A Futuristic 150-Foot Installation Imagines Chicago’s Never-Built Architecture

a person stands in front of an illuminated installation with architectural drawings

“Welcome to Tribuneville.” Photo © Michael Salisbury. All images courtesy of 150 Media Stream and MAS Context, shared with permission

With its long vertical lines and neo-Gothic features, the architectural marvel that is Tribune Tower in Chicago has an unorthodox origin story. Home to the newspaper’s operations, the now-iconic building resulted from an international competition hosted in 1922 by the co-publishers. More than 260 architects from 23 countries submitted designs that would house the newspaper, with New York-based John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood ultimately winning the bid.

A project by architectural cartoonist Klaus and MAS Context brings this history to light. “Welcome to Tribuneville: An Imaginary Vision of an Old Chicago That Could Have Been” features 60 drawings of never-made buildings submitted to the contest installed at 150 Media Stream. Located in the lobby of 150 N. Riverside Plaza, the installation has featured several digital works across its 89 LED blades since 2017. A statement about the project adds:

While most of the designs have been lost to the collective imagination, the parade of inventive proposals ranges from the beautifully elegant to the hilariously wacky, from the neo-Gothic to the Beaux Arts, from the hyper-ornamental Art Nouveau to the beautifully crafted Art Deco, from spiky Expressionism to naked functionalism, and beyond…With “Welcome to Tribuneville,” Klaus creates an alternative vision of Chicago by asking, “what if all the entries to the 1922 Tribune Tower Competition had been built?”

Spanning more than 150 feet wide and stretching 22 feet high, the illuminated installation imagines the Chicago skyline with buildings in myriad styles and shapes augmented by fantastic and futuristic features. Blimp-like vehicles fly amid the buildings, a monorail runs where the “El” might otherwise stand, and walkways filled with pedestrians are elevated high above the street.

“Welcome to Tribuneville” is on view through December 30, with a public reception scheduled for October 8.

a detail image of a futuristic city with flying vehicles and elaborate architecture on an illuminated digital screen

Detail of “Welcome to Tribuneville.” Photo © Michael Salisbury

a detail image of a futuristic city with flying vehicles and elaborate architecture

Detail of “Welcome to Tribuneville”(2024). Image © Klaus

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