June 22, 2010 – (Above) Igor Marjanovic and Dr. Katerina Ruedi Ray sign their recently published book, “Marina City: Bertrand Goldberg’s Urban Vision” Monday evening at The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Art. About 80 people listened to Marjanovic and Ray speak for 40 minutes about Marina City architect Bertrand Goldberg and his ambitious attempt at urban revitalization.

“Our book dissects Marina City as a combination of design and social action,” Ray told the audience. “By examining the complex in this light, we try to illuminate broader architectural themes that speak to architecture’s potential as an agent of social change. Goldberg saw the architect as social facilitator, in a raw, democratic sense.”

Stephanie Whitlock, Program Officer at The Graham Foundation, sees the book, published about two weeks ago by Princeton Architectural Press, attracting a broad audience, “not just appealing to Chicagoans.”

The authors received a grant from The Graham Foundation and Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, an international initiative of Washington University in St. Louis. Marjanovic is an assistant professor of architecture at Sam Fox School. Ray is director of the School of Art at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and a former Marina City resident.