Stanley Tigerman, Illinois Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 1978

The late Chicago-born architect Stanley Tigerman was celebrated for his whimsical and humane approach to design. One of the most brilliant examples of his work is the Illinois Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in his native city. The walls of the building’s interior and exterior are dazzling shades of red and yellow because, Tigerman wrote, “the last thing a blind person can ‘see’ is bright colour bathed in light.” On one side of the building, a wave-like window echoes the shape of an undulating countertop located in the library’s central space, a deliberately tactile, interactive surface for visitors to read at.