This past week, I had the privilege of going on a field trip to Chicago. The trip was from October 2nd through the 5th. It was for any first year College of Architecture and Planning student who wanted to go, and honestly, who wouldn't? We went on a walking tour of downtown, visited Oak Park and all of the Frank Lloyd Wright houses there and Unity Temple, rode a boat tour of downtown Chicago on the river and much more. Having our instructors there to explain and further elaborate on the ideas and concepts behind the design and construction of buildings after the great Chicago Fire of the 1870s only enhanced the experience.
Chicago was really the first city to utilize steel construction for their buildings on such a massive scale. Chicago had the first skyscraper and, at one point, the largest building in the world. These feats could not be accomplished with mere brick and stone but had to use steel. We also learned about the infrastructure of the city. How Chicago is built with layers and how street level may actually be several stories above ground level in some places.
The tour of Oak Park, with all of the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings was, by far, my favorite part of the trip. It was awe inspiring just knowing that Frank Lloyd Wright, the greatest architect who ever lived, was once a resident of Oak Park. We got to see his home and studio along with several other residential projects of his. Then we visited Unity Temple, a church he designed.
The trip was definitely worth the money in my opinion. We got to tour one of the greatest cities in America for four days. We also all became better friends because of it.
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