Bertrand Goldberg at the Art Institute of Chicago

"Bertrand Goldberg: Architecture of Invention", a retrospective of Chicago architect Bertrand Goldberg's landmark mid-century work, is being presented at the Art Institute of Chicago. The museum calls this the first comprehensive retrospective of Goldberg's innovative architecture and engineering designs.

Goldberg, whose career intertwined with some of the world's most prominent modern architects, including his mentor Mies van der Rohe, is perhaps best known for his unique, revolutionary design for Marina City, which has become one of Chicago's most talked-about architectural landmarks.

According to the Art Institute, the retrospective "positions Bertrand Goldberg's career within a broad historical framework that extends from his experimental origins at the Bauhaus in Germany and the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition to his visionary plans for the postwar American city."

Goldberg was instrumental in getting Mies van der Rohe to accept a position in Chicago at what would become the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 1938.

"Bertrand Goldberg: Architecture of Invention" will be at the Art Institute of Chicago from Sept. 17 through January 15, 2012.

Visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Johnson Wax Building and Wingspread with Off the Map

Experience Frank Lloyd Wright's landmark S.C. Johnson Administration Building and Wingspread in Racine, Wisconsin, and more, with Off the Map Chicago.

If you've visited Oak Park, where Wright developed his early landmark Prairie style, and seen the Robie House and Unity Temple, let us take you on a unique, private architectural journey to Racine for a tour of the stellar architecture Frank Lloyd Wright created for Hib Johnson, chairman of Johnson Wax Company, in 1938.

We'll pick you up in Chicago and along the way to Racine, fill in the architectural details of Wright's work in Chicago and Oak Park that led to his groundbreaking work for Johnson in Racine. You'll go on a tour of the S.C. Johnson Administration Building, and then enjoy a private visit at Wingspread, the spectacular home Wright designed for Hib Johnson after the company chairman told the architect he loved his new office building so much, he wanted to sleep there.

And there's more. After our visit, we'll stop for lunch, and then drive back to Chicago through the beautiful North Shore suburbs along Lake Michigan, where your host, architectural commentator Larry Simon, will share with you some of his favorite works of Wright and Oak Park Wright Studio associate John van Bergen, including Wright's 1915 Ravine Bluff's subdivision featuring his only built bridge, as well as the first Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie House. Larry will also take you to Eliel and Eero Saarinen's landmark architectural masterpiece, the 1940 Crow Island School, and share some of his favorite, and rarely-seen, examples of mid-century domestic architecture.

For more information on this amazing day-long architectural journey exploring the world of Frank Lloyd Wright and mid-century Chicago architects, call Larry at +1 847 951 5521.

Build Your Very Own Farnsworth House

With Legos, that is.

The new Lego version of Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House is here, and you can pick one up [literally] at the Farnsworth House Visitors Center.

That's where you can also begin your private visit to one of the 20th century's greatest pieces of architecture with Off the Map Chicago. We'll pick you and take you on a unique private tour of the mid-century architectural gem, or you can come with us on the GoFarnsworth Express Bus from Chicago. We start at Mies' landmark 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments and include a stop for lunch. You're back in Chicago mid-afternoon, so you can have time to view Chicago's finest architecture--or just spend the rest of the day building your Lego model of the Farnsworth House.

Where Mies Worked

While Frank Lloyd Wright built a veritable temple to himself in Oak Park, Mies van der Rohe chose a more utilitarian route, which certainly fits with his Bauhausian background. The great modernist, who designed the landmark Farnsworth House, the Federal Center, the IBM Building, 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments in Chicago, to name just a few, had a basic loft-style office at 230 East Ohio Street in the Streeterville section of Chicago.

Wright's Oak Park studio is marked with the limestone plaque he created that boldly reads, "Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect." The stone tablet (a faithful reproduction; the original resides at Taliesin) ensured Wright's permanence, and underscores his outspoken and oft overbearing personality.

Mies is another matter. In photographs, wearing handsome bespoke suits and often holding a cigar, he appears distinguished, quiet, even distant. The simple, clean, nondescript building that housed the office of the great builder of mid-century skyscrapers matches his image, and pretty much sums up his observation that "less is more."

No trace of his presence remains at 230 East Ohio Street. I once asked the building porter if he knew on which floor Mies had his office.

"Mies who?" he asked.

See more of Mies van der Rohe's mastery on the GoFarnsworth! express bus tour

Now you can see more of Mies van der Rohe's mastery with new expanded service on the GoFarnsworth! express bus tour to the Farnsworth House in Plano, IL.

Tours to Mies' ground-breaking Farnsworth House start at Mies' landmark 860-880 Lake Shore Drive apartments, designed and built by the famed German architect at the same time as the Farnsworth House.

What's new is the drop-off point: Mies' Federal Center in the heart of Chicago's historic Loop. Architectural commentator Larry Simon of Off the Map Chicago will guide you through the complex of three of Mies' greatest steel and glass buildings set on a plaza surrounding the stunning Alexander Calder stabile,"Flamingo."

Simon will point out perspectives and views of adjacent Chicago early skyscrapers like Burnham and Root's Monadnock Building and Holabird and Roche's Marquette Building, and explain how these landmark skyscrapers interact with Mies' steel and glass modernism.

The GoFarnsworth! express bus tour to Mies' Farnsworth House runs during the season on most Tuesdays and Saturdays. Trips begin again next Spring.