BTW, I was looking through
this very topical article in Chicago Magazine when I came across an entry for the Lycée Français de Chicago and remembered their old plans for a new campus. If you recall, Krueck+Sexton had been selected. They had proposed this elegant, restrained design:
(
Here's an article from The Architect's Newspaper describing it and announcing their selection.)
Well, it appears the Lycée has gone in a different direction. Here's what they're advertising on their website:
I did some digging and it looks like STL Architects, with whom K+S had initially been paired, have been given full/free reign. Well, that's my take, anyway: the Lycée has been scrubbed from the project list on K+S's website and STL
makes no mention of them on theirs. They do provide these additional, updated renderings:
I like STL a lot, and I'm sure this will turn out well, but I preferred the original design.
I'm guessing the dearth of hot air balloons is what did it in.