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

[HK Chicago]

I thought the rendering on pg24 was kind of grotesque.

I agree the eerie blue glow coming from the apartments is grotesque, but I'm lovin those empty spaces.

[Awkab]

I'd like to see a rendering where they show how the railings are going to look on the balconies

[wrab]

Images courtesy of The Chicago Reader:





These renders just blow my socks off!

[Rivernorth]

^ holy crap! those renders are INCREDIBLE! I mean... WOW!

[HK Chicago]

^ thanks for the renders... way-to-go blue jell-o

I'm gonna reverse my op on the missing mechanical floors. It doesn't look good from street level (though it looks good in the inital bird's eye pics).

[denizen467]

Those are the renders I thought were grotesque. It just looks ill. The earlier renders on page 1 had more understated features, with gently undulating curves and gradations of blue and beige. Now, especially with the stark contrast between blue glass and beige concrete, we've got a glass box that looks like it's been overgrown with uncontrolled, bulging varicose veins.

People are going to be waiting for Sigourney Weaver to come blow it up.

Unless a new set of renders comes out showing the effect will be different, I'm against this. Various observers can herald the onset of a Third School, but that doesn't mean everything that comes in the door should be accepted. This would work as a bold 30-story experiment in River South or River North; I think it's too much of a risk overlooking Grant Park and the Lake, and at 83 stories.

Other forumers who have been hesitant to criticize amidst all the celebrations so far might want to speak up now. Who knows, maybe Jeanne herself (or maybe one of Loewenberg's henchmen, testing the marketing waters?) is paying attention and might refine it into something that will better stand the test of time.

[bayrider]

Originally Posted by wrabbit

Images courtesy of The Chicago Reader:





These renders just blow my socks off!

There are a lot of unique buildings in the world, but most of the 'unique' ones are just ugly. I wouldnt call them unique as much as they were just 'different'. This one is unique and BEAUTIFUL.

WOW

[trvlr70]

^^^^^^^
Looks as if Salvador Dali is the architect.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by denizen467

Other forumers who have been hesitant to criticize amidst all the celebrations so far might want to speak up now. Who knows, maybe Jeanne herself (or maybe one of Loewenberg's henchmen, testing the marketing waters?) is paying attention and might refine it into something that will better stand the test of time.

you'd have to be pretty naive to think that the architects and developers of 100 million dollar projects care about the opinions of a bunch of nerds on the internet. they listen to people like blair kamin and lynn becker, both of whom have had immensely positive things to say about Aqua's design.

[Suchgreatheights]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

you'd have to be pretty naive to think that the architects and developers of 100 million dollar projects care about the opinions of a bunch of nerds on the internet. they listen to people like blair kamin and lynn becker, both of whom have had immensely positive things to say about Aqua's design.

Absolutely, we are big Internet nerds. Presumably Jeanne Gang can relate. Developers, on the other hand, are generally self-serving Willy Loman's.

[HK Chicago]

Unless a new set of renders comes out showing the effect will be different

Imagine the same form with a standard glass curtain and minimal variation in balcony lighting. That's what this tower will look like. These are pretty far from photorealistic, we've just got to be good at filling in the blanks.

[wrab]

Wow - this baby is really garnering some polarized opinion on the forums, which is a good thing. I know, for instance, that when Detroit chooses which concept vehicles to move into prodution, the input of focus groups is crucial; the concepts which generate strong opinion (both for & against) usually don't make the cut (call it risk aversion), but when they do make the cut, they are wildly successful. So with Aqua - few seem indifferent to it.

[Norsider]

^^^^

No wonder we never see any intriguing designs from the big 3 (PT cruiser aside). The process skews towards blandness.


/OT

[honte]

Originally Posted by denizen467

Those are the renders I thought were grotesque. It just looks ill.

I've got to agree with you - the renderings make it look hideous! Especially when you think about all of those concrete balconies discoloring and getting stained by water damage, we have a potentially nasty sight on our hands. I love raw, unpainted concrete, but in this case, the team would be wise to coat the concrete in something that doesn't discolor.

HOWEVER, I can't wait for them to build this. Even if it does end up hideous, it's 20x less hideous that all the other buildings in LSE (except 340), and you can't argue with risk-taking architecture. They're not tearing anything down, so I don't see a downside. It's certainly going to be functional, unique, and fun, even if it's not an aesthetic triumph.

[pyropius]

Have any of you read Bruce Sterling's Holy Fire? It's set in the late 21st century, and at that time Indianapolis has been rebuilt with a few giant living organic skyscrapers that sway in the breeze, are made of edible materials, etc. This design, while not edible or mobile, is a little like what I imagined an "organic" skyscraper to look like. The "waves" in these renders look more to me like giant vines, or the gnarly trunk of a tree. It's very interesting. I hope it's built.

[STR]

^Editble towers? Reminds me of a quote from Futurama:

It's food or shelter, not both.

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

you'd have to be pretty naive to think that the architects and developers of 100 million dollar projects care about the opinions of a bunch of nerds on the internet. they listen to people like blair kamin and lynn becker, both of whom have had immensely positive things to say about Aqua's design.

Well, certainly that's the case, but I was thinking this forum could be more than just a bunch of "nerds on the internet".

Heck, architects, even people who know Jeanne Gang, might even be reading this. So it's not pointless to energize the debate. Or put another way, where else on the internet can people trade opinions on Chicago architecture? (If there's somewhere else, maybe I'm just uninformed.) I would hope anybody in the city who is interested in this project would come here. It's rare that such a cutting edge project comes along, so now is the time.

Anyhow, Blair Kamin's opinion in his article was not a conclusive thumbs up on Aqua. If I remember right, he said it would depend on the execution -- for example, how the concrete turned out.

[rgolch]

Hmmm.....

Some of those looking strait up renders remind of the old movie "The Elephant Man." Although, I must admit, I've come around and come to like this one.

If I remember, some of you said there is going to be a twin tower, right? This could be the new age marina towers.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by denizen467

Anyhow, Blair Kamin's opinion in his article was not a conclusive thumbs up on Aqua. If I remember right, he said it would depend on the execution -- for example, how the concrete turned out.

no architecture critic ever gives any conclusive judgements before a work is actually a built object. my point was that kamin and becker have both given a thumbs up on the design of aqua. obviously a full judgement will only come if and when it's completed.

[wrab]

The light which floods downtown Chicago has a special clarity & intensity that really rewards texture & surface variation. The light plays off Brutalist (concrete) buildings like 55 W Wacker & the Metro Correctional Center especially well, IMHO - it seems to morph them from moment to moment as the angle of the sun or degree of cloud cover changes; conversely, Chicago's light seems to cheapen flat, undifferentiated, reflective surfaces like those on Bofill's Chase Plaza (an exception, though, for the concave 333 Wacker, which is like a funhouse mirror...)

What excites me most about the Aqua design is its promise of surface & texture variation, and the tension it creates between smooth glass box & brutalist terrace - it will fascinate as the light & weather change, or as one moves towards or away from it.

Of course, the devil is in the details, so a good execution is really, really important...But what I've seen to date in the renders makes me really happy.