Archive for the ‘The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the ICA & CA’ Category

See http://www.classicistchicago.org/events

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Free for ICA&CA members

3610 S. Morgan Street
Chicago, IL
phone: 773.847.6300

Decorators Supply has been creating ornamental plaster and composite products for architectural and furniture projects since 1883. The company manufactured much of the ornament on the buildings of Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition, and has continued to deliver the same quality and craftsmanship throughout the years to today. Their catalogues are a staple in many traditional and classical architects’ offices nationwide. The facility is a 20-minute walk from the Sox/35th Red Line stop, and parking is available in Decorators Supply’s lot or on the street. You will emerge covered in plaster dust, so please dress accordingly!

Event is sponsored in conjunction with the Historic Resources Committee of AIA Chicago. Advance registration is required. This event is FREE to ICA&CA members: just enter “30060161” in the AIA Member number box when registering.

     By Gary L. Cole AIA, Esq.

     The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America presents “Vocabulary, Proportion and Invention in Contemporary Classical Architecture” by University of Notre Dame professor, architect and author Thomas Gordon Smith at Chicago’s Richard H. Driehaus Museum on April 15, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.

     Space is limited and further details and signup for the event can be found at The Chicago-Midwest ICA & CA’s website at http://www.classicistchicago.org/events.

By Gary L. Cole AIA, Esq.

The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America (full disclosure: I am a Board member and its General Counsel) is hosting a lecture and book signing by renowned architect Léon Krier on October 28, 2009, 6:00 p.m., at the Richard H. Driehaus Museum in Chicago.

Mr. Krier will be discussing his latest book – The Architecture of Community.

More information about the event can be found at The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America’s website at: http://www.classicistchicago.org/events

Status Update No. 4 – Inaugural Event of The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America

The newly-formed Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America held its coming out party to a capacity audience in the Preston Bradley Hall of the Chicago Cultural Center on April 20, 2009. The venue for the event, beneath the recently restored Louis Comfort Tiffany dome in one of Chicago’s finest neoclassical spaces, was selected to highlight the new organization’s mission as an advocate of classical architecture and the allied arts.

The featured speaker for the evening was Vangelis Mazidzoglou, owner of Venus Marble Corporation, during which he discussed his company’s work as marble supplier and fabricator for the restoration of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Other speakers included architects Chris Derrick and Gary Ainge, Ambassador Anastassios Petrovas Consul General of Greece and Notre Dame professor of architecture Michael Lykoudis.

Earlier in the day, the new Chapter held its first Board of Directors meeting and elected the following officers: Christopher Derrick – President; Gary Ainge – Co-Vice President; Danny Gonzales – Co-Vice President; and, Elizabeth McNicholas – Secretary/Treasurer. Board member Gary L. Cole AIA, Esq. was also appointed General Counsel for the chapter.

The new chapter is busy forming committees and planning future events and, as reported in a recent posting of Law/Ark, the Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the ICA & CA will take full advantage of existing and emerging social networking media to meet its mission and create networking opportunities among its members, including incorporating blogging and discussion threads on its website. It has also just created a dedicated group on “LinkedIn,”and while The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America is a membership-based organization open to anyone, non-members may join its LinkedIn group and learn more about the organization as it evolves.

© Copyright Gary L. Cole AIA, Esq.

Status Update No. 3 – Formation of The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America

On April 3, 2009, Articles of Incorporation for “The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America” were filed with the Secretary of State of Illinois and the newest chapter of the New York-based Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America became an Illinois not-for-profit corporation.

The five initial Board of Directors are: architect Christopher E. Derrick, architect Gary M. Ainge, Danny Gonzales, architect Elizabeth A. McNicholas and architect/attorney Gary L. Cole AIA, Esq. The new chapter’s first meeting of its Board of Directors will be held on April 20, 2009.

