., or even earlier, the influence of the Bauhaus on the East coast, it seems like you're almost advocating for the idea that there was a kind of regional Midwestern residential style distinct from those two other coastal styles.

Two things: I think it’s important to read cities through different types of buildings. Clearly, the tall building has been important, both commercial offices and residential, and it's a type that's been associated with Chicago because you have Mies at 860–880 [Lake Shore Dr.], but then you also have the Sears Tower. So, the tall building clearly accommodates both offices and “houses in the sky,” so to speak, and that's an important part of this urban identity. So, the case I'm making too is that the more modest, single-family house can reveal a lot about society and aspirations and approaches to living that are more specific to the place, because tall buildings work on the same principle more or less that they’re pavilions in the sky, whereas houses have to land on the ground. So sure, every city has its vibe, and every city has its climate, and every city has its own history and traditions and use of materials.

Exhibition view, Outside the Box at the Riverside Arts Center. 3D models of the homes featured in the exhibition by Andrew Obendorf. Image courtesy the Riverside Arts Center and Will Quam.

When you go on the East coast, when Gropius did his house at Walden Pond just outside of Cambridge, he used wood. Throughout New England, Modern houses typically are made of wood. Chicago's not quite a wood city, as you know, it tends to be a brick city. So, the common brick and iterations of the common brick were used by architects, whether it's the case of Winston Elting in the case of our house, Benda House in Riverside, Goldberg and Blue Island, Andrew Rebori, Paul Schweikher, these guys were using brick quite a bit, right? So, whereas the West coast tends to have stucco and white surfaces, smooth surfaces, whereas the materiality of the Midwestern brick tends to resonate strongly. Each city, despite the fact that many Modern architects throughout America and the Americas shared an interest in Modern architecture, when it came to actually implementing and adapting these ideas, they had to respond to specific contexts. 

I was thinking, while you were talking, about the Gropius residences in Cambridge, and also Marcel Breuer’s home in the northeast. Because found stone was plentiful in that region and there was a tradition of craftsmen that built dry stone field walls, particularly to divide the fields of farmers, Breuer would typically create a base for his homes out of this stone and it was a look that stylistically defined these residences but it is something that is not often done in Chicago. You’re right, Chicago is a brick city. And, I also agree with your point about the many really nice, architecturally well-designed, but ultimately modest houses in the area – I think about the Keck & Keck Minsk House in nearby Riverwoods, and it’s just this beautiful one story structure. There's a real simplicity to the way in which these various vocabularies were used, but it wasn't the Farnsworth house, a vacation home or modern villa. These homes were very much for regular people to live their lives there and I thought that was interesting. Thanks for the conversation.

Thank you.

Michelangelo Sabatino is a publicly engaged architectural historian, curator, and preservationist. He is Professor at IIT’s College of Architecture where he directs the PhD program and is the inaugural John Vinci Distinguished Research Fellow. He serves on the Board of Directors of Docomomo US. Sabatino and his partner Serge Ambrose recently restored their late 1930s modern home in Riverside. Their forthcoming book is entitled Modern, Again. The Benda House & Garden in Chicagoland (2024). www.michelangelo-sabatino.com.

David Sundry is the architecture editor for the Bridge Journal and, with Zephyr Dance artistic director Michelle Kranicke, is co-founder and director of experimental architecture, movement, and research center SITE/less.

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