06. Helstein, Ralph, Residence, Chicago, IL. Interior view of stairs, c.1951.
5806 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago, IL, 1950-1951. Hedrich-Blessing, photographer.

Constructed in 1951, the concrete and glass Helstein Residence was, other than Calumet New Town (See case 8), one of Goldberg's earliest significant uses of unfinished concrete in an exterior. Goldberg believed that concrete had "the greatest flexibility for adapting to... various conditions and forms" and that in comparison with steel, "the methods of using concrete... are much more readily available." In contrast to the weighty, coarse floor slabs and columns were the airy interiors, including this "floating" staircase.

"Architecture for Urbanism: Selections from the Bertrand Goldberg Archive," Case 3, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries, November 1, 2011–January 2, 2012