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

[cbotnyse]

Originally Posted by wrabbit

BTW, anyone know who coined the name "Aqua", and whether it was determined before or after Gang got the commission? I ask because the monicker has little relation to what the building presents, apart from the tint of the glass.

I think the relation is the waves of the balconies are like water, hence the name. Thats what I always thought anyway.

[honte]

Originally Posted by wrabbit

^ Fascinating that from this angle & at this height Aqua appears to be a glass box with some interesting transparency but little suggestion of the concrete balconies.

BTW, anyone know who coined the name "Aqua", and whether it was determined before or after Gang got the commission? I ask because the monicker has little relation to what the building presents, apart from the tint of the glass.

Yeah, that might be the biggest reason why I am disappointed they are painting the balconies. Note how much more prominent the painted ones become from this angle.

Many architects seem to have lost the understanding of contrast and depth ... color in general. Several projects that have tried to disguise their balconies were fairly good at doing so until the bright paint went on. The first Museum Towers by P/H are a good example of this.

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

the 30 w oak tower and contemporaine pulled off exposed concrete very well.

Yes, they did. Hopefully the concrete work was good enough so that the owners don't experience problems in the future. I am going to venture that the difference at Aqua is a tremendous amount of exposed flat structural surface (cantilevered too), which should set off red flags in concrete longevity. You can tell that the design team was very worried about corrosion in those slabs, with the epoxy bar. Also, don't forget that concrete is not created equally - to do exposed concrete right, you really need to consider altering the mix. I am not sure how much this would have added to the cost, but I believe it would have been substantial.

[aaron38]

I saw Aqua in person yesterday for the first time since they started painting. I'm really torn, because I'm not a huge fan of the paint, but I'm not a fan of the bare concrete either.
There are sections of the bare balconies that look great bare, because the concrete finish is very uniform. But there are sections of the balconies that are blotchy and show a lot of lines from the formwork.

The paint's too uniform, and the raw concrete is too blotchy, so I don't know what the correct answer is.

[The Pimp]

I was visiting the CS site on Friday and I must admit that I'm getting more and more disappointed with the Aqua. From LSD a person must really strain in order to view the waves in the balconies. At a quick glance, it looks like a simple boxy building. Hopefully, as the building grows the waves will make more of an impact.

[Alliance]

No offense to double logic here...

Honte, part of the concept of this building IS the balconies...from the construciton innovations of this building to building concept (of views) to the light regulation to the final form. Wy is making them MORE prominent with paint a violatoin of this building. Is simply showcasing what really drove the construction of the building. (The glass alos plays a small part.) Especially when the acutual buildign is (I'm going to regret saying this) just a box, I think its necessary to highlight the balconies. Why would you try to disguise the pure driving force behing the builiding? Its like saying Hancock's cross-bracing should have been internalized just behind the glass so we really wouldn't know it was there unless we were up close.

Sure, super high end concrete with a clear seal might be great for a 200' building. This thing is 800' and its true genious wouldn't have been achieved without that height. Economics drives buildings and frankly, exposed concrete can look really crappy over time if its not maintained. Paint can be repainted. And certainly its all better than balconies cracking due to weather.

I don't see a real reason to flip out on this issue or dislike this building because painted concrete is traditionally something associated with lesser buildings. As I've said before, for a building THIS complex between the glass changes and the fluctuating balconies, raw concrete is too textured. Its distracting and destroys the flow. Add in the environmental problems with unpainted concrete and the cost/feasibility issues with more durable concrete or clear sealant (because the last thing Chicago needed right now was ANOTHER Trump/Waterview class building) I see no reason to get drastically upset about it.

Especially when this building is a progressive box and not some novelty-toy, anything goes "look at me" building that everyone can oogle at ignore how there is no driving concept behind it...

[wrab]

Sunday, 6 April:

Doggie park



Ballroom, etc



Ballroom brace (bad exposure)



Could these be residences?



East face



Here is the lot between Aqua & BCBS - LSE has it listed for future development - not much room!



From a distance



Orange hazard vest?!



Skin & bones

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by The Pimp

I was visiting the CS site on Friday and I must admit that I'm getting more and more disappointed with the Aqua. From LSD a person must really strain in order to view the waves in the balconies. At a quick glance, it looks like a simple boxy building. Hopefully, as the building grows the waves will make more of an impact.

The paint on the edges of the floor plates will help to accentuate the waves as the tower rises.

04/05/08

[honte]

Originally Posted by Alliance

Honte, part of the concept of this building IS the balconies...from the construciton innovations of this building to building concept (of views) to the light regulation to the final form. Wy is making them MORE prominent with paint a violatoin of this building.

Well, Gang herself said the concept is to make it look like a box from afar. That was what drove my comment. It reads more like a box when the balconies are visually diminished from a distance. In lighting like BVictor's photos above, it doesn't matter much. But in other light, the paint hurts this idea.

There is no hiding the balconies up close, so paint or no paint does not matter in that instance.

I am not "flipping out" about the paint. Truly, I don't really care, since I am not crazy about Aqua, but I think it's worth talking about.

Originally Posted by Wrabbit

Could these be residences?

Yes, they are.

[EarlyBuyer]

Photo's taken by EarlyBuyer 4/6/08

[EarlyBuyer]

Photo's taken by EarlyBuyer 4/6/08

[EarlyBuyer]

Photo's taken by EarlyBuyer 4/6/08

[EarlyBuyer]

Photo's taken by EarlyBuyer 4/6/08

[honte]

Originally Posted by Horio

Be on the lookout, they might start going up around lunch time.

Wow, Horio. Those girders.... Very impressive.

[highdensity32]

This project should look more interesting as it gets higher. I wonder how the balcony railings will look when they are installed. They may have a major influence in how the final design turns out.

[jjk1103]

.......great photos....Early Buyer !! ....do you have any update photos on those town homes being built opposite Aqua ?

[EarlyBuyer]

Originally Posted by jjk1103

.......great photos....Early Buyer !! ....do you have any update photos on those town homes being built opposite Aqua ?

Thanks jjk1103.

I posted an update in mid March on the General Developments thread: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=105764&page=148

See post #2951

The Parkhomes site is moving along at a slower pace, so the photos from three weeks ago, are pretty much representative of how the site looks today.

[Dr. Taco]

hey, is this just some sort of resolution effect?

[EarlyBuyer]

jstush04: the picture is a bit hot, it that what you're referring to, or is there something else that I'm not seeing?

[Dr. Taco]

^ I'm just referring to the new ballroom facade in that picture. it has a cool pattern in it, and I have a feeling it is just a camera/resolution effect of some sort, but I don't really get how it can look so striped like that

[the urban politician]

Awesome photo updates.

That ballroom facade looks nice. Takes away from that ugly podium effect, and it will be something worth looking at from LSE park itself instead of a giant concrete wall