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

[honte]

^ I have a feeling you're kidding, but of course the code does not allow you to design balconies for less load just because they are only likely to house some BBQs most of the time.

Eventually, to me they don't look unusually thin, but they do look like the result of an architect who worked to make them as thin as possible, and a dedicated team of engineers who helped to execute that vision. Without the effort, these certainly could have been more clunky than they are, especially with the newer codes.

[harryc]

Morning ( while on LSD )





Up close









Pouring the townhomes





Townhomes

[bnk]

harryc

Man you are one real sick freek.

Your pics are getting into the inside guts that the rest of us can never get.

I hope emporis has spoken to you about joining their team if you are not already.




I do not want to egg you on and get you in trouble so I will not ask for anything more than you are currently providing.

JMO you have kept many other picture fourmers sleeping late in bed and not having to worry keeping up, for you are one step ahead of everyone of late.

But I have to ask, are you in school? or does your job provide you with such a flexible scheadule that you can take pictures of most of the major projects in the city on a daily basis and not have to worry about meeting other expectations, or is photography your job all along?

[newstl2020]

I thought it was reported that the undulating (sp?) balconies were not to begin until after the 18th floor. This was aparently incorrect?

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by newstl2020

I thought it was reported that the undulating (sp?) balconies were not to begin until after the 18th floor. This was aparently incorrect?

Yes it was, whereever you heard it from.

[Henkka]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

Yes it was, whereever you heard it from.

It was back on page 103 but I think Sentinel was only misinterpreting the construction diagrams.

[CGII]

This thing is really going to rise fast. It looks like two or three floors have been added in a week.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by Henkka

It was back on page 103 but I think Sentinel was only misinterpreting the construction diagrams.

Yeah, basically what happened was, I was looking at a drawing from the CD set from the base building architect (Loewenberg/Studio Gang) of the 'hotel typical floor plans 4-18' and I cross-referenced it with the typical electrical plan from the electrical contractor who used the same floor plan from the architects' CD set, but that typ. plan only showed the balcony of the 4th floor plan (even though the plan layout on the interior is essentially the same for the hotel portion, thus the 'typical plan' designation), that's where the initial confusion and my initial stupid post came from

Additionally, someone earlier had posted a question about the floor slabs being kinda thin; they are but that is not where the majority of the load is distributed throughout the building; the core of the building is an 'I' shape with the shear walls being around 5-6 feet thick of solid concrete, where the loads from the floorplates and all ancillary things on each floor (dead load items, specifically) are transfered to; the shear walls extend all the way up to the 81st-82nd floors and CANNOT be penetrated thru after-the-fact to create an opening or something (if there is no other way around that other than penetrating the shear wall, then a strong steel header has to be placed in that opening to carry and transfer the load out of that opening. The shear walls are in place because of the height and the relative thin profile of the building.

[EarlyBuyer]

Originally Posted by Northwest

Does anyone know what the balcony railing will look like? These must be custom made to fit each unique curve. Are the railing support "sockets" included in each pour?

Northwest, here's a quote from an 11/06 McHugh press release: "There is no repetition whatsoever in the ripples that make up the balconies, which range from zero to 12 feet deep, said Alexander, and McHugh must custom-build all the forms that will cantilever past the edge of the building, with the shapes of the edges custom built. Topping the balconies will be 33,000 linear feet of balcony railing, each one custom measured since no two will be alike".

With regard to the sockets included in each pour, I can tell you that the McHugh built buildings in LSE thus far have railing systems that are mounted to the balcony slab using masonry bolts as opposed to sockets.

The railings for Aqua will be the faux wrought iron look, as opposed to the glass panels found in the LSE buildings to date. The Tides railings are a blend of glass panels and the faux wrought iron, perhaps to serve as a "transition building" between the glass balcony existing buildings and the all-faux-wrought-iron balconies at Aqua.

To see a sample of the the Aqua balcony's, check out this previously posted video from Studio Gang: http://www.studiogang.net/site/projects_c1.htm

[honte]

Originally Posted by sentinel

Additionally, someone earlier had posted a question about the floor slabs being kinda thin; they are but that is not where the majority of the load is distributed throughout the building; the core of the building is an 'I' shape with the shear walls being around 5-6 feet thick of solid concrete, where the loads from the floorplates and all ancillary things on each floor (dead load items, specifically) are transfered to; the shear walls extend all the way up to the 81st-82nd floors and CANNOT be penetrated thru after-the-fact to create an opening or something (if there is no other way around that other than penetrating the shear wall, then a strong steel header has to be placed in that opening to carry and transfer the load out of that opening. The shear walls are in place because of the height and the relative thin profile of the building.

So, in other words, the floor slabs do not need to take much load as needed for the lateral load resistance in the building. But, this doesn't mean you can neglect DL and LL on the slabs themselves... the slabs we are seeing on the exterior are still nicely optimized slabs for these two loads alone, given the cantilever and Chicago code requirements for LL on balconies, IMO.

