After ending a private group tour with current and prospective students of the Illinois Institute of Design in River North, I decided to walk back to the Chicago Detours office in the Loop. It was a beautiful afternoon and as I moseyed down Dearborn Street, I noticed the iconic towers of Marina City. But of course, how could one not notice them?
People usually take shots of the architecture of the “corn cob building” from afar, and from the angle of the river, which is south of Marina City. Looking at architect Bertrand Goldberg’s Marina City from the north, I noticed the incredible texture of these unusual skyscrapers as contrasted with the buildings around them.
The curves of Marina City contrast with the hard geometry of the Hotel Sax. It was a tough decision to crop out the Mies van der Rohe building that appeared just to the left. It added a cool repetition of the grid. However, I opted for a cleaner and less cluttered composition with just the architectural textures of these two skyscrapers. The various shapes and materials create a visual harmony which I particularly like.
— Amanda Scotese, Chicago Detours Executive Director
