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  • The plaza outside Chicago's new Apple store, photographed Oct. 19,...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The plaza outside Chicago's new Apple store, photographed Oct. 19, 2017, looks over the Chicago River.

  • An amphitheater inside Chicago's new Apple store overlooks the Chicago River.

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    An amphitheater inside Chicago's new Apple store overlooks the Chicago River.

  • The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier, fits more than 800 seats in its current configuration on Setp. 20, 2017.

  • The stairwell from the main floor of the new Apple...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The stairwell from the main floor of the new Apple store to the ground floor on Oct. 19, 2017.

  • Apple devices are set up Oct. 19, 2017, inside Chicago's...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Apple devices are set up Oct. 19, 2017, inside Chicago's new Apple store, which is on Michigan Avenue and overlooks the Chicago River.

  • Apple devices are set up Oct. 19, 2017, inside Chicago's...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Apple devices are set up Oct. 19, 2017, inside Chicago's new Apple store, which is on Michigan Avenue overlooking the Chicago River.

  • Outside The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Outside The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier on Sept. 20, 2017.

  • The interior of Chicago's new Apple store is seen Oct....

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The interior of Chicago's new Apple store is seen Oct. 19, 2017. The flagship store on Michigan Avenue is slated to open Oct. 20.

  • The lobby of The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The lobby of The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier, on Sept. 20, 2017.

  • People enjoy the warm weather near the Apple Store along...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    People enjoy the warm weather near the Apple Store along the Riverwalk on Feb. 27, 2018.

  • A view of the lobby inside The Yard at Chicago...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    A view of the lobby inside The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier, on Sept. 20, 2017.

  • The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier, Sept. 20, 2017

  • Passersby look inside the new Chicago flagship Apple store at...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Passersby look inside the new Chicago flagship Apple store at Pioneer Court on Oct. 19, 2017, a day before it opens.

  • Inside The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Inside The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier, on Sept. 20, 2017.

  • The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier on Sept. 20, 2017.

  • The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier, on Sept. 20, 2017.

  • Boats on the Chicago River and their reflections are seen...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Boats on the Chicago River and their reflections are seen from the east side of the Apple store looking from the top floor to the bottom floor on Oct. 19, 2017.

  • In its current configuration, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    In its current configuration, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier, seats more than 800.

  • People sit outside near the Apple Store next to the...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    People sit outside near the Apple Store next to the Chicago River on a sunny day, Feb. 27, 2018.

  • The staircase on the west side of the new Apple...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The staircase on the west side of the new Apple store that has a rail that is on both sides of the building on Oct. 19, 2017.

  • Viewing Chicago's new Apple store from across the river. The...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Viewing Chicago's new Apple store from across the river. The store opens Oct. 20, 2017.

  • The lower floor of the new Apple store, photographed Oct....

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The lower floor of the new Apple store, photographed Oct. 19, 2017, features a state-of-the-art screen for teaching. The store, at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River, is scheduled to open Oct. 20.

  • Unity Temple in Oak Park in May 2017.

    Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune

    Unity Temple in Oak Park in May 2017.

  • Looking up at the Pioneer Court Apple store from a...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Looking up at the Pioneer Court Apple store from a riverside plaza on Oct. 19, 2017, a day before the Chicago flagship store is scheduled to open.

  • Passersby look at Chicago's new Apple store at Pioneer Court...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Passersby look at Chicago's new Apple store at Pioneer Court on Oct. 19, 2017. The store opens Oct. 20.

  • Inside the upstairs lobby of The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare,...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Inside the upstairs lobby of The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, the newest addition to Navy Pier on Sept. 20, 2017.

  • An overview of the Apple store, taken Oct. 19, 2017,...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    An overview of the Apple store, taken Oct. 19, 2017, looking from the west side to the east side of the store.

  • The Chicago River can be seen when looking through the...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The Chicago River can be seen when looking through the new Apple store on Oct. 19, 2017. The Michigan Avenue store was open for a media preview.

  • The underside of the new Apple store's rooftop is seen,...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    The underside of the new Apple store's rooftop is seen, with reflections of the nearby Wrigley Building in its glass.

  • Architect Stefan Behling of Foster + Partners designed the new...

    Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune

    Architect Stefan Behling of Foster + Partners designed the new Apple store, which opens Oct. 20, 2017.

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With a new architecture biennial, a big Frank Lloyd Wright anniversary and a series of small gems, it was a very good year for Chicago architecture. Here are the highlights:

A Chicago double for L.A. architects: The second version of the Chicago Architecture Biennial built on the legacy of the first biennial with a show, titled “Make New History,” that explored how a new generation of architects is looking backward to move forward.

