A Look Inside Marina City

By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 13, 2011 6:20PM

The Marina Towers have become an iconic image on the skyline of Chicago with their unique corncob architecture. Their distinctive look makes them an easily recognizable landmark that has appeared in many Hollywood films (including the memorable scene in the Steve McQueen film The Hunter where a car plummets from the parking garage into the river) and more recently graced the album cover of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But, as much as we admire the exterior and associate it with our city, what goes on inside? Who lives there?

Conceived to be a city within a city, architect Bertrand Goldberg imagined Marina City as affordable living in a high-density, central location. The original mixed use design included a movie theater (which now houses the House of Blues), an office building (which has since become the Hotel Sax), restaurants and, of course, a marina on the Chicago River. The living interiors themselves are also unique, with each unit comprising a wedge of the circular floor plan, making for virtually no right angles.

Chicago based architect Iker Gil and Swedish-born photographer Andreas E.G. Larsson brought their respective talents together for a project that takes a look at what life is really like inside the cylindrical walls of the towers. The pair spent over two years photographing the lives of Marina’s residents showing how, throughout the buildings’ 49 year history, they have transformed Goldberg’s modular framework into a place they call home. The exhibit, appropriately titled “Inside Marina City,” also demonstrates just how diverse Marina City’s 900+ residents are.

“Inside Marina City” opens just in time to coincide with “Architecture of Invention,” a comprehensive retrospective of Bertrand Goldberg’s work. Both exhibits will be on display in The Art Institute’s Architecture and Design galleries beginning this Saturday, September 17.