Behind the tour: Must-Hear Chicago
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CAC staff and our team of more than 450 dedicated docents are always at work creating new ways of experiencing the city. But have you ever wondered what inspires our tours? Here's the story behind Must-Hear Chicago: A Tour for the Visually Impaired.
by Nikki Snodgrass, Media Relations Manager
Why Must-Hear Chicago?
Chicago buildings are the visual aids we rely on to awe and inspire our guests as we journey through the city on our tours and talk about Chicago’s architectural legacy. But how do we tell these stories to people who are not able to experience the architecture through sight? Is there a way for us to express the beauty of our city’s buildings by engaging the senses of those who are visually impaired? Since it’s the mission of Chicago Architecture Center to share the world of architecture and design to people of all ages, levels of interest and walks of life, a group of CAC staff and volunteer docents came together to consider this unique challenge.
Look and Feel
We thought about what makes Chicago’s architecture special and were reminded that it isn’t just the look of the buildings. Things like terra cotta facades, the structural features that illustrate engineering wonders, the ornate marble beams and staircases, the spaces around the buildings—each of these is a part of what makes the sites so distinct. It’s the very physicality of architecture that helped us recognize the naturally tactile experience we could share with guests.
Getting Hands-on
Next, we’d need a way to interpret buildings as a whole. If you’ve ever visited CAC headquarters at the Railway Exchange Building, you’ll recognize our permanent Chicago Model exhibition in the atrium; it’s a 320-square-foot, 3D-printed scale depiction of downtown Chicago. Representing 400 city blocks and 1,000 buildings, the model gave us more than enough to work with. We decided to provide replicas of several buildings for guests to touch during discussion, then travel to the actual sites to touch the facades and features and talk more about the historical and architectural significance of each building.
“A CAC docent described the mosaics in the Marquette Building’s lobby and encouraged each of us to hug one of the columns at the entrance, to get a sense of the grandeur. At Chase Tower, we leaned back to [feel] the way the building slants.”
—Beth Finke, a Must-Hear Chicago tour taker
How to experience a tactile Chicago
We recently invited a group of guests with visual impairment and their companions to take the tour to find out if we had the right idea. We received lots of positive feedback, and we look forward to bringing this unique experience to others.
Our hope is that the Must-Hear Chicago tour will help our guests develop a novel, enduring appreciation for Chicago architecture in a way that they might not have been able to on other tours.
Must-Hear Chicago highlights our partnership with ADA 25 to honor the 25th anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act, and we are proud to partner with them to recognize this important milestone.
CAC would like to express our appreciation to Columbian Model and Exhibit Works and DSM Somos for designing and printing the 3D models featured in the Chicago Model and utilized in the Must-Hear Chicago tour.