[Dr. Taco]

.

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by harryc

This is going to be so much fun to watch. Those balconies are looking great already. From the render, it's only a couple more floors until we see the full amplitude of the waves.

[Dr. Taco]

earlybuyer, that video was great! if for anything at all, flying around a 3D render of the building was amazing. I am really really looking forward to the completion of this building

I am still wondering how the balconies are going to be finished. are they gonna be painted a concrete-looking color? I don't really like seeing the impression of the formwork all over the place

I mean, according to the rendering it will be painted, but it could be that the rendering was focusing more on shape detail than color and texture detail





ahh, this building is gonna rock

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by honte

So, in other words, the floor slabs do not need to take much load as needed for the lateral load resistance in the building. But, this doesn't mean you can neglect DL and LL on the slabs themselves... the slabs we are seeing on the exterior are still nicely optimized slabs for these two loads alone, given the cantilever and Chicago code requirements for LL on balconies, IMO.

Agreed, but the shear walls in to core are what really carry the whole weight of the building, that's the point I was trying to make (the floor slabs are 12" thick, btw).

[Chitown]

Originally Posted by harryc

Morning ( while on LSD )

Harry! Drugs are bad, mmmkay!

Seriously, though, great pictures. It looks like you're going to the the go-to guy on Aqua in addition to the Spire.

[Northwest]

Originally Posted by EarlyBuyer

Northwest, here's a quote from an 11/06 McHugh press release: "There is no repetition whatsoever in the ripples that make up the balconies, which range from zero to 12 feet deep, said Alexander, and McHugh must custom-build all the forms that will cantilever past the edge of the building, with the shapes of the edges custom built. Topping the balconies will be 33,000 linear feet of balcony railing, each one custom measured since no two will be alike".

With regard to the sockets included in each pour, I can tell you that the McHugh built buildings in LSE thus far have railing systems that are mounted to the balcony slab using masonry bolts as opposed to sockets.

The railings for Aqua will be the faux wrought iron look, as opposed to the glass panels found in the LSE buildings to date. The Tides railings are a blend of glass panels and the faux wrought iron, perhaps to serve as a "transition building" between the glass balcony existing buildings and the all-faux-wrought-iron balconies at Aqua.

To see a sample of the the Aqua balcony's, check out this previously posted video from Studio Gang: http://www.studiogang.net/site/projects_c1.htm

EarlyBuyer, thank you for the detailed and very complete answer to my question regarding balconies! The Aqua tower is looking really good, harryc's photos really do impress!

[Dougall5505]

this building is going to make for some good photographs with all the curves

[cubbbyblue]

Originally Posted by jstush04

earlybuyer, that video was great! if for anything at all, flying around a 3D render of the building was amazing. I am really really looking forward to the completion of this building

I am still wondering how the balconies are going to be finished. are they gonna be painted a concrete-looking color? I don't really like seeing the impression of the formwork all over the place

I mean, according to the rendering it will be painted, but it could be that the rendering was focusing more on shape detail than color and texture detail

2 things...First, I think the balconies would have been much cooler with a glass type railing, it seems to fit the theme of the building much better, but then again I'm sure there are better reasons then "hmmm, which one looks cooler...ok we will do that one!". Second, what is the deal with the windows on the upper half of the building. I know this is just a render, but the bottom half looks much more fluid, and the top half looks like the gaps between the waves are pixelated. If I recall, there would be a different color glass for these areas, but it appears they did a bad job meshing these windows in the upper half of the render..anything to worry about?

[CGII]

Originally Posted by cubbbyblue

2 things...First, I think the balconies would have been much cooler with a glass type railing, it seems to fit the theme of the building much better, but then again I'm sure there are better reasons then "hmmm, which one looks cooler...ok we will do that one!". Second, what is the deal with the windows on the upper half of the building. I know this is just a render, but the bottom half looks much more fluid, and the top half looks like the gaps between the waves are pixelated. If I recall, there would be a different color glass for these areas, but it appears they did a bad job meshing these windows in the upper half of the render..anything to worry about?

First, I disagree with the glass railing, I think it's a great nod to Miesan modernism and Marina City.

Second, the different coloured glass in the top half of the building is integrated precisely the same as the lower half. As the lighter coloured glass appears where there are balconies, it is more difficult to see this in the lower half in this render because the balconies themselves block the view.

[Alliance]

The iron is a nice nod to Goldberg, but I was wondering, what if glass balconies were paired with concrete forms as well? That in addition to the lateral waves of the balcony floorplates, the railings had a dynamic vertical concrete component to them as well, forming the base, with the glass serving as the equalizing vertical component.

This serves several functions. It creates a stronger dynamic on the facade, because there is more concrete, but it also creates a second layer of dynamic (with the glass).

However, one reason I can see to use the iron is so you cna see back into the glass of the building. If you're going to pay to have the building glassed, you might as well be able to see it. If the balconies were all glass, it might take some of the focus away from the basic form itself.