Lucien Lagrange Floats Hotel Plan

Chicago-based Lucien Lagrange Architects has announced it plans to introduce a $130 million hotel and entertainment center in Michigan City, Ind.

The facility will add 270 guest rooms and 30 suites to Boyd Gaming’s existing Blue Chip Casino riverboat and hotel. Featuring a beauty and fitness spa, additional meeting and convention space, and more dining and nightlife options, the new hotel will raise the bar for amenities in this popular Lake Michigan resort town.

Nautical-inspired accents link Lagrange’s design to Michigan City’s waterfront location, while a tinted-glass and aluminum curtain wall and metal porte cochere add a note of Las Vegas-inspired excitement. A convenient concourse will connect new and existing structures in the Blue Chip complex. Construction of the new facilities began in March 2007 and is slated for completion in late 2008.

“We are looking forward to bringing a touch of Las Vegas to the Michigan City waterfront,” said LLA Principal Lucien Lagrange. “With this new structure, we hope to enhance both the experience of Blue Chip guests and the surrounding community.”

Muntu Dance Announces
Ambitious Design Goals

Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago has announced an $18.5 million project on the city’s South Side on 47th Street. Construction is expected to be complete in early summer 2008.

The 44,000-sq-ft building will incorporate a 400-seat proscenium-style theater; administrative offices; meeting spaces for community organizations; rehearsal studios with flexible seating for more intimate performances; multipurpose classrooms for instruction and training; retail space for lease to compatible businesses; and a concession area.

Muntu is a hub for the performing arts and an economic and social driver in the historic Bronzeville, North Kenwood and Oakland neighborhoods on the city’s South Side. It is also the first permanent home of an African dance company in the United States.

The Muntu building will use a $4.5 million Illinois First grant and $1.25 million in federal Department of Housing & Urban Development Empowerment Zone funding available to the city of Chicago, which offers tax incentives to entrepreneurs who invest in their communities and hire local residents.

Chicago-based Boeing Co. is underwriting $3 million worth of construction, with the remaining cost funded by donations from individuals and foundations. The city of Chicago donated the site and demolished an abandoned liquor store to accommodate Muntu.

Construction will be performed in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the grant agreement, and includes 25% minority business enterprise and 5% women business enterprise of the budget. Skokie based Alter Group has been named the design/build program manager, and Chicago-based Krueck+Sexton is partnering in the design.

Architecture Billings Index
Rises Nearly Three Points

After three consecutive months of modest growth, the Architecture Billings Index, an economic indicator of construction activity, revealed a spike in design activity, according to the American Institute of Architects.

A score above 50 indicates an increase in billings. The May ABI was 55.0, up from the 52.6 mark in April.

With an approximate nine- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending, the forecast for the nonresidential construction market remains favorable throughout 2007 and into early 2008.

“This is second highest mark of the year behind January’s score of 57.9,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker.

The Midwest had the lowest index (51.8). The West had the highest score (58.0). All sectors had strong activity, residential (55.2), commercial / industrial (54.7), mixed practice (54.3) and institutional (54.2).

Chicago Condo
Gets Housing Award

The 156 W. Superior St. condominium project in Chicago was recently honored with a Housing Committee Award from the American Institute of Architects.

The steel frames support cantilevered decks for outdoor entertaining in each unit and a large common roof deck provides stunning views of downtown Chicago for all the residents, the AIA noted. The building is meant to invest an image of structural architecture, conveying a sense of economy, efficiency, discipline and order, essential characteristics of Chicago’s steel and glass architectural history.

“It is nice how the project fits in the context, but not in a scale that feels overwhelming. The building is beautifully sited on narrow constricted site,” jury members said.

The designer was the Seattle-based Miller/Hull Partnership LLP, and the contractor was Palos Hills-based Skender Construction Co.

The competition had 18 other winners throughout the United States. There were 236 submissions.

Architects Create Pieces for
Global Warming Exhibition

The “Cool Globes” exhibition in Chicago will features 100 5-ft-diameter globes decorated by local, national and international artists and focuses on inspiring individuals and organizations to take action against global warming.

According to Architecture 2030, residential, commercial, and industrial buildings account for 48 percent of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

“We’re participating in ‘Cool Globes’ because we believe architects have a responsibility to build public awareness of how building design can address the issue,” said Patrick Brosnan, president and CEO of Waukegan-based Legat Architects. Legat’s “Solar Earth” was selected for the exhibition.

Solar panel systems, also called photovoltaics, convert sunlight into electricity to help meet power demands, while reducing the need for power plants that burn fossil fuels and produce greenhouse gases.

“Solar Earth” uses the color orange to indicate energy use throughout the world. The darker orange an area is, the more energy it uses. The dark blue solar panels that wrap the oceans charge batteries during the day.

At night, photosensors activate LED lights that shine through holes drilled at major cities. The size of the light holes corresponds to energy use.

“Cool Globes” will run along Chicago’s lakefront, from the Field Museum north to Navy Pier through September.