They are one of the most recognizable silhouettes in the Windy City—and a defining moment in the history of concrete architecture.
Marina City, affectionately known as the "Corn Cobs," was a radical break from the glass boxes of the 1960s. Designed by the visionary Bertrand Goldberg and completed in 1968, these twin towers are celebrated today as a masterpiece of Organic Brutalism.
Goldberg believed that "there are no right angles in nature," and he proved it by casting these massive structures entirely in curvilinear reinforced concrete. With their rhythmic, petal-shaped balconies and raw, textural finish, they brought the sculptural power of this new material to the Chicago River.
Designed as a "City Within a City," the complex famously features 19 floors of spiral parking ramps, a theatre, and a marina, all woven into a single concrete organism. From their starring role on the cover of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and their place in Steve McQueen's movie The Hunter, to their status as a pilgrimage site for architecture lovers, they are true icons of the mid-century, space-age era.
Whether you are a Chicago local, a fan of the "Concrete Aesthetic," or an indie music lover, this collection allows you to own a piece of the legend.
For the Prentice Women's Hospital, also by Goldberg, click HERE
For all our Brutalist buildings click HERE
For all our Chicago buildings click HERE
For all our US buildings click HERE
For all our skyscrapers click HERE
For all our buildings click HERE
