CHICAGO | St. Regis Chicago (Vista) | 1,191 FT | 101 FLOORS

[kolchak]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Will the Vista tower entrance really have Chinese lettering? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but kind of surprising!

That Chinese signage was Wanda. Now that they have sold the development it'll go away.

But it raises the question of when will we see a hotel brand sign on to this project. I imagine in the not too distant future. Hopefully they will keep the style of the sign similar - it looks cool.

[Suiram]

Originally Posted by kolchak

That Chinese signage was Wanda. Now that they have sold the development it'll go away.

But it raises the question of when will we see a hotel brand sign on to this project. I imagine in the not too distant future. Hopefully they will keep the style of the sign similar - it looks cool.

They have mocked up the hotel in the sales suite and were already framing the hotel. Certainly the new owner could throw out all that interior design, but have to assume a new brand will mostly inherit the hotel interior, at least framing (so size of keys, etc).

That may be a limiting factor. The hotel mock up is a very Chinese-aesthetic and pretty high end. Reminds me of Asian hotels in general.

It could be popular, just requires the right brand. And I am not sure how comfortable brands like Mandarin Oriental are inheriting a design. I think about how JW Marriott took over the Philippe Starck hotel at South Beach in Singapore. A wholly unimpressive and overly complicated hotel design that clearly doesnt follow any of JW Marriott's typical design standards.

[kolchak]

Originally Posted by Suiram

They have mocked up the hotel in the sales suite and were already framing the hotel. Certainly the new owner could throw out all that interior design, but have to assume a new brand will mostly inherit the hotel interior, at least framing (so size of keys, etc).

That may be a limiting factor. The hotel mock up is a very Chinese-aesthetic and pretty high end. Reminds me of Asian hotels in general.

It could be popular, just requires the right brand. And I am not sure how comfortable brands like Mandarin Oriental are inheriting a design. I think about how JW Marriott took over the Philippe Starck hotel at South Beach in Singapore. A wholly unimpressive and overly complicated hotel design that clearly doesnt follow any of JW Marriott's typical design standards.

The whole situation reminds me of the mess at the La Cienega/Sunset Blvd development in West Hollywood. There they put a temporary hotel - The Jeremy - in after The James pulled out when CIM sold the building. Then the hotel/condo part had to be scrapped because the city made short term rentals a thing of the past. I don't know where it stands now but I do know that one of the contributing factors to the hotel brand's uncertainty is that the replacement high end brand 'The 1' wanted to gut the hotel and re-outfit the interiors. This obviously hasn't happened and they were left with the 'temporary' Jeremy.

I sure hope we can avoid a similar situation for Vista - its much too high profile a tower and location to be wishy-washy on the hotel component.

[Zerton]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Will the Vista tower entrance really have Chinese lettering? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but kind of surprising!

I believe that was just done on the renderings for marketing units and the hotel in China. The entry has been changed a bit and I would be surprised if the actual sign is in Chinese. Also, because of a crackdown in China the original Chinese developer was forced to sell its stake in the tower. (I don't recall if they sold all of their share or just the majority).

Plus, part of the allure for Chinese investing abroad in units in the US, Canada, UK, etc is the "Western-ness".

[vexxed82]

From 10/6

Slacked on editing these, but finally have some to share from a foggy cruise last Saturday. Glad the clouds broke enough for some moody shots.

[bgsrand]

^Damn...

[Suburban Shadow]

The speed of the glass being installed is underwhelming to me.

The wait has been horrible

Looks real close to 1000'. Is it official?

Top of the center section floor 71 is supposed to be 857.

22 floors/294ft to 93.

Is the core officially poured 10 floors over middle section yet?

[rgarri4]

Originally Posted by Suburban Shadow

The speed of the glass being installed is underwhelming to me.

The wait has been horrible

For real. This pace would be like one floor every 2 weeks. Hopefully it picks up. I'm just excited it's started.

[cozy]

Originally Posted by Suburban Shadow

The speed of the glass being installed is underwhelming to me.

Yeah I was/am genuinely disappointed in McHugh for being so slow with the glass. I thought they were behind schedule and we were about to witness a beautiful transformation of a historic building. Now its just a few panels here and there this week, maybe a few more over there another week.

[seoulstice_sji]

Obsessed with glass? I think the building looks better without it imo. The color choice doesn't fit this building. I would like to see it top out first. The completion date is 2020. What's the rush.

[BonoboZill4]

Yeah, she's gonna be a beaut

[left of center]

Glass looks great. Wish it was a bit greener, but at this point I'll take it. Blue-ish glass is better than no glass

[Skyguy_7]

^Depends on which area you’re looking at. I drove past on Friday and there was a section that looked emerald green to me. Stunning.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by Skyguy_7

^Depends on which area you’re looking at. I drove past on Friday and there was a section that looked emerald green to me. Stunning.

Interesting. I will reserve any further critique until I see it in person then!

[vexxed82]

October 13

[RedCorsair87]

Welcome to the magical city of Oz!

The glass is definitely green and further along than I thought. Thanks for those photos, Nick.

P.S.: Sometimes I like to like to imagine what BCBS would look like if they added another 24 floors on top of their tower...

[SolarWind]

October 11, 2018

[rlw777]

Originally Posted by vexxed82

October 13

I love that wavy shadow created by the frustums.

[vexxed82]

Originally Posted by BonoboZill4

Nick... your photos are always amazing, but today they're just leaving me speechless.

Thanks a bunch!

Originally Posted by rlw777

I love that wavy shadow created by the frustums.

Yeah, I noticed that early on and it has been a feature I think will really make an impact. I am curious to see how it evolves once the glass goes on. Right now, the contrast between the dark shadow and bright, monochromatic concrete is pretty high. Not sure if the shadow will be quite as impressive once the darer green glass goes on - wit will tell.

Also interesting to note. You'll only get this shadow in the morning hours on the south elevation. Whereas the North elevation will only get it for a couple months in the afternoon/evening in mid-summer.

Kind of related. The shadows remind me of the 'snake' shadow cast on the pyramid of Chichen Itza on the equinox:

[Aqua_Chicago]

Originally Posted by rlw777

I love that wavy shadow created by the frustums.

This building is already spectacular like that, imagine when it's finished. I really want to see it finished so I will go to Chicago and see it in person. and make a photo for my blog. I am so curious to know what the exterior will look like, and what effect it will have on the skyline, however it may be, the building is impressive, seen from any angle. without a doubt, it is another unique skyscraper for Chicago, which continues to add buildings with attractive designs to the city and, as in this case, unique.

https://greatbuildingsoftheworld.blogspot.com/