By Brent Hoffmann, Class of 2005
When talking to river tourees, Barry Aldridge focuses on architects as more than just the designers of buildings. “They have to be good salesmen,” he says. “Otherwise, you just end up with a lot of drawings in your office. Plus, you have to collaborate with engineers, builders and clients. You deal with people with different mindsets, and the architect often is called on to be a negotiator. To paraphrase Daniel Burnham: ‘half of an architect’s job is getting work’.”
Barry knows, being an architect and having worked on commercial and government commissions in the Chicago area. While with the David Woodhouse Architects firm, he worked on projects that included the pavilions at Buckingham Fountain, and the city hall buildings of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.
He completed his Master of Architecture degree at the University of Illinois, Chicago, after earning a BA in English at Northwestern University.
FLW, then CAF
In the 1990s, Barry led tours for the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust in Oak Park, and of the Robie House in Hyde Park. After retiring from Woodhouse in 2005, he looked for a challenge nearer to his home in Lakeview. “I always enjoyed the CAF tours, particularly of the historic high-rises,” continues Barry. He became a docent to 2009.
Barry conducts primarily River Cruises. More often, perhaps, than most river docents, he’s asked the question, “Are you an architect?” Barry also appreciates hearing limited-English speakers say that they understood his tour. But “most flattering was the time that an American kid asked for my autograph.”
On the River
Barry points out the light well on the LaSalle-Wacker building. He says, “Holabird and Root worked with the client to create a maximum number of outside offices. That made it more marketable
as first-class office space, and the client could make more money. It’s an example of why you should kiss your architect.”
At the Civic Opera building on the south branch, Barry cites the work of structural engineer Magnus Gunderson: “He found a way to suspend offices over the theater without having to run support columns down through the theater. So the client was able to offer additional, rental offices.”
Approaching Enwave Chicago, he reviews the advantages of a facility that makes and circulates chilled water for air-conditioning of nearby buildings. “That’s useful for old buildings that can’t support the weight of, or don’t have room for, chillers and air handlers.”
Other examples on the river: “The engineers of the Boeing building were able to suspend the southwest corner over the railroad tracks with a metal truss,” Barry explains. “That little health club facing the river, south of Fifth Third Center, has an exoskeleton that bears the weight of the building and opened up a huge space inside. At John Hancock, the exoskeleton not only opened up inside space. It helped the builder to save on steel. And the Willis Tower is a great collaboration among architects, engineers, builders and the city. It shows that architects are only one part of the team required to build anything successfully.”
Concrete
During a recent Open House Chicago, Barry took friends on a walking tour of Prairie Materials Yard near Goose Island. “They really enjoyed seeing how concrete is made in the middle of a big city.” He praises the properties of concrete. “It’s now stronger and lighter in weight. Pumps can deliver it to the top floors of the tallest buildings,” he says. “The price of concrete is stable, whereas steel prices can vary considerably over the period of construction. It’s easier to work with than steel. It can be use to create curves. Now, almost everything can be built with concrete, anything that an architect can design.”
More reasons to kiss your architect.
Thanks, Barry! One can tell from this wonderfully informative article that you not only share information information on your tours, but also your joy in and celebration of design!