And the Oscar Goes to . . . Divergent - Production Design: Walter Netsch and Helmut Jahn

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If you were watching the VMA awards this weekend, you probably saw this early trailer for the Shailene Woodley/Theo James/Miles Teller/Kate Winslet film Divergent, scheduled to be released next March.  The film - and the Veronica Roth novel on which it's based - is set in a dystopian future version of Chicago.  Yeah, I know - the more things change . . .

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It was only this past June that we showed you the Divergent village that had been constructed on the long empty Grand Central Station site in the South Loop, which you can see in the film with pretty much the same architectural backdrop as in our photograph . . .

But Divergent director Neil - Yale-grad-just-like-Blair - Burger and Production Designer Andy Nicholson didn't limit their set design to custom-built construction. 

Apparently, if you want a glimpse of what the future will look like, you have only to hop down to 57th and Ellis on the U of C campus, where the library power combo of Walter Netsch's Regenstein and Helmut Jahn's Mansueto are standing in for the headquarters of what I'm betting is some kind of evil empire. 

Which of Divergent's five factions do they house? Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless or Erudite?  And - whatever faction - will there be field theory and archi-neering?  And cake?

(If you can identify other Chicago locations in the trailer, please let us know in a comment.)

Read More:

Divergent at Lionsgate website

Hilberseimer Place?  Divergent's Housing on Harrison.

Helmut Jahn's Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago

No Maas Tuesday, but Stroik, Hillebrand, Mars (Roman) Holy Name, Mischa Leiner, Bill Latoza, John Norquist and more - New Additions to the April Calendar!

We've just added over half a dozen more great items to the April Calendar of Chicago Architectural Events.

First the bad news:  MVRDV's Winy Maas has cancelled his Tuesday lecture at UIC, to be rescheduled this Fall.  However, that afternoon, architect Duncan G. Stroik will be at Fourth Presbyterian Church for the Society of Architectural Historians/Chicago Chapter (registration was officially closed last Monday, but if you're motivated, engage your inner resourcefulness.) 

This Wednesday, April 10th, the Graham has a panel discussion on The Artist as Philanthropist: Artist-Endowed Foundations as a New Force in Cultural Philanthropy.  This Saturday, the American Planning Association kicks off its five-day 2013 National Planning Conference at the Hyatt Regency.

On Thursday, the 18th, Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple in Oak Park hosts 99% Invisible's Roman Mars, while on Friday the 26th, the IIT Armour College of Engineering will be at Maggiano's Little Italy with a lecture by Richard Kristie of Wiss, Janney, Elstner on The Repair of Holy Name Cathedral, and on Saturday the 27th at Francis Parker, Argonne Lab's Don Hillebrand will talk about Chicago: A Leader in Energy and Technology Breakthroughs.

This week, Mischa Leiner of CoDe will be at UIC on Monday the 8th, Bill Latoza discusses Walter Netsch's Legacy in Chicago's Parks for Friends of the Parks at the Cliff Dwellers on Tuesday, the Congress for the New Urbanism's John Norquist will talk about The Market Embraces Urbanism at CAF lunchtime on Wednesday.

And there's much, much more, this week and beyond.  When we first put up the calendar, we said we had over 50 items.  Now, we're a week into the month and we still have over 50 great items.  Check out the April Calendar of Chicago Architectural Events.