• Featured,  Relish

    A culinary tradition

    Today, many Americans have easy access to pre-prepared food—whether it be slabs of meat packaged at the grocery store or a ready-to-eat meal from a fast-food chain, acquired from just five minutes spent in a drive-through line—and the life cycle of each plant or animal behind the meal is often not thoroughly considered. With an outlook inspired from more than 20 years of working in the culinary industry, as well as experiencing fare and culinary preparatory practices from around the world, Karen Bell, owner and operator of Bavette La Boucherie, has a deep-rooted interest in where food comes from and how it gets to consumers’ plates—a passion that has shaped…

  • Featured,  Form

    Rhythm and scale

    Built at the intersection of W. Fulton Street and N. Halsted Street, 800 Fulton Market is an intentional composition of materiality, form, and function, where architectural expression is informed by the grit, the resilience, and the innovation of an industrial past and vibrant future. Its three-story podium, from which the 19-story, mixed-use office building rises, is inspired by the rhythm and scale of its neighborhood, blurring temporal and physical lines of the historic and existing low-rise streetscape to higher-density commercial districts nearby. The offset core and series of landscaped terraces, triangular in form, are set back from its ground-level footprint, softening its presence at the Fulton Market District Gateway and…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured,  Print Edition

    LoveITDetroit

    In 2015, Detroit’s creative potential was recognized on an international stage with its designation as a UNESCO City of Design. It is a designation that not only recognizes a long history and legacy of creativity and innovation, but also a forward-thinking vision championing design-driven businesses and their role as a cultural, social, and economic catalyst in a larger regional and global community. Design Core Detroit, the steward of that initiative, has outlined strategies to activate and develop Detroit as global leader in inclusive design, celebrating its community of designers across industry sectors, and sharing a larger story of the significance of and the accessibility of design. For years, Design Core…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured,  Print Edition

    The boardwalk connection

    “I look at design as a creation of how humans interpret the natural world. I think there is this connection between the natural world and the built environment, and it is up to us—those in the design field—to interpret what that is, and to create our own values on how we intersect the natural world and the built environment,” said Ernest C. Wong, PLA, FASLA, APA, founding principal and president of site design group, ltd. “I think the general public takes design for granted. They go to places—the parks we design—and say ‘oh, it was just here.’ Nobody really thinks about the effort it takes to design this space. They…

  • Design Spotlight,  Featured,  Form,  Print Edition

    Jackie Koo, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP, NOMA

    Founder, Owner, Principal KOO | Chicago, Illinois   In architecture, as in literature, arts, and other social sciences, there is a wealth of traditions, movements, applications, and analyses—avant-garde, thought-provoking, and otherwise—that have shaped their respective fields throughout time and have challenged scholars and practitioners alike to consider the world and communication around them anew. For many, architecture is a form of communication, a language written through form, function, and material—and for the deconstructivist, the exploration of tension and potential contradiction. For Jackie Koo, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP, NOMA, founder, owner, and principal of KOO in Chicago, Illinois, it was the combination of philosophy and the examination of architecture that first…

  • Featured,  Print Edition

    Great Lakes By Design: Architectonics

    CONTENTS DESIGN CORNER 17 Atlas | the sleek and simple lighting solution designed by Most Modern 18 Kissen, Vuelo | the sculptural cushioned chair and aviation-inspired lounge furniture designed by Johnson Chou Inc. of Toronto 19 Olive Hill | the most recent ceramic tile design inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright added to Motawi Tileworks’ collection   DESIGN SPOTLIGHT 27 Rainbow Center | the UH Rainbow Ahuja Center for Women & Children in Cleveland, Ohio, designed by Moody Nolan, is a hub of coordinated, family-focused care in its community 33 Freedom House | the award-winning project for nonprofit organization Freedom House Ministries Inc. in Green Bay, Wisconsin offering transitional housing and programming for families 68 Celebrated art story | the continued renovation at…

  • Design Spotlight,  Featured,  Print Edition

    Catalyst for innovation

    In 1956, Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist, realized a pursuit in biochemistry that forever changed the landscape and nature of biology. Kornberg’s discovery of DNA polymerase I not only led to the 1959 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine—shared with Severo Ochoa for his discovery of RNA polymerase—but also served as a catalyst for a biotechnology revolution. Kornberg’s exploration in enzymes and innovative work isolating DNA polymerase—and synthesizing DNA in a test tube—would ultimately lead to the development of genetically engineered drugs to treat illnesses like cancer and autoimmune disorders, pave the way for gene sequencing, and inspire generations in scientific discovery, process, and curiosity. His work would also lead to…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured

    Vintage curation

    “If I am offering design as a service to someone else, I can solve problems that maybe the client did not even know they had or make their space more functional, but more importantly, more enjoyable. Good design truly does bring joy to people,” said Kim Tanner, owner of Strangelovely in Godfrey, Illinois. Strangelovely is a classic vintage furniture and home décor shop located on the lower level of a historic home built in 1850 in Godfrey. Initially launched in 2012 by Tanner as a hobby upcycling vintage furniture during her spare time while living in Chicago, the shop has evolved into a careful curation of vintage quality and craftsmanship…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured

    Freshwater future

    As a collective of fresh water that houses more than 20 percent of North America’s freshwater volume, the Great Lakes hold a unique status among American waterways. They require special consideration and treatment, especially in the face of climate change’s adverse effects. While the Great Lakes have a long, natural history of water level fluctuation, recent levels signal a decidedly more extreme phase in the pattern. The past few years have seen some of the lakes’ highest recorded water levels, which can cause destruction from flooding and erosion to damaged shoreline homes and infrastructure across the Great Lakes Basin’s approximately 14,000 miles of shoreline. Headquartered in Detroit but operating across…