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Originally Posted by Vertigo
It's funny how so many people blast Asian cities for erecting residential complexes that look the same and reflect a repetiitive style. Yet when something like this is proposed everyone moans 'Oh, there's not enough glass' or 'It's not modern enough'.
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Well if you think having two glass structure next to eachother is the same as building rows of the same building in Hong Kong, then you got issues.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vertigo
I don't think this building will look as cheap and tacky as many are making it out to be.
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From what we've seen of tinted precast concrete...the record does not look good.
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Originally Posted by Vertigo
And that's OK too. Simply the sheer variety of residential towers going up in Chicago will ensure that a wide range of tastes and styles will be available to the discriminating buyer.
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yes, the aforementioned issue being the segregation of styles of towers.
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Originally Posted by Vertigo
EVERYTHING now pales in comparison to the craftmanship found in those historic buildings. But rather than bow or heads and realize 'we can never build them like that again..' I believe in celebrating those designs and updating them for a new generation.
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Typical architectural apocalypse. When some of those buildings were built, they were just "decent" architecure for the time. In 80 years, your new version will complain that were not "updating" buildings like Aqua and the Spire for a new generation and that we've lost our architectural heritage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vertigo
Buildings such as the Elysian remind me of the people that 100 years ago worked so hard to build this city into one of the greatest in the world. Revisiting these classic styles is like paying tribute to those individuals. Unlike, many places in the world that view skyscrapers as a way to modernize their city, I applaud Chicago for not forgetting where it came from and respecting that legacy as well as forging ahead with a modern outlook as well.
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Again...is this revisiting or cheap imitation? idolization or lack of vision? I applaud Chicago for taking new directions and remebering that the reason it HAS the greatest skyscraper legacy in the world is that it was willing to build out of the box and move beyond what was in its past. Thats not saying we should disregard the past, but that we should be able to build something thats different now and again.
And, as i've previously said, if you're going to neglect the progressive nature of architecture and build to reference the past...actually do it. Don't skimp on things like siding for awkwardly orange tinted concrete, actually build using the materials that traditional buildings were built with. Using imitation materials and vertically stretching the style to make this a modern scraper makes this building...guess what...an imitation for people who want a facade of historical nostalgia and cheap nuveau riche class.
If this was being build in the South Loop, I probably wouldn't care. But its a combination of all its design factors plus its location in the glass purgatory that is the Northside that makes this building wrong imo. With the spire going up and a sharp departures in architecture in the Loop, there may be a visual divide in the skyline that could be catostrophic. I fear that, and since the Northside is far less developed than the Loop, I think its the side that needs to play catch-up.