Bertrand Goldberg Guide Published

The archive is available online, in print, or on CD.

Meaghan O'Neill -- Interior Design, 5/4/2007 12:00:00 AM

Perhaps best known for designing Marina City in 1960's Chicago—two multi-lobed residential-commercial towers that look like corn cobs—Bertrand Goldberg was a prominent American architect, engineer, and developer. Goldberg's innovative methods for integrating design, engineering, construction, and project development and his concern with social, economic, and urban issues have made his work applicable to a broad range of disciplines. After Goldberg passed away in 1997, the Art Institute of Chicago acquired the Bertrand Goldberg archive in 2002 as a gift from his family. The holdings are divided between the Institute’s Department of Architecture and Design and the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries.

Now, an illustrated guide to the Bertrand Goldberg Collection has been published, thanks to a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the Goldberg family. More than 30,000 documents that represent all stages of Goldberg's architectural processes—from preliminary sketches to presentation drawings and models—are listed, telling the story of the life and career of this visionary. Print and CD versions of the guide are also available by request.

A retrospective exhibition and publication of Goldberg's work is also tentatively planned at the Art Institute for 2010.