CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[simcityaustin]

Originally Posted by honte

The base looks like it has more going on than parking. And how did the previous building not look like floors plopped atop parking levels? It's got the slanted slabs and glass garage of Comtemporaine... pretty obvious parking to me. I think the new one actually promises to be more architecturally integrated.

There is no telling from this drawing what the materials are on this tower - concrete, some kind of cladding, etc.

I don't know. The second design just looks a little contrived. What I mean by that is it just reminds me of overused designs, lines, and shapes that you see in so many other highrises these days. The first one had some more uniqueness, with the plants in the back corners. Neither was stellar, but I don't like the new render. I'de prefer the first....and this is coming from someone who likes a lot of the buildings going up in Chicago that others don't.

[TowerGuy37]

THe new design is kind of awful! Same ole samle ole seen it once, seen it on every other new block downtown!!!!!!!!!!! However, i don't blame the architects designing these concrete clad towers! As long as this city continues to let these horrendous, parking podium designs continue they will!!! Why should these architects design anything else when the city continues to let them keep designing the same old structures over and over!!!!

[Alliance]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

For those of you who didn't know (and given the calibre of sleuthers we've got here, I'm guessing that list is very small), Solstice on the Park was approved today by the Plan Commission

WONDERFUL!

Originally Posted by simcityaustin

I don't know. The second design just looks a little contrived. What I mean by that is it just reminds me of overused designs, lines, and shapes that you see in so many other highrises these days. The first one had some more uniqueness, with the plants in the back corners. Neither was stellar, but I don't like the new render. I'de prefer the first....and this is coming from someone who likes a lot of the buildings going up in Chicago that others don't.

I'd take a modern-wannabe POS anyday over another Park Tower/Elysian POS

[Tom Servo]

i fail to see what's so bad about this design???? it's glass, modern, white, clean, and not too tall...
B+L does great work...

[simcityaustin]

It's not so bad, just a 'seen it done before' type of feel. At least the Elysian is unique in the design of what's currntly going up, even if it's not done perfectly. I'll take it over nothing, that's for sure. And the podium itself is somewhat interesting, especially the top.

[Alliance]

Originally Posted by simcityaustin

It's not so bad, just a 'seen it done before' type of feel. At least the Elysian is unique in the design of what's currntly going up, even if it's not done perfectly. I'll take it over nothing, that's for sure. And the podium itself is somewhat interesting, especially the top.

*Unique* *Interesting*

"I don't want to be interesting. I want to be good."

[the urban politician]

Did anybody here happen to go to yesterday's Plan Commission meeting?

I'm particularly interested in how Children's Memorial Hospital plans to incorporate the 1,100 car garage Reilly rammed up their asses into the site plan.

[10023]

Originally Posted by honte

The base looks like it has more going on than parking. And how did the previous building not look like floors plopped atop parking levels? It's got the slanted slabs and glass garage of Contemporaine... pretty obvious parking to me. I think the new one actually promises to be more architecturally integrated.

There is no telling from this drawing what the materials are on this tower - concrete, some kind of cladding, etc.

I'd give you 4 to 1 odds that the non-window material we're seeing is painted concrete. Now, this can be done fairly well, like Skybridge, or look like crap, as evidenced by about 632 other recent projects. When was the last time there was a white cladding material used other than concrete, Sofitel?

My premise, which I think is true, is that parking is less obvious when its flush with the rest of the tower than when it has a larger footprint. For examples of the latter, just look around River North. For examples of the former, look at Trump Tower, or soon enough Waterview, or 600 N. Fairbanks. The Fairbanks building is what I thought the original design most resembled, which is a good thing for a basic infill residential.

I also don't like the strong horizontal lines in the tower. It's a pretty wide slab and the facade is going to accentuate that.

