CHICAGO | The 78 Site

[Mr Downtown]

Sudden progress at the south end of Wells: demo this afternoon of half of the old railroad overpass (over an overbuilt lead the Rock Island used to reach a minor freight facility on the riverbank). Other half will be gone tomorrow. The new underpass will be oriented N-S or slightly NW-SE.

Even though the river bridge has been up since April, guy who seemed to be the site engineer said (if I understood him correctly) that the railroad only gave them 4 days to demo this bridge. Not sure if he was saying the Bailey bridges stored on site will be used temporarily at this crossing or further east as part of the SCAL rebuilding.



There's also some sort of elaborate backdrop that went up this week between Wells and the river. Looks like it could be a stage for a DPI groundbreaking or something, but it's awfully elaborate and not near the existing black platform that's been on site the past couple of years for such things. Maybe it's a film set or something.

[jpIllInoIs]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Sudden progress at the south end of Wells: demo this afternoon of half of the old railroad overpass (over an overbuilt lead the Rock Island used to reach a minor freight facility on the riverbank). Other half will be gone tomorrow. The new underpass will be oriented N-S or slightly NW-SE.

So the new underpass angle will be more favorable to the traffic flow rather than the current NE/SW angle?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by jpIllInoIs

So the new underpass angle will be more favorable to the traffic flow rather than the current NE/SW angle?

I'm not sure if the bridge is being replaced due to structural concerns about re-use, or due to a desire to avoid an awkward kink in Wells St. It's possible that Related looked at the existing bridge and wanted something that didn't look so dilapidated. These old bridges are sometimes direct fixation (no gravel ballast to cut down on noise/vibration) and the steel is often of low quality and highly prone to rust.

Either way, a new bridge will likely have a different angle that allows a smooth curve on Wells.

[Mr Downtown]

Yes, previous development schemes would have just reused the existing underpass, meaning Wells-Wentworth would have a nasty double-reverse curve. I was happy that Related told me they'd decided to do it right—then concerned as the new retaining walls on the Wentworth end got closer and closer to the existing underpass with no evidence of work there. That's why I was relieved to personally see the old girders tumble to the ground yesterday afternoon.

[Mr Downtown]

Discovery Partners Institute will be the work of Dallas-based design and consulting firm Jacobs and OMA-AMO, a Rotterdam architectural firm whose partners include Rem Koolhaas. The Illinois Capital Development Board approved a $15 million contract for the partnership at a virtual meeting Tuesday. There were 35 other applicants. Sun-Times phrasing: "The U. of I. has aspirations to create a futuristic landmark with the new building that would attract technology talent to Chicago."

I think these are some of the preliminary models Koolhaas showed the CDB:



Perhaps unrelated: some sort of section of backdrop wall and low platform went up a couple of weeks ago, near the river at 1500S. I can't really get close enough to get a good look, but it looks like it's a fairly elaborate plywood construction—not just pipe & drape or something to support a printed banner behind folks doing a ceremony. I suppose it could be a mockup of some kind of wall, but then the platform seems odd.

[sentinel]

I think you're confusing OMA with Frank Gehry.

Edit: article link https://chicago.suntimes.com/busines...encys-go-ahead

[rlw777]

Didn't OMA win the design for the new UIC Center for the Arts too?

[ardecila]

Yep. Meanwhile I keep waiting for a Foster and all we get is an Apple Store.

I still wish UI made a stronger commitment to using local architectural talent, but I do think a distinctive landmark building will put The 78 on the mental map of Chicagoans.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Yep. Meanwhile I keep waiting for a Foster and all we get is an Apple Store.

I still wish UI made a stronger commitment to using local architectural talent, but I do think a distinctive landmark building will put The 78 on the mental map of Chicagoans.

A local architecture firm will still be AOR most likely since I believe Jacobs does not have a presence/office here.

As much as there are great design firms here, I think it's always nice to have an outside firm design something here.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by sentinel

A local architecture firm will still be AOR most likely since I believe Jacobs does not have a presence/office here.

As much as there are great design firms here, I think it's always nice to have an outside firm design something here.

Yes and no. It's not boosterism talking. I'm happy when a Chicago client gives work to up-and-coming talent even if they are from a different city. I love UChicago's work with Johnston Marklee for example. Chicago is a capital of world architecture and we should have work from outsiders as well as locals.

However, there's nothing up-and-coming about Rem Koolhaas. He is easily among the top 5 or 10 architects in the world, and he has been rightly criticized for working with oppressive regimes and abusing his staff. Nor is he "unrepresented" in Chicago, since he already did the McCormick Center at IIT and is already on tap to build UIC's Center for the Arts. I'm honestly a fan of his work in the abstract, I loved reading Delirious New York but there's gotta be plenty of up-and-coming architects out there for whom this opportunity could make their career.

[Busy Bee]

I want to see some MAD up in here.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Yes and no. It's not boosterism talking. I'm happy when a Chicago client gives work to up-and-coming talent even if they are from a different city. I love UChicago's work with Johnston Marklee for example. Chicago is a capital of world architecture and we should have work from outsiders as well as locals.

However, there's nothing up-and-coming about Rem Koolhaas. He is easily among the top 5 or 10 architects in the world, and he has been rightly criticized for working with oppressive regimes and abusing his staff. Nor is he "unrepresented" in Chicago, since he already did the McCormick Center at IIT and is already on tap to build UIC's Center for the Arts. I'm honestly a fan of his work in the abstract, I loved reading Delirious New York but there's gotta be plenty of up-and-coming architects out there for whom this opportunity could make their career.

I understand what you're saying, but I honestly do not know of any 'up-and-coming architects' who would be able to fulfill the potentially daunting requirements that such a project like the DPI would require. Keep in mind, it's not just the design architect, but it will most likely be a large group of consultants that will make this project a reality. A seasoned, well-known, and more importantly, proven firm with numerous built projects may be better equipped for the task ahead, especially from a coordination perspective where there may be 10-15 sub-consultants they may need to manage.

I don't know the ins-and-outs fully of the project scope, but it's a massive, very complex and technically-involved undertaking with a lot of public and private money at stake, so I'm sure the state would be looking to avoid any unnecessary complications by hiring a primary design team lead that isn't experienced.

Btw, here is one of OMA/Koolhaas's more recently completed projects in Germany that I think is cool. Not necessarily indicative of what they may design for the DPI, because he doesn't necessarily have a particular design typology, compared to Gehry, Richard Meier, Zaha Hadid, etc:

https://cdn.sanity.io/images/5azy6oe...op&auto=format
https://oma.eu/office

[gebs]

Great example -- I love that building.

[ardecila]

Yeah I'm sure the UI people looked closely at Axel Springer (above) and the Tencent building in Beijing.

Or more accurately, the guys at SOM making renderings for the 78 decided to ape those two projects when they made the DPI placeholder. Now life is imitating art...

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Yeah I'm sure the UI people looked closely at Axel Springer (above) and the Tencent building in Beijing.

Or more accurately, the guys at SOM making renderings for the 78 decided to ape those two projects when they made the DPI placeholder. Now life is imitating art...

IIRC, I believe STL did the 2nd iteration rendering, when it changed from SOM's wider, more 'campus-like' building into a 12 story, single rectangular building with the diagonal cutout. But good catch on the connection; I wouldn't be surprised if STL probably did look at the Axel Springer building in Germany when they created the latest placeholder.

I've had to work on projects like that before; it's pretty common for some big institutional clients to create feasibility studies of massing, texture, material models of building projects, just for them to visualize design options, without committing to a design or even a designer.

[