AGE: 47 OCCUPATION: Founder and principal, Studio Gang Architects

Her forceful ideas are bringing fresh accolades to Chicago’s skyline (Aqua) and won her a MacArthur “genius” grant last fall. True, Gang lost her bid to redo Navy Pier last November, but she’s still the star designer in a city that loves architecture.

MORE ON GANG: Reversing the River Could Transform Chicago | Jeanne Gang and Robert Cassidy: Two Generations of Urban Planners on the Chicago River | Mini-review: ‘Reveal: Studio Gang Architects’

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Photograph: Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune