The 40-year-old architect was a fan of Chicago long before 2008, when he moved to the city from Cincinnati to teach at IIT and, later, start his own practice, Marshall Brown Projects. “It’s a great city for architects, a place where people actually know the names Mies, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Jeanne Gang,” he says. With a recently published essay in Metropolis magazine about a possible Obama presidential library, Brown has dedicated serious time and energy to imagining the design potential for his adopted hometown. His North Center walkup is also carefully considered. Here are nine of his favorite things.
Eames/Herman Miller Antique Aluminum Group Lounge Chair
(seen above; from $1,649, hermanmiller.com)
“It’s a very comfortable place to sit and read a book.”
Olivia Gay photo
(from $2,039, oliviagay.com)
“Really wonderful French artist and documentary photographer. This is a project she was sent to do in Mali.”
Historical wall map of Africa
“It’s a strange, beautiful, and disturbing artifact.”
Tusk wallet
(from $50, tusk.com)
“This company makes fantastic leather goods that come in beautiful colors.”
Etón Red Cross FR360 Solar-Powered Radio
(from $31, amazon.com)
“I use it every day to listen to NPR in my kitchen.”
In Person at el Matador!
($9.99, itunes.apple.com)
“My favorite album this summer by Sergio Mendes and Brasil.”
Moroccan turban scarf
“When I was living in Morocco, I would often see these old Berber men wearing these turbans.”
Custom suit jacket by Jamie L. Hayes
“I commissioned Jamie to make the suit that Muhammad Ali wore on his trip to Zaire. She had it made in Vietnam.”
Chimera Collages
“I’m interested in difference and repetition.”