In June 1922, the Chicago Tribune launched an international architectural competition for the building that would house its new headquarters with the ambitious goal of constructing “the most beautiful office building in the world.”
With $50,000, $20,000, and $10,000 prizes for first, second, and third place respectively, plus a $2,000 honorarium paid to ten firms that had been invited to submit their designs, the competition was an unquestionable success that earned it a storied place in the history of architecture. As much an architectural competition as a publicity stunt for the newspaper, “The International Competition for a New Administration Building for the Chicago Tribune” was part of a massive campaign that generated worldwide press coverage, attracting 263 entries from twenty-three countries, which were subsequently published in a book and featured in a traveling exhibition.
In addition to the winning entry by John Mead Howells and Raymond M. Hood, and Eliel Saarinen’s proposal—a second place that many felt should have won—the competition attracted designs from some of the most prominent architects of the time, both within the US and from the international scene, such as Walter Gropius, Adolf Loos, Bruno Taut, Max Taut, Jan Duiker, and Ludwig Hilberseimer. While most of the designs have been lost to the collective imagination, the parade of inventive proposals ranges from the beautifully elegant to the hilariously wacky, from the neo-Gothic to the Beaux Arts, from the hyper-ornamental Art Nouveau to the beautifully crafted Art Deco, from spiky Expressionism to naked functionalism, and beyond. Feeling it a shame that such a display of architectural imagination remains mostly unknown, Klaus took it upon himself to recover his favorite among these unbuilt entries and imagine a Chicago that could have been.
With “Welcome to Tribuneville,” Klaus creates an alternative vision of Chicago by asking, “what if all the entries to the 1922 Tribune Tower Competition had been built?”
“Welcome to Tribuneville: An Imaginary Vision of an Old Chicago That Could Have Been” was first conceived during a 2022 conversation between Klaus and Iker Gil, founder and editor-in-chief of MAS Context, about the upcoming 100-year anniversary of the Chicago Tribune Tower Competition. A first version of “Welcome to Tribuneville,” both in flat-drawing form and as a short video, premiered at “Chicago Tribune Tower Competition at 100,” an event organized by MAS Context in November 2022. In Fall 2023, a version of the work was published as a cartoon in Spanish architectural magazine Arquine #105: “Mediations.” “Welcome to Tribuneville” has now been drastically expanded for its upcoming large-scale installation at 150 Media Stream.
150 MEDIA STREAM PUBLIC VIEWING HOURS FOR “WELCOME TO TRIBUNEVILLE”
Mondays to Fridays: 11:00 AM–2:00 PM
Saturdays: 1:00 PM–10:00 PM
*Hours Subject to Change
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
A series of public programs will take place in Fall 2024. More information will be available soon.
PROJECT CREDITS
Drawing by Klaus
Animation by David Rubioma
Presented by 150 Media Stream and MAS Context
ABOUT 150 MEDIA STREAM
Located in the lobby of 150 N Riverside Plaza in Chicago, the 150 Media Stream is a public digital art installation divided into 89 LED blades. It stretches over 150 feet long and reaches 22 feet high, the largest structure of its kind in the city. Launched in 2017, the 150 Media Stream has showcased over fifty commissioned works by emerging and renowned local and international media artists. The 150 Media Stream Arts Program also includes strategic partnerships with many major institutions and university fine arts programs in the city and provides a forum for students and cultural practitioners to exhibit and promote their work in a dynamic and iconic environment.