Holistic Interpretation of a City's Built Heritage: Experience from the Chicago Architecture Foundation

Although little more than 150 years old, Chicago has one of the most memorable built environments of any city in the world. It contains many outstanding early examples of the types of structures that now dominate almost every modem metropolis, frequently designed by some of the greatest names in architecture. This includes the first metal-frame high-rise buildings of William Le Baron Jenney, Louis Sullivan, Burnham & Root, and Holabird & Roche; the Prairie School houses of Frank Lloyd Wright; the Art Deco skyscrapers of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White; the international style of Mies van der Rohe; Postmodern designs by Philip Johnson and Cesar Pelli; and yet more recent works by Helmut Jahn and Ricardo Bofill.The Chicago Architecture Foundation works exclusively to enhance the public's awareness and appreciation of Chicago architecture. This paper examines the holistic approach that this organization takes to interest young people in the city's architectural heritage, and its programme to train volunteer tour guides to provide a consistent quality interpretation of Chicago's unique built environment.