CHICAGO | St. Regis Chicago (Vista) | 1,191 FT | 101 FLOORS - Page 259

pianowizard · #**5161** Posted **Dec 30, 2018, 4:45 PM**

An interesting thing I just noticed is that residential skyscrapers virtually never have spires, at least in the US. Park Tower in Chicago seems to be the tallest one that has spires, and they are tiny ones (20 ft).

I am not saying that Vista shouldn't have spires just because so few residential or mixed-use buildings have them, but it seems to me that when it comes to such buildings, developers care much more about function than bragging rights. I think someone asked Central Park Tower's developer and/or architect why they didn't add a spire to make it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and they said "we don't care about being the tallest".

UPDATE: By "mixed-use buildings" I mean primarily residential buildings that also include a little bit of other uses such as hotel and retail.

Ricochet48 · #**5162** Posted **Dec 30, 2018, 5:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianowizard

An interesting thing I just noticed is that residential skyscrapers virtually never have spires, at least in the US. Park Tower in Chicago seems to be the tallest one that has spires, and they are tiny ones (20 ft).

Grand Plaza has decorative spires on each tower (much larger than 20ft).

Of course Trump does as well (although it's also an antenna of course).

Vista would look odd with one imo as it flows in and out with a clear tiered finish.

pianowizard · #**5163** Posted **Dec 30, 2018, 5:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricochet48

Of course Trump does as well (although it's also an antenna of course).

I should have been clearer when I wrote "mixed use". By that I meant buildings that are primarily residential, though they also have a little bit of other uses such as hotel. To me Trump Hotel & Tower is primarily hotel, as reflected in its name.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricochet48

Vista would look odd with one imo as it flows in and out with a clear tiered finish.

I tend to dislike spires but I actually kind of like this:

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomrQT

BonoboZill4 · #**5164** Posted **Dec 30, 2018, 6:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricochet48

Of course Trump does as well (although it's also an antenna of course).

A spire cannot be an antenna

jjk113 · #**5165** Posted **Dec 30, 2018, 7:12 PM**

......I'm down in Mexico for the winter....so I haven't followed closely.......but.....how far away from top out is it ?

kolchak · #**5166** Posted **Dec 30, 2018, 8:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harryc

( formerly the Wanda from Webster )

Dec 24

Great shots Harry. Looks to me that the crane is going to jump again.

SFBruin · #**5167** Posted **Dec 30, 2018, 8:46 PM**

Yes, the more I look at the design, I agree that the design is best as is. I am sorry for suggesting a spire haha.

pianowizard · #**5168** Posted **Dec 30, 2018, 10:11 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFBruin

I am sorry for suggesting a spire haha.

No need to apologize! In fact, thanks for the suggestion because it got us thinking hard about various possibilities. It seems to me that a spire might enhance Vista when the building is viewed from certain angles, although other angles might not benefit from a spire. For instance, I have always found it a bit uncomfortable to look at Vista straight on, as shown in the photo below, probably because I am mostly used to buildings that are symmetrical. So I wonder if a spire or two could improve this view.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan81

cozy · #**5169** Posted **Dec 30, 2018, 11:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricochet48

Of course Trump does as well (although it's also an antenna of course).

it is? are we sure? i thought it was just put there to secure #3 height but have no source

SFBruin · #**5170** Posted **Dec 31, 2018, 12:01 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianowizard

No need to apologize! In fact, thanks for the suggestion because it got us thinking hard about various possibilities.

Okay cool, I'm glad.

Ricochet48 · #**5171** Posted **Dec 31, 2018, 12:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cozy

it is? are we sure? i thought it was just put there to secure #3 height but have no source

Looks like I erroneously assumed it was. Looks to be just a decorative spire. My bad.

Chicago E · #**5172** Posted **Dec 31, 2018, 5:32 PM**

I have enjoyed watching Vista being built. This is definitely going to be one of Chicago's notable buildings in the future and quite honestly I don't want to see it top out! Can we hope they keep going higher and higher? I could be very happy at 1,500 ft...lol. When I drive northbound on LSD this building is breathtaking. What a difference from when I was younger and drove with my parents on the old S curve. This building actually sits on or very near the actual S curve of LSD back in the day. Great city planning and great architecture for this great city! Happy New Year to all.

rgarri4 · #**5173** Posted **Jan 1, 2019, 12:00 AM**

A spire would look out of place and very tacked on. But if it were going to have a spire, for Christ sake put it on the west side of the tallest portion. The massing steps up to the west. Wouldn't you want the tallest point to the farthest west? Just my opinion.

Elliphant · #**5174** Posted **Jan 1, 2019, 2:12 AM**

I stand by this

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elliphant

If I could make one change

Dylan Dude · #**5175** Posted **Jan 2, 2019, 6:16 AM**

Never realized it till now but it looks a lot like the Willis tower, cuz the shape, the way it's like 3 separate towers and they're all different heights

pianowizard · #**5176** Posted **Jan 2, 2019, 3:15 PM**

Yes this does look very nice, but do we want three of Chicago's five tallest buildings to have similar-looking double spires/antennas? Actually the sixth tallest in Chicago, Franklin Center, has two pairs of closely spaced spires, which sort of look like having two spires.

Steely Dan · #**5177** Posted **Jan 2, 2019, 4:12 PM**

* moderator note *

off topic discussion moved to the general discussion thread: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...208431&page=41

officialroyce · #**5178** Posted **Jan 2, 2019, 9:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianowizard

TK2001, are you sure there's still so much left to go? Of course I hope you are right, but according to the photo below which was taken from a sufficiently far vantage point that's practically equidistant from Vista and Aon, these two buildings are now nearly the same height, so I thought Vista is pretty close to topping out, like just 3 or 4 more floors above the core.

I believe he is correct or at least the closest in assumption. What I've not seen anyone mention in this thread -- and I could be completely wrong -- is Vista's roof height being compared to Trump Tower's roof height. Vista's roof will top out at a height taller than Trump and they pretty much start at the same or a very close base level. They are approximately 0.4 miles apart with about a four minute walk in between them. Trump's roof height is 1,171 feet and Vista will have a roof height of 1,191 feet. Aon tops out at 1,136. So, for me, it seem that when comparing, it's more logical to compare these two versus Vista and Aon -- especially when considering how much further Vista has til topped out. But that's just my two cents. Hope it helps.

The Lurker · #**5179** Posted **Jan 2, 2019, 10:03 PM**

^Thanks! Can't believe that hadn't occurred to us before.

BrinChi · #**5180** Posted **Jan 3, 2019, 5:57 AM**

On the topic of spires, I've always wondered how tall buildings handle lighting strikes when they don't have a spire. Obviously Sears and Hancock absorb the majority of building strikes in Chicago, but in some cities the tallest buildings don't have spires.