Museum of Modern Art, Chicago

Location: Chicago, Illinois
Category: Community - Stair structure
Year: 1995

The museum is six-level structure with a reinforced concrete and structural steel frame features an exterior skin of Indiana limestone and large cast-aluminum panels, designed by architect Josef Paul Kleihues. The stairwell in the northwest corner is often cited as the buildings most interesting and dynamic artistic feature. Constructed of Black Impala granite, architect intended for the interior staircase- lit by fixtures he designed- to guide visitors through the building. The architect echoed the ellipsoid shape of the stairwell, one of the museum’s most photographed features, in the building’s elevator button panels and other architectural details.The staircase creates an impressive, if dizzying, view, and is a work of art in itself.