CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[honte]

^ I'm more excited now about 353 than before; thanks for the photos. The details in the facade design are helping bring the rather basic design to another level, as expected, but they are also helping to explain some of the aspects of the design I didn't really like before.

[a chicago bearcat]

man that mid-american proposal is so edgy

they used sketchup!!!!!

but it is better than the avalon bay stuff. but not by much.

They should've focused all the pedestrian energy on the northern side, and made a subdued townhome faced tower on the southern edge, and just not try to turn a cross street into

"omg look how kool that kurvy street is brah"
also a certain evanston developer shoulda gotten in on this
cuz they need mr. covey

[Chicago Shawn]

The Oak Park Pile 06-15-2008....













I like the density and the height adding some verity along Harlem, but man is this thing UGLY.

[harryc]

Great set of shots Shawn - almost makes this thing look good.

I still want to capture how desolate Harlem is at this point, and how building out to the sidewalk is just what wasn't needed.

[Abner]

I still wonder if buildings like Harlem/Ontario aren't detrimental in the long run. Not only are they ugly in and of themselves, but they validate people's concerns about dense development. That thing actually is all the things people in the neighborhood feared it would be--brutish, blocky, overbearing. It's probably very unfortunate for Oak Park that the mega-projects on the superblock and Forest/Lake are coming at an economic downtime; it may encourage even more cost-saving on architecture.

[BVictor1]

Went shopping in Michigan City yesterday 06/16/08

[wrab]

^ Wow - glad you went shopping - looks really good.

[Haworthia]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

The Oak Park Pile 06-15-2008....

These windows are just terrible. They look cheap and depressing. I cannot fathom how this design got passed. I do not care for Mid-America's proposal, but it's light years better than this.

[a chicago bearcat]

from that ^ photo you can see why the design sucks

when you try to create a "contemporary varied facade"
with an entirely precast structural and cladding system
you basically have value engineering by architects
ugh

as for coming to the street

always buid out to the street, no matter how desolate, unless you provide an adequately shaded, plaza with retail on two sides. Otherwise you are just creating a more desolate parking heavy environment, which will take longer to transform into the kind of walkable urbanism that downtown oak Park, Evanston and Naperville are encouraging.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by a chicago bearcat

from that ^ photo you can see why the design sucks

when you try to create a "contemporary varied facade"
with an entirely precast structural and cladding system
you basically have value engineering by architects
ugh

I think the new LAPD building fits this description and it's a knockout. The design in question just suffers from poor details and material choices. To me, it looks like it was produced by some new IKEA architectural subsidiary with all the pros and cons you might expect from the brand.

[SolarWind]

June 17, 2008

[i_am_hydrogen]

Nice update, SW. The glass looks really great.

[colemonkee]

Really liking the glass on 353 N. Clark. I can't wait to see the glass 'fins' on the corners.

[a chicago bearcat]

Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G

I think the new LAPD building fits this description and it's a knockout. The design in question just suffers from poor details and material choices. To me, it looks like it was produced by some new IKEA architectural subsidiary with all the pros and cons you might expect from the brand.

I agree, the problem is not using precast. It's that they are trying to use precast to get a streamlined contemporary look, which is what I am assuming given the style of the rendering. They used a value engineered precast system that is clunky and solves structural problems by adding muscle and not finesse. It is cheaper to design, but wastes useable space, material, and muddles your design. learning to design with smarts and not brawn, like Aqua, bulky columns, but a crisp corner where column meets floorplate.

I just can't wait to make argue these points to stubborn engineers and developers, until they understand that it might be saving money in engineering, but wasting so much in various areas as a result.

Value engineering has become a joke because so many ignore the value part. There is a value in a clear design, and it's marketing, if you want to cut corners make a pomo neo cabrini high-rise and go home to your mcMansion in Barrington.

To clarify I am not insulting you Ch.G I am just a rambling fool trying to clarify my earlier remarks. Because I do not have the talent of concise coherence.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by Abner

I still wonder if buildings like Harlem/Ontario aren't detrimental in the long run. Not only are they ugly in and of themselves, but they validate people's concerns about dense development. That thing actually is all the things people in the neighborhood feared it would be--brutish, blocky, overbearing. It's probably very unfortunate for Oak Park that the mega-projects on the superblock and Forest/Lake are coming at an economic downtime; it may encourage even more cost-saving on architecture.

How does this interact with the street? Is Harlem basically a wasteland there, and if so, does this help/hurt it?

I can still hope for the best that when it's occupied it feels a bit more 'human' and more integrated with the urban fabric.

[harryc]

June 11


June 12


June 13


June 16


Series

[Alliance]

I've very glad that the glass on 353 has more color than previously apparent and its bluer. It'll be a nice foil for trump and offset the double green of Quaker Oats and 300.

I do find the detailing a bit cheesy though. *shrugs*

[jcchii]

353 reminds me of a building you might see in a smaller city or a suburban edge city and you think to yourself you'd like to steal it and put it right there.
so good.

and I too hate the OP design, but at least it didn't really mar the downtown section. you kind of have to go looking for it to take in its true suckiness.

but again, trader joe's etc etc

[the urban politician]

Sorry, mistaken post...

[SolarWind]

June 17, 2008