'It's like a big piece of sculpture from the mid-1930s that you live in."

That's how Michael Marienthal describes residing within a piece of the Windy City's architectural history: a 72-year-old Gold Coast apartment building designed by architect Andrew Nicholas Rebori (1886-1966). The designated Chicago landmark is a rare and stunning example of the Art Moderne style, with its signature curved brick facade and glass block windows. A bronze plaque on a hefty sidewalk pedestal, bestowed by landmark officials, exclaims it's "...one of the city's best examples of pre-World War II modernism."

PHOTO GALLERY

Architectural Digest gem

Marienthal, a Chicago-based photographer, bought the largest residence in the courtyard building in 2000 and spent several years bringing the 2,200-square-foot unit back to its former glory. Today the architecture- and culture-loving Chicagoan's sweat equity and labor-intensive sensitivity to original detailing was recently awarded with a place in the September issue of Architectural Digest, now on newsstands.

Marienthal was selected for the magazine's first-ever Open Auditions challenge, a nationwide search for new residential interior designs. The new issue, "Designers' Own Homes," presents Marienthal's condo as well as the homes of three others who submitted portfolios. Applicants had to present their design entries in person before a panel of editors, who last fall met and reviewed approximately 1,500 submissions from professional and non-professional designers.

Appearing in the September issue with Marienthal are: Margaret Rose of Sydney, Australia; William Wickwire of Big Bear, Calif. and Tony and Cyndi Chatman of Gainsville, Ga. Additional finalists' work will be published in subsequent issues. The magazine will launch its second year of Open Auditions on Oct. 15 in New York City.

"The whole notion for Open Auditions was to dispel the myth that you have to know someone at the magazine to have your home featured," said a magazine spokeswoman. "So, we came up with the auditions to bring attention to the fact that anyone can submit their home. You don't have to know anyone."

For many home restorators and renovators, one of the big payoffs of countless hours of hard work, complex design choices and hefty construction costs is the coveted coverage of Architectural Digest.

Critics say the magazine is the definitive design magazine with an audience of 4.6 million readers. The magazine takes readers to stunning residences around the world by presenting the work of architects and interior designers as well as profiles of celebrity residences.

Marienthal, a magazine subscriber, says he saw an advertisement for Open Auditions last year. "I thought: 'Well my home fits into this.' I felt I had a strong box of information for the judges and was confident. So, I went to New York City last October and submitted eight black-and-white photographs with brownish tones that I photographed as well as historical information," he said.

Earlier this year, Marienthal was notified that home was selected for publication.

Rebori's "Fisher Studio Houses" was built in 1936 for Frank Fisher Jr., an executive of Marshall Field & Co. To accommodate the narrow lot size, all of the 13 apartments face a side courtyard, which runs perpendicular to the street.

The long-rectangular-shaped building has four stories and each of the 12 apartments are duplexes.

Marienthal lives in Fisher's original apartment, a triplex located at the end of the courtyard. The Fisher Studio Houses is a study in the use of architectural curves, winding exterior and interior staircases and an abundance of glass block windows.

The unique building was further distinguished with handcrafted ornamentation -- terra cotta animal reliefs and Art Glass windows -- by artist Edgar Miller.

When Marienthal bought the apartment, it was "a complete wreck with no kitchen or bathrooms, a missing wood floor and insulation was sticking out from the walls and ceiling," he said. "I'll never forget when I entered the owner's unit for the first time. I was taken aback at how jaw-droppingly beautiful it was. The light was nothing short of magical as it wrapped around the curves. It was like encountering a long forgotten silent film star. Plus, most of the important original details -- cove lights, curved plaster stairwells, original glass block and curved walls -- were still there and in excellent shape despite being sabotaged by earlier renovations."

Marienthal's logical recourse was a total gut restoration. But he faced an unusual challenge. Rebori's modernism wasn't doctrinaire and predictable. "Rebori was a chameleon," Marienthal said. "He typically designed a building according to the owner's request, so each of Rebori's buildings are different. However, Fisher gave Rebori the freedom to do what he wanted and use the materials that he wanted. That's why this building is Rebori's proudest achievement."

Rebori's other Chicago buildings included the Roanoke Building (1925), the Elizabeth Arden Building (1926), Loyola University's Madonna della Strada Chapel (1939) and the La Salle-Wacker Building (1930).

He also is renowned for his design of "The Streets of Paris" at the Century of Progress exposition in 1934. The fair featured a collection of picturesque villages from foreign lands and ancient streetscapes.

To remain true to the original architectural integrity of Fisher's apartment, Marienthal enlisted the help of local architect Darcy Bonner of Darcy Bonner & Associates. Marienthal also found a 1937 issue of Architectural Forum featuring the Fisher Studio Houses.

"It listed the materials that were used and where they were used. For example, it said the kitchen had stainless steel cabinets, backsplash and appliances. So, that's what I put back in. There were also photographs of the rooms, so I was able to see how it looked when Fisher lived here," he said.

Marienthal's triplex features a first-floor store room that is now a garage; a second floor with living room, kitchen and library/den, and a third floor with two bedrooms. The multi-height living room features a spectacular two-story expanse of glass block windows and an overlooking third-floor loft.

The living room steps up to the library/den area that has a pair of exquisite Art Glass windows designed by Miller, with large expanses of clear glass, etchings of animals and small patterns of stained glass.

"The space Rebori built for Fisher is sculpture masquerading as a home," Marienthal said. "Upon entering you feel the volume in the apportioning of cubic feet rather than the usual flatness of square footage. Ceiling heights range from a low of seven feet in the intimate winding first stairway to 19 feet for the second spiral stairwell.

"Rebori played with volume and ceiling height the way Erroll Garner played the piano -- he used all the keys."

To bring the apartment back to 1936, Marienthal says his working mantra was: "What would Andrew think?"

"I was adamant that any change be so seamless that one would never know a given area or detail wasn't original. The last thing I wanted to hear was a compliment on 'the new area.'"

Since 95 percent of the original details were intact, Marienthal worked with "a light hand."

However, some changes needed to be made. The old master bedroom and third bedroom were pinched. The master bathroom was ordinary except for a wall of glass block. To solve the problem, Marienthal combined two of the condo's three bedrooms into one master bedroom that still features a serpentine-like expanse of glass block windows.

A master bath was created from one of the two originals by adding a large white plaster column to house a shower stall bedecked in tiny tiles typical of the 1930s. The other bath and a new powder room were given new floors that look exactly like old original bathroom flooring of that period.

"I have no doubt that the old master would have nodded approvingly," Marienthal said.