Acrophobes and the faint of heart need not apply. All others will be delighted to discover that the alpha male of skyscrapers, the Empire State Building, has reinvented itself as a supergreen structure. A top-to-bottom, four-year renovation of the historic landmark began in 2009, with the chief goal of maximizing energy savings. Like King Kong, construction workers clambered around the storied 102-story building, barely noticed by the stream of office workers and visitors tha

Chicago’s Goose Island--the island, that is, not the beer--has been undergoing a metamorphosis in the last few years. Once a manufacturing mecca, its sweaty, grimy old brick factories are, one by one, being turned from blue collar to white collar. Just across the Chicago River and less than a mile east of hipster haven Wicker Park, for example, sits the newest version of the former Burhop building at 1071 W. Division Street. During its first century of life, the LEED Gold-cer

Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, has emerged from the plastic cocoon that enveloped this Frank Lloyd Wright national historic landmark for over a year. While under wraps, the building was crawling with activity. Outside, crews repaired the concrete shell, cutting out chunks, filling in holes, and mending cracks. Indoors, plaster walls and ceilings were patched up and repainted to match their original texture and color. Piece by piece, Wright’s trademark art glass and wood