Dezeen Magazine

Chicago - Five Great Buildings by Al Boardman

Motion graphics designer Al Boardman celebrates five Chicago skyscrapers in this short animation.

Chicago - Five Great Buildings by Al Boardman

Al Boardman is a British designer, but he lives and works in Chicago and wanted to pay homage to the city's architecture. "Chicago has many truly great buildings. It sits firmly on the map of global architecture and is the birthplace of the skyscraper," he explains.

Chicago - Five Great Buildings by Al Boardman

The movie presents each tower as a colourful cartoon made from bold blocks of colour and clean geometric lines.

Chicago - Five Great Buildings by Al Boardman

First up are two projects from US firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill: the 442-metre Willis Tower - more commonly known as the Sears Tower and until recently the tallest building in the US - and the 344-metre John Hancock Observatory.

Chicago - Five Great Buildings by Al Boardman

Also featured are the diamond-shaped Crain Communications Building, the corncob-like Marina City towers and Trump Tower, a hotel and apartment block owned by billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump.

Chicago - Five Great Buildings by Al Boardman

Another architectural illustration on Dezeen recently was The ABC of Architects, an animation depicting a famous building for every letter of the alphabet.

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