ARCHITECT’S PROFILE Updating the Past for Today , who incorporates ’s history into his residential designs, is now updating his own history as part of VOA’s team

— Craig A. Shutt

to focus on design. “It’s a very good group of people, no big egos, very easy to work with,” he says. “They are doing good work on a low profile, and it makes a good match for us.” The op- portunity arose when Lagrange ran into colleague Mike Toolis, VOA chair- man/CEO, at a local community meet- ing. Conversations about possibilities became more serious talks, which led to Lagrange coming on board.

Respecting the Past Lagrange is well known for his ap- preciation of Chicago’s architectural history, especially Louis Sullivan’s work Lucien LaGrange and the period of 1900 to 1930, when of significant downtown ucien Lagrange’s retirement buildings, especially along Michigan was a short one. The 71-year- Avenue, flourished. He has been in- Lold architect, well known for spired by those stone edifices with his work designing elegant, high-end their intricate detail, updating them to residential projects, announced the modern styles that represent twenty- closing of his eponymous Chicago first century functions and aesthetics. firm in 2010. Only one year later, in “Being in Chicago, I have seen August 2011, he joined VOA Associ- the great that has been ates Inc. as lead designer in the firm’s done here, and that leads me often to luxury residential, hospitality and stone rather than steel and glass for commercial mixed-use markets. The my residential designs,” he says. “Ev- move brings a new chapter to a sto- eryone admires those buildings along ried design career, which has focused Lake Shore Drive and the Gold Coast on reinventing past architectural suc- from the 1920s, and there is good rea- cess for a new generation. in Chicago, which combined hotel, son for that. It’s a comfortable style. “I like taking problems that are puz- and retail functions, was the first high- When you get there, you are home. zling for owners and even other archi- profile project for Lagrange. The building is one of the tallest in the world to be clad with architectural That’s what I’ve always been search- tects and creating ‘diabolically simple’ precast concrete panels, containing 3,152 pieces. ing for.” solutions,” he says. “When we can Lagrange’s affinity for masonry and cut through the confusion with a plan stone designs comes naturally. The son that makes the owner say, ‘Why, of “The market disappeared, and the of a mason, he grew up in Provence course!’ that’s success. When it’s a work I was interested in doing did not in and studied architecture at large-scale project where our solution look to be available any time soon,” McGill University in . In 1978, represents both a major spatial state- he explains. “I decided it was time he moved to Chicago and joined Skid- ment and a remarkable business solu- to readjust my life and cut back the more, Owings & Merrill, working on a tion, the pleasure is even greater.” pressure. It can be pretty demanding variety of large-scale projects. Lagrange decided to retire after to run an office with 50 or 60 people He opened his own firm in 1985 turning 70 in 2010 and seeing few op- when you are the only principal.” and established his name with the portunities on the horizon for the com- VOA provides Lagrange with orga- design of the 70-story Park Tower missions on which he has thrived. nizational support, which frees him on Michigan Avenue in 2000. Other

22 ASCENT, WINTER 2012 key projects include the 26-story 840 bilities have grown, he notes. “It’s a Lake Shore Drive , the wonderful material that has become 48-story Pinnacle residential/retail more versatile. It used to be big, flat building, the 61-story Elysian Hotel & panels, but today, the level of detail Private Residences, the 35-story 10 that can be achieved has been in- East Delaware residential building, creased. There is really nothing better the 41-story Lincoln Park 2520 condo- for this type of project.” minium, and the 40-story Ritz Carlton There are possibilities for more Residences. designs using precast concrete in Lagrange’s future now that he has ‘I like creating aligned himself with VOA. Having just returned from a trip to China to “diabolically simple” discuss potential projects, he has become involved with two rental-res- solutions.’ idential projects in Chicago, a subur- ban synagogue, and others. Creating Modern Styles Whatever projects are coming, they Deciding on the style for each proj- will invoke the richness of the past in a ect creates aesthetic and functional current vocabulary. “I have been pretty challenges, he notes, but the ultimate disappointed by the design work I see designs are driven by the building’s today that tries to produce modern im- need. But make no mistake: he is not ages,” he says. “Compared to the 1900 designing “historic” buildings. “All are to 1930 period, today’s work is very very modern designs, with historic confusing. I don’t really know what is appearances. They have large win- happening with it. I much prefer to go dows and use modern materials.” back to the older times and move the At the Ritz Carlton Residences, for designs forward.” instance, owners wanted balconies That doesn’t mean the new designs in each corner. “You don’t do a classi- are old-fashioned, he stresses. “There cal building and put balconies in each is a lot to learn from past designers in corner, so we chose a concept that Chicago especially, and there is a lot of was inspired by an style,” he value there. We should not lose that. residential tower in Chicago feature architectural precast concrete panels in two finishes explains. “But no matter the look, all We need to take the quality of the ex- to complement the French limestone at the base of the projects are designed for living. perience that is available to us and re- and blend the building with the nearby Cathedral That is the ultimate purpose and their interpret it for the twenty-first century. District. need.” I’m not sure that is happening to the Many of his projects have used pre- best of its ability right now.” ■ cast concrete façades, a modern ma- terial that helps invoke the richness of history often incorporated into his projects. “Precast concrete allows us Architectural precast concrete to bring the complexity of detail to panels clad the upper floors of the Lincoln Park 2520 in Chicago, one of these projects that would not be pos- Lagrange’s most recent high-profile sible in stone,” he explains. “It often is projects. The panels were designed to the best material to use. It provides a complement the two-story decorated richness of color and texture and cre- base, which was clad with granite and limestone. ates any detail we want. And it’s not too expensive to work with.” The Park Tower project, Lagrange’s first high-profile design, is one of the tallest projects in the world (844 feet) to feature architectural precast concrete panels. The goal was to blend the building with the nearby Water Tower, the landmark structure that was one of the few to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. “We discussed the potential of precast concrete for this project in advance for some time and whether it would work,” he says. “I visited the plant many times and studied the possibili- ties and capabilities.” Today, precast concrete’s capa-

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