The curators of the exhibition, Los Angeles architects Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, shaped an elegant, albeit esoteric, framework that showcased work by more than 140 designers from over 20 countries. And they demonstrated how their “Make New History” approach can work in a modestly scaled but exemplary renovation of the common spaces inside the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

The right move for Mr. Wright: In a year that marked the 150th anniversary of Frank Lloyd Wright’s birth, one of the most important events was the triumphant restoration of Wright’s Unity Temple, the Oak Park landmark that is the finest public building of Wright’s Chicago years and home to one of the most beautiful rooms in America.

A team of consultants led by Chicago’s Harboe Architects lavished exacting care on every aspect of the project, from the restoration of jewel-like art glass to the recreation of textured plaster walls. Chicago’s Alphawood Foundation contributed a $10 million lead grant.

Rising to the challenge: 150 North Riverside, a gutsy slope-bottomed office tower along the Chicago River, delivered a notable exception to the banality of Chicago’s high-rise building boom.

Wedged into a 2-acre site once considered unbuildable, the powerfully sculpted skyscraper wrote the latest chapter in the fabled Chicago story of integrating engineering and architecture. The design team was led by Chicago architects Goettsch Partners and Seattle-based Magnusson Klemencic Associates.

Good things in small packages, city: The much-awaited Apple store at 401 N. Michigan Ave. lived up to expectations with thrillingly transparent glass walls, an ultra-thin roof of lightweight carbon fiber and an expansive interior that overlooked the Chicago River.

The architects, London-based Foster + Partners, and their client, the Cupertino, Calif., computer giant, considered and then wisely rejected a rooftop Apple logo that would have made the two-story store resemble an oversized laptop. A gem of less-is-more modernism, the store marked the latest milestone in the city’s long-term push to upgrade its once-industrial downtown riverfront.

Good things in small packages, suburbs: Can a factory be beautiful? Yes, if it’s the Trumpf Smart Factory in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates.

Designed by Berlin architects Barkow Leibinger as an outpost of a leading machine tool manufacturer based near Stuttgart, Germany, the small but stylish factory shows potential clients what Trumpf’s digitally networked machines can make out of sheet metal. Its architecture, simultaneously robust and refined, is highlighted by a catwalk that threads through a spectacular row of roof trusses, giving an overview of its column-free factory floor.

An outdoor hub for Cub fans: A smartly designed outdoor plaza that replaced grungy surface parking lots outside historic Wrigley Field, the Park at Wrigley was a surprising public-space hit.

Young fans, apparently unable to remain in their seats for an entire nine innings, romped around its grassy section during games. The plaza’s brick-paved zone, which includes fountains and a bandstand, proved equally popular. There’s also activity on non-game days, including such winter attractions as an ice skating rink. The Chicago office of Edmonton, Alberta-based Stantec designed the plaza and an adjacent Cubs office building.

An indoor hub for future CEOs: At once visually dynamic and calmly ordered, the atrium of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management building created an instant indoor town square for students at the elite business school.

Linking the building’s four wings, the light-filled atrium features curving white balconies that echo the exterior’s water-inspired curves and two flights of wide wood steps where students check their smartphones, write on their laptops, eat and people-watch. Toronto-based KPMB Architects designed the building, which Northwestern calls the Global Hub.

An innovative new theater at Navy Pier: The pier’s ongoing transformation from gaudy, hyper-commercialism to an appealing public space took a significant step forward with The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare.

Designed by Chicago’s Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture with the British theater consulting firm Charcoalblue, the Yard features nine movable seating towers that can be arranged in a variety of configurations. Located inside the awkward tent of the pier’s old Skyline Stage, which had to be retained for financial reasons, it’s a solid example of working creatively within severe constraints of time, budget and a challenging site.

In Detroit, a downtown revival takes hold: After decades of being the poster child for urban decay, Detroit celebrated key steps toward recovery. The city opened a streetcar line on Woodward Avenue, its main drag, while the Red Wings and Pistons started playing in the city-friendly Little Caesars Arena, which joined the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park to create a cluster of downtown sports attractions.

There is still a long way to go, especially in the vast stretches of vacant land outside downtown. But Detroit’s planning director, Maurice Cox, has turned the city into a must-see laboratory for the reimagining and remaking of a shrinking city.

Fond farewells: We lost Ed Uhlir, the low-key Chicago architect who helped bring to life the high-wattage visual spectacle of Millennium Park and had an equally distinguished career at the Chicago Park District; John Macsai, the Chicago architect who designed Lincolnwood’s Purple Hotel and Lake Shore Drive high-rises; and Chicago architect Carter Manny Jr., a partner at the firm of C.F. Murphy Associates and director of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

Further afield, deaths of major design figures included Gunnar Birkerts, the Detroit-area architect whose major buildings included an acclaimed addition to the University of Michigan Law Library, and the Yale architectural historian Vincent Scully, who enlightened generations of students with his theatrical lectures and served on the jury that in 1988 selected Chicago architect Thomas Beeby’s postmodern design for the Harold Washington Library Center.

Blair Kamin is a Tribune critic.

bkamin@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @BlairKamin