Critic Blair Kamin Visits Kenilworth, Reviews Decade of Architecture

In the name of architecture, Blair Kamin called soon to be retired Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley Martha Stewart at the George Maher-designed l.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning associated the unlikely pairing because of Daley's beautification efforts in Chicago, which have included numerous planters and the formation of Millennium Park.

Kamin, who is the Chicago Tribune architecture critic and an author, stopped by Kenilworth on Sunday to give a lecture based on his latest book, “Terror and Wonder: Architecture in a Tumultuous Age."

Kamin captivated the audience of about 80 members as he took them through an architecture tour that began with YouTube clips.

“It just fits,” Sheila Mitchell of the Kenilworth Historical Society, said of his presentation.

Kamin’s theories in his articles and books are perfectly suited for Kenilworth, according to Mitchell.

Hamin’s adventure, a near-decade long analysis, began with the events of 9/11 and ended with the completion of the Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building – in Jan. 4 2010, as he tried to make sense out of our world and the way people interact with their surroundings.

Kamin said the nearly 9-year timespan has been the best of times and the worst of times for architecture.

Since 9/11 some of the most important facets of how we interact with our surroundings, and what we have built have been a result of destruction as opposed to construction, he said. As security ratcheted up at airports and government buildings, so the belief in the cocoon affect, according to Kamin. As a result, people stopped venturing outside because of fear, he said.

But, Kamin noted, buildings like the Milwaukee Art Institute’s Quadracci Pavillion, which was designed by Santiago Calatrava, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which was designed by Frank Gehry, were some pieces that emerged during the same dark period.

“I really liked it a lot,” said Gay Weber a Kenilworth resident, “He seems younger than I thought since he has been writing for the [Chicago] Tribune forever.”

Gay's son, Scott Weber, also attended the event. Scott told Patch that he found the lecture particularly interesting because he is thinking about going into urban planning.

Kamin, who lives in Wilmette, was particularly excited to give his presentation at the Kenilworth Club because of his affection for the prairie-style Maher designed building because of it’s art glass windows and natural light.

“Kenilworth is an architecturally significant town, despite its small size,” Mitchell said.