Quote:
Originally Posted by Notyrview
Tom Servo, why do you like this bldg so much?
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I'll give you a short summarization of my thoughts:
The base is my favorite part. It's clean and sophisticated without exceeding a human scale. I like the airy, all glass aesthetic and how open it is to the street. I think it is important that buildings of this size don't overwhelm the human element as much as is possible; buildings of this size should be designed so as to minimize their size and immensity. Accordingly, I think it is exceedingly difficult to design tall buildings well, as is evident in far too many skyscrapers designs city-wide. This base does well to mitigate the hulking and dominating presence of a 600 foot tall tower and also serves well, visually, as an amenities
block.
As a whole, I like the visual separation of the tower's program. The geometric break between its residential portion and both its hotel sections are well illustrated in three separate sections and then a fourth distinct visual break again at the bottom. I like this. I like how well defined the program is while maintaining a clean, cohesive look and feel. Form follows program, right? Isn't that the prevailing modernist design attitude today?
Anyway, I'm a fan of simplistic, modern design, and this is exactly that. I'm a fan of bKL's work, as I've said many times before. I except this building will maintain the details and execution we saw with 345. And if 345 E Wacker is evidence of bKL's simplistic mastery of material, then I except no less refined elegance in this tower.
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