Wrightwood 659

This guide to Wrightwood 659 in Chicago follows a nineteen-twenties Lincoln Park apartment block through a transformation few passersby would guess: the Alphawood Foundation handing it to architect Tadao Ando, known for some of the starkest concrete buildings on earth. You'll hear how his crew stripped the interior while keeping the brick facade, then reused bricks from the building's own walls rather than discarding them. Listen for how those salvaged bricks resurface inside, beside Ando's concrete stairs.