

The Most Interesting Staircase in Chicago
It's a daring claim, but it might be true. I took these photos at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Josef Paul Kleihues. Among his achievements, Kleihues is known for his theory of “poetic rationalism,” which sought to add grace and humanism to the sometimes austere geometries of modern architecture. The staircase is a great example of this theory in action. At first glance, the building is indeed rather boxy and geometric, even sparse. (This is hardly a fail