Today we’d like to introduce you to Lucien Lagrange.
Lucien is a French-born American architect. Born in 1940 in Montlhery, he grew up in Northern Provence with his parents, Lucien Sr. and Flora, and one brother, Michel. Lagrange studied at Le College Classique et Modern de Montelimar, Drome, France. He then moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada where he enrolled at Universite de Sherbrooke to study engineering for one year. McGill University in Montreal, then accepted him into its architecture program. After graduating, Lagrange chose Chicago as his destination to start his career due to his admiration and passion for the Beaux-Arts architecture throughout the city, especially on Lake Shore Drive.
An anti-modernist who designs high profile buildings, he has changed Chicago’s condo market, and skyline, from the mundane to the luxurious. His residential buildings, resurrecting his love of French Classical architecture, are highly sought after by those who love beauty and high culture.
Lagrange’s contribution to architecture in Chicago began with his employment at Skidmore Owings & Merrill from 1973-1985. During this period, he was the lead architect in several mixed-use buildings and hotels, including Onterie Center, Dearborn Station, 40 South LaSalle, and the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Schaumburg.
In 1985, he followed his dream and opened Lucien Lagrange Architects, specializing in hotel, high-rise residential, and historic restoration and re-adaptation projects. These projects include the renovation and restoration of landmark railroad station – Union Station in Chicago, JW Marriott Hotel, landmark 1912 Renaissance Blackstone Hotel, landmark 1929 Carbide and Carbon Building transformed into the Hard Rock Hotel, historic 1912 Insurance Exchange Building, and landmark 1919 Ambassador West Hotel.
Architects Benjamin Marshall, Richard Morris Hunt, and Henry Hobson Richardson brought Beaux-Arts architecture to Chicago in the late 1800s through the early 1900s, and Lagrange has done the same for Chicago in the past few decades, evoking Gilded Age elegance with buildings resembling European mansions and castles, but with a con- temporary sensibility. Above all, a simple philosophy drives him: fidelity to a humanistic approach to architecture, a welcoming architecture to elevate well-being by designing spaces which embrace us spatially and visually.
In the last decade, he re-defined luxury housing with buildings such as Park Tower, 65 East Goethe, the Waldorf Astoria, and the Ritz Carlton Residences in Chicago and 535 West End and Le Touraine in New York. He has also completed projects in Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia and China.
Lagrange’s strengths as a designer stem from his instinctive civility and humanity, his formidable knowledge of architectural history and his fundamental respect for architectural process.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The recessions of 1993, 2001, and 2008 were setbacks, and the challenge was paying attention to the market and what the client wanted and how that was changing and evolving with the times.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The essence of Lucien Lagrange: architectural design that inspires and validates a sense of substance, reliability and comfort. These are the words we live by at Lucien Lagrange Studio.
We believe that successful architecture enhances but does not disrupt the streetscape and that emotion and delight are more important than novelty. The best buildings caress the senses with materials and details that draw on centuries of taste, craftsmanship and interpretation.
Our work is meaningful in that it deals with both tangible and intangible factors such as history, culture, scale and demographics. We understand the logic of public, semi-private and private spaces. We believe that everyone has the right to a home that makes them feel valued and protected.
We believe that architecture requires deep knowledge of building and construction and also of people and lifestyles. We understand the process of development as well as the interplay between projects and neighborhoods. We affirm the eternal Vitruvian values that buildings must be solid, useful and beautiful.
We believe in personal, hands-on relationships with clients and encourage collaboration. We know from experience that there is more than one way to realize a project. What is important is that it ultimately meets the needs and wants of the client, the buyer and the community.
What were you like growing up?
I was a loner, but being raised on a farm, I would spend my time by the river, and building treehouses or underground shelters in the woods. I also became a long distance and track runner.
Contact Info:
- Address: 730 W Randolph St
Suite 500
Chicago, IL 60661 - Website: lucienlagrange.com
- Phone: 312-414-1096
- Email: info@lucienlagrange.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucienlagrangestudio/
Image Credit:
Bill Zbaren
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