[i_am_hydrogen]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

For those of you who didn't know (and given the calibre of sleuthers we've got here, I'm guessing that list is very small), Solstice on the Park was approved today by the Plan Commission

Great news. The approvals of Solstice, Fountain Square, and Children's Hospital give me hope that it's still possible to triumph over those pesky NIMBYs.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Did anybody here happen to go to yesterday's Plan Commission meeting?

I'm particularly interested in how Children's Memorial Hospital plans to incorporate the 1,100 car garage Reilly rammed up their asses into the site plan.

I went.


God was it long. The CMH presentation lasted for like 2.5 hours with them touting "their experts". It wasn't mentioned where the parking garage will be located, and it wasn't really the alderman who shoved 1,100 spaces for parking up CMH/NW asses, they thenselves at previous meetings said they'd be short this number of spaces.

[wrab]

Count me as one of those who likes the redesign of 535 SC: nice & crisp; the parking podium looks as though it is clad in translucent glass?

And great news about Solstice. Now maybe we'll get some new renders from Studio/Gang.

[pilsenarch]

I like it too, although I think the new rendering isn't a very good one.

More importantly, if this is a Brininstool + Lynch design, I would be very concerned about the type and quality of the materials used....just take a close look at many of their completed projects.....paticularly w/ modernism, god is indeed in the details.....

[Tom In Chicago]

Alliance - well, it is symmetrical

No it isn't. . .

[F1 Tommy]

It does have a cookie cutter look about it.Its funny in this day and age of "LOOK AT ME" we have so much cloning going on.Boring design.

[Ecker]

155 North Wacker








If you look closely you'll see 4 projects under construction in this one

[Alliance]

Originally Posted by F1 Tommy

It does have a cookie cutter look about it.Its funny in this day and age of "LOOK AT ME" we have so much cloning going on.Boring design.

Thanks god we don't have more "LOOK AT ME."

[honte]

Originally Posted by 10023

I'd give you 4 to 1 odds that the non-window material we're seeing is painted concrete. Now, this can be done fairly well, like Skybridge, or look like crap, as evidenced by about 632 other recent projects. When was the last time there was a white cladding material used other than concrete, Sofitel?

First off, no one knows what color it's going to be. But to answer your question, 340 On The Park and Avenue East both make us of white metal panel systems. MoMo is clad in white-painted glass, like Sofitel.

It probably will be concrete. B+L even have been known to (gasp) leave their concrete unpainted on some recent projects here. Pilsenarch is right though - their designs often suffer from inferior materials and somewhat careless detailing.

[Tom Servo]

i only see three: b37, momo, trump... 4th is?

EDIT*
nevermind. i see it's that hotel next to the college at state and lake...

[Tom Servo]

hey guys... i'm too lazy to travel around the city... so can i make a photo request?????


dwight building add on **** i really want to see how this one is shaping up
1401 s state
vetro
1720 s michigan
burnham point

pleeeeeeeease if anyone is doing some photo touring can you swing by these for me???

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

i fail to see what's so bad about this design???? it's glass, modern, white, clean, and not too tall...
B+L does great work...

Agree!

I think this is fine. I think I know why some people have taken exception to this redesign - because of the perhaps lack of design integration between the tower and base, at least compared with the initial design, which I also liked. However, this new design is still better than 75% of what is currently under construction downtown........I think we're looking at a dividing point in people's architecture and urban design preferences - put it this way, what would people rather have - the redesigned 535 - which many people might see coming up a little short urban design-wise, but a very clean-lined and modern aesthetic from B-L, or the upcoming twin-tower Kinzie Station project, which as many have pointed out seems to be pretty decent with the urban design and street-level integration but is more "contemporary deco" POS from P/H? To me - the answer is very clear - I would take more of the above from B-L over more Kinzie Site A junk from P/H anyday.......

Also, I do see what others have pointed out - the finished product from B-L tends to be less-than-finely detailed - however I would still take more of it than PoMo junk, beige concrete and tiny concrete cut-out windows which defined so much of what was built here in the last 10 years (and from which we are just really beginning to recover from)...