He returned to the Chicago and Vicinity show the following year. John Corbett (writer) would later describe the split-level form as follows: One of the innovative aspects of the split-level is it had a solution to a basic problem, which had to do with how you create a sense of depth in a painting without resorting to conventional perspective techniques. How could you have a painting that felt like there was a sense of dimension at least in a cubist way? Split-level introduces literal dimensionality to paintings ... They have a real sense of depth; you can look through it. In 1957, Meinecke's split-level work "Heterogeneous Icon" achieved notoriety in the Art Institute's 'No-Jury' exhibition at Navy Pier: an article in The New Republic described it as "the only painting in the show that pushes back the frontiers of art". In an interview for a local newspaper, the artist explained that the construction "symbolizes much that is primitive and much that is sophisticated about man and his development." After that, he was invited to the 1958 No-Jury Exhibition and another Chicago and Vicinity show in 1959. He continued to exhibit in Chicago, including with the Renaissance Society, as well as in Michigan. In 1975, a chance encounter with Meinecke's son brought Chicago Surrealists Penelope and Franklin Rosemont into the artist's studio. This serendipitous meeting resulted in a lifelong friendship, and incidentally Meinecke's inclusion in the Chicago Surrealist Group's 1976 exhibition, entitled "Marvelous Freedom - Vigilance of Desire". Meinecke continued to paint until 2000, when carpal tunnel syndrome forced him to put down his brush. "Heterogeneous Icons", his last show while still living, was co-curated by John Corbett (writer) and experimental musician Hal Rammel, and held at the Art Institute's 1926 gallery in 2003. Exhibitions curated by his sons in 2014, a decade after his death, offered many works which had never previously been made available to the public. In the early 60s, Meinecke turned an interest in architectural design into more practical study at the suggestion of his wife, and began to design buildings. Since he was entirely self-taught, Meinecke needed a licensed architect to sign off on the plans he created, and an acquaintance got him in touch with former Keck associate Robert Bruce Tague. For about a decade, from the late 60s through the late 70s, under the name Meinecke Studio, they designed and built condominiums, individual homes and commercial structures comprising "hundreds of units" in contemporary styles.