Galerie Magazine, July 2022

A Design Dream Team Collaborates on a Breathtaking Chicago Aerie with a Massive Collection of Art

The most spectacular city gardens are often in the least obvious locales—namely, the terraces and rooftops floating many stories above the street, providing lucky occupants a rare combination of incredible urban views and tranquil outdoor space. For their own aerie, spanning 8,000 square feet on the 20th floor of a landmark building on Chicago’s Gold Coast, Barbara Bluhm-Kaul and Don Kaul worked with a dream team of designers to create an oasis that challenges many preconceived notions of what’s possible, especially in a city known for inhospitable weather. In addition to the requisite plantings and decor, their outdoor space functions as a showcase for pieces from their world-class collection of art, which features works by Ellsworth Kelly, Alexander Calder, Anish Kapoor, and Olafur Eliasson, to name a few. 

Bluhm-Kaul and Kaul, who are trustees at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, respectively, have lived in the building for over two decades, in an apartment that includes a portion of the roof. They acquired the rest of it in a real estate transaction that involved buying the residence next door, then selling it sans roof. Once the acquisition was complete, they alerted María Seoane-Smithburg, a much-lauded landscape architect who created their original green space, for the expansion. Seoane-Smithburg, in turn, called on her Harvard Graduate School of Design classmate Dirk Denison, an architect who, Bluhm-Kaul says, has “tremendous knowledge of urban spaces and appreciation of artists.” Atelier AM rounded out the group, collaborating with Denison on the interior finishes and furniture.

Check out the article here.