This CTA canopy at Lake and Wells streets is a modern interpretation of earlier Michigan Avenue public transportation canopies. Lightweight curved channels hang from U-shaped columns and echo the structure of the adjacent "El." Heavy granite walls lead to the ticketing mezzanine.

According to Teng & Associates Inc.'s principal design architect Thomas Hoepf, AIA, this project was particularly satisfying because the city of Chicago "had vision."

Jurors cited this project for its contextual complexities, its straightforward detailing, its artistry, and its role as a great piece of urban infill. Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune agrees. In a recent review, he called the project "superior public architecture, endowing the mundane act of boarding a subway with a sense of ceremony."


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