Irving K. and Allen B. Pond, brothers and partners, are lesser-known compared with their contemporary Frank Lloyd Wright, with whom they once shared studio space at Steinway Hall.  The recently published book, “The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond” edited by David Swan and Terry Tatum, will be available for sale after the lecture.
 
Photo: American School of Correspondence, Chicago. Credit: Terry Tatum

How do you turn a 1905 industrial power house into a 21st century learning institute? Architect Doug Farr, Farr Associates, will discuss the award-winning conversion of the Sears, Roebuck and Company world headquarters power house, designed by the architectural firm of Nimmons & Fellows, into the Henry Ford Academy: Power House High, a new math and science educational facility in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood.

Caption: Sears Power House, Chicago. Credit: James Peters

The concept of religious spaces in the 20th century was a radical departure from the architectural traditions of centuries past. Following the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965, Catholic church architecture—and even worship spaces from other denominations— underwent a radical shift in both theory and design. From Gothic Revival to Space Age Modernism, learn how the academic principals behind the 1950s-60s Liturgical Movement shaped a generation of religious architectural design.

Caption: St. Celestine Church, Elmwood Park

Despite his notoriety, late-19th century architect Louis Sullivan often has been misunderstood. According to Chicago’s Cultural Historian Tim Samuelson, Sullivan was not trying to be the father of modern architecture. His phrase—“Form Follows Function”—was more a philosophical idea than the actual purpose of the buildings he designed. Come hear Samuelson, the curator of an upcoming exhibit on Sullivan, try to put the pieces of this architectural puzzle into place.