CHICAGO | Aqua | 858 FT / 262 M | 87 FLOORS

[hi123]

^ hopefully the caisson driling will be as speedy as the legacy tower! Perhaps we will have a crane in a couple months

[Kngkyle]

Will there be more than one tower crane? I'd think yes.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

Bvic, isn't Aqua going to be bell cassions only? I thought it was going to become the tallest building in Chicago supported only by hardpan and not any rock anchors... I just swear I read that somewhere back. 640 OTP is the current tallest and I thought that Aqua was supposed to pass it up. Am I crazy or right?

No, this one definately has some that go down to rock.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

No, this one definately has some that go down to rock.

Oh, I thought I heard that a while back, but 640 has only hardpan right?

[UglymanCometh]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

keep in mind, i LOVE boxes when they're done well.

great minds do indeed think alike.

At first, I wasn't too sure about Aqua, but the more I look at it, the more I like it... better yet, love it.

Besides, what's not to love about a residential tower approaching 900 feet?

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

Oh, I thought I heard that a while back, but 640 has only hardpan right?

340 not 640, and yes, 340 On the Park are all hardpan

[Horio]

Originally Posted by Kngkyle2

Will there be more than one tower crane? I'd think yes.

Expect a couple for the podium, and one for the tower itself.

[honte]

By Emily Stone
Crain's Chicago Business

Jeanne Gang
Principal Studio Gang Architects

The director of the Starlight Theatre, Mike Webb, wanted a way to shield his outdoor audience from summer rain. He loved the concept of a retractable roof for the Rockford venue, but assumed it would be logistically impossible and financially infeasible. His architect, Jeanne Gang, disagreed.

She designed 40-foot-long, triangular wooden panels that open like flower petals to reveal the night sky, meant to evoke the sparkling chandeliers of old-fashioned theaters. The panels are wired to an Internet weather service so they close automatically in high winds or when rain threatens. What's more, because Ms. Gang wanted to create an air of suspense, she insisted the mechanics be hidden and operate silently.

"She really wanted it so you couldn't figure out how it was done," Mr. Webb says. "Everyone's mouths hang open and they're just staring up at it."

The project was completed in 2003 for a relatively modest $8.5 million.

Ms. Gang's creativity, enthusiasm for new technology and ability to stay within a budget have earned her a reputation as one of the city's leading architects. Projects at her 20-member Wicker Park firm range from a Sept. 11 memorial in Hoboken, N.J., to a pro bono project in Katrina-ravaged Mississippi — a house built on stilts with a series of shutters and panels that can be opened to cool the home and closed to protect it from storms.

But it's her current endeavor, the 82-story, $475-million Aqua Tower in Lakeshore East, that's landed her in the headlines — and on this list. When it's completed in 2009, the mixed-use high-rise will be the tallest building in the United States designed by a woman-owned architecture firm.

Crews broke ground at 225 N. Columbus Drive in early March. In the year ahead, Ms. Gang, 43, will work with the contractors to ensure her complex vision is translated into concrete. Much of the challenge, she says, comes from the undulating balconies that are stretched various ways to give each unit the best possible panoramic view of the city.

That required 82 different floor plans — a concept that would appall the majority of architects, who find comfort in symmetry, Ms. Gang says. But she reveled in the organic approach of letting the views dictate the blueprints.

"You get such incredible, interesting patterns that you couldn't have designed," she says. "It is a challenge, but it's also the interesting part."

Global steel prices dictated that the building be concrete. But Ms. Gang knew that cutting-edge technology could shape that concrete into balconies that look like waves traveling across the structure. Areas with wide balconies create energy-saving shade for the units below. Windows without shade get sun-reflecting glass.

Ms. Gang says she finds more satisfaction in proving that a small firm can design a skyscraper than in being one of the first women to do so. Still, she admits to exercising her newfound bragging rights recently to put a male colleague in his place. When he was boasting about his 40-story building in New York, Ms. Gang let him drone on for a bit. Then she spoke up.