Also on April 20, 2009, the organization will hold its inaugural event at the Chicago Cultural Center in Preston Bradley Hall, location of the recently restored Louis Comfort Tiffany dome (as previously discussed in a January 22, 2009 posting of Law/Ark). In addition to introducing the organization and its Chicago/Midwest mission, the event will feature a one-hour presentation by Vangelis Mazidzoglou, owner of Venus Marble Corporation, during which he will discuss his recent work on the restoration of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. The event will be free, catered and as of the date of this posting, seats are still available, though limited.

The newest ICA & CA chapter will launch a number of innovative initiatives in 2009 to encourage the appreciation of classical architecture and its allied arts, which will be announced in subsequent postings of Law/Ark. It will also take full advantage of existing and emerging social networking media to meet its mission and create networking opportunities among its members, including incorporating blogging and discussion threads on its website. It has also just created a dedicated group on “LinkedIn,”and while The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America is a membership-based organization open to anyone, non-members may join its LinkedIn group and learn more about the organization.

For further information about The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America and/or reservations for its April 20, 2009 inaugural event, interested parties may contact Christopher E. Derrick at info@derrickarchitecture.com.

© Copyright Gary L. Cole AIA, Esq.

Status Update No. 2 – The new Chicago Chapter of the ICA & CA.

As announced in a January 18, 2009 Law/Ark posting, the new Chicago Chapter of the New York-based Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America is being formed. A kick-off date for the new chapter has now been tentatively set for late April 2009. Currently, the new chapter’s formation documents are being finalized and four of the five initial Board of Directors have been selected.

As the Chicago representative of the ICA & CA, the new chapter will uphold the parent organization’s mission statement as described in its website, but will do so through the appreciation of Chicago’s and the Midwest’s fine examples of neoclassical architecture and the allied arts. It is anticipated that the geographic boundaries of the new chapter’s advocacy and outreach initiatives will include not only Chicago and Illinois, but several Midwestern states as well.

Despite its Chicago/Midwest focus, the new Chicago ICA & CA chapter will not advocate a position regarding any long standing Chicago/New York sports feuds, address questions of which city has better pizza (New York) or hot dogs (Chicago), nor will it apologize for trouncing New York in the competition to host the greatest of all neoclassical trade shows – the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

More updates will follow in Law/Ark, but interested parties can now join the ICA & CA through its parent organization’s website and specify Chicago as their local chapter. They may also contact Christopher Derrick at chris.derrick@classicistchicago.org for further information.

© Copyright Gary L. Cole 2009

Status Update: The New Chicago Chapter of the ICA & CA.

The New York-based Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America (ICA & CA) is forming a new Chicago chapter – scheduled to roll out in the Spring of 2009. From the ICA & CA’s website:

“The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America, founded as two separate nonprofit organizations in 1991 and 1968, respectively, merged in 2002 as a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the classical tradition in architecture, urbanism and their allied arts. It does so though education, publication, and advocacy. Today there are thirteen regional and local Institute chapters together extending this unique public service: Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Florida, Philadelphia, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Northern California, Southern California, Southeast, Tennessee, and Texas

The organization is a valued educational resource for students of art, planning, and architecture, design professionals, and the general public assisted today by these growing network of regional and local chapters. The ICA&CA offers a wide array of programs: a Master of Science degree with concentration in classical design with Georgia Tech; continuing education classes; travel programs; lectures; salons; and conferences. It publishes an academic journal called The Classicist as well as the acclaimed book series called the “Classical America Series in Art and Architecture”. The Grand Central Academy of Art flourishes as the Institute’s division of fine arts pedagogy and now offers a summer session called The Hudson River Landscape Painting Fellowships. The Institute also acts as a curriculum partner with accredited schools such as the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech. Partnerships with non-architect home builders via the American Institute of Building Design as well as Habitat for Humanity International bring the traditional design skills sustained and disseminated by the Institute to bear in diverse communities across America. A blog further offers a voice for advocacy and communication.”

More details will follow in Law/Ark but anyone can now join the ICA & CA through the organization’s website above and specify Chicago as their local chapter.

© Copyright Gary L. Cole 2009