The Battle Over Mies van der Rohe's 'Test Cell'

Right before this writer left for his extended stay abroad, he was intending to talk about the local battle taking place here in Chicago over the planned demolition of Mies van der Rohe‘s “Test Cell,” a nondescript small brick building on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology. One side, which includes the esteemed Edward Lifson, thinks it’s unthinkable to tear down the building so the city can build a new train station, arguing that the building is an important piece of history and there is vacant land everywhere around the building, so why not build there instead? On the other side, which includes architect Blair Kamin, the