"I said, 'Oh, that's interesting. But there's a big difference between 40-story towers and 80-story towers, like the one I'm doing in Chicago,' " she recalls. "That was fun."

WHY WE SHOULD WATCH HER: She joined the predominantly male world of skyscraper architecture by designing the 82-story Aqua Tower, slated for completion in 2009.

CROSSROAD: She realized in college that she didn't have to choose between her love of math and of fine art, but could combine them by becoming an architect.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

340 not 640, and yes, 340 On the Park are all hardpan

Opps, typo, my bad... Yeah that's what I'm talking about, 340.

[aaron38]

Aqua was a jumble and a flury of activity today. I tried to capture the chaos.

7 cranes are operating on the site



A little caison being drilled



Caison rebar cages ready to go



A little bulldozer had hooked himself a whopper of a caison tube!



It's crazy to see this big thing driving around.



A big caison drilling sequence.
First the big bit goes in, and goes down it looked like 150 ft.



Then the crane gave an "oh christ this is heavy" kind of groan, and up came the drill, full of watery mud.



The crane then shook like a dog to get the mud out before starting over again.

[Jaroslaw]

Originally Posted by Crain's via honte

Areas with wide balconies create energy-saving shade for the units below. Windows without shade get sun-reflecting glass.

Hm, does this mean there will be two kinds of glass? I don't know if that'll look so good...

[headcase]

Originally Posted by Jaroslaw

Hm, does this mean there will be two kinds of glass? I don't know if that'll look so good...

Yep too different kinds of glass, if I remember correctly they look different intentionally.

SSDD

[Fabb]

Originally Posted by aaron38

Aqua was a jumble and a flury of activity today. I tried to capture the chaos.

A big caison drilling sequence.
First the big bit goes in, and goes down it looked like 150 ft.

Then the crane gave an "oh christ this is heavy" kind of groan, and up came the drill, full of watery mud.

The crane then shook like a dog to get the mud out before starting over again.

Nice comments.
It's like being there.

[museumparktom]

aaron38
Great Shots! Were you on the Lower Level of Columbus? Chicago gives us such awsome vantage points to get right on top of the construction sites. I look at other cities and realize how spoiled we are.

Again great pics.

[djvandrake]

Great pictues aaron38, thanks for sharing those! You can really get a sense of the scale with the people in the pictures.

Looks like it was a beautiful day. What better way to spend it then buidling skyscrapers!

[Dalton]

Originally Posted by honte

By Emily Stone
Crain's Chicago Business

....

Ms. Gang says she finds more satisfaction in proving that a small firm can design a skyscraper than in being one of the first women to do so. Still, she admits to exercising her newfound bragging rights recently to put a male colleague in his place. When he was boasting about his 40-story building in New York, Ms. Gang let him drone on for a bit. Then she spoke up.

"I said, 'Oh, that's interesting. But there's a big difference between 40-story towers and 80-story towers, like the one I'm doing in Chicago,' " she recalls. "That was fun."

Have to take issue with the light feminist tone of the article. I don't think the other architect was "droning on" because he is male and Gang is female. He was droning on because he was a New Yorker.

[Alliance]

:lol:

I think Gang has demonstrated exceptional ability. She needs to stay in Chicago.

[aaron38]

Those pictures were all from lower Columbus.

[ToBuyOrNotToBuy.....]

....first time user from the east coast......congratulations and kudos to all the users who post the fantastic photos and detailed information about AQUA and the LSE projects.....I am considering purchase of an apartment at AQUA and my interest is in a view of the city to the NORTH. As I read the site plan, AQUA's upper floors have an unobstructed view over 303 Wacker and the Swissotel......Would you speculate that those two buildings are going to survive at their current height for the forseeable future?

[honte]

^ Welcome to Chicago!

I would say those buildings are going to stand as-is for at least 50 years. They are both in very good condition and generate a lot of income. I don't think either were designed for additional floors, and we all know how rare that kind of addition is anyway.