Whirl-Windy City

On the heels of the annual Good Design Awards, Chicago's Artropolis returns April 25 to 28. The epicenter of this citywide arts and culture celebration, now in its second year, is the Merchandise Mart, home to five shows, the biggest being Art Chicago.

Of course, design is a year-round affair in these parts. The Art Institute of Chicago's “Graphic Thought Facility: Resourceful Design,” running March 27 to August 17, is the institution's first exhibit devoted to a single firm. Meanwhile, visitors can watch architecture in action as Renzo Piano Building Workshop completes a museum wing for a 2009 opening date. Up on Lake Shore Drive, the Chicago Spire by Santiago Calatrava and Perkins + Will is rising 150 stories with 1,193 apartments. And, speaking of development, next year's Burnham Plan Centennial commemorates Daniel H. Burnham's influential vision for Chicago as a whole.

Clockwise from inset: Art Chicago is one of five fairs taking place at the Merchandise Mart during Artropolis. Santiago Calatrava's 2,000-foot-tall Chicago Spire, opening in 2011. A diagram promoting the Burnham Plan Centennial. Propagandist Co.'s Dog lamp in plastic and anodized aluminum, winner of a Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum. Alexandre Arrechea's digital print, being shown by Magnan Projects at Art Chicago. Charles Ray's Japanese cypress sculpture, acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago for its new wing by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Cardboard boxes from Graphic Thought Facility's solo exhibit at the Art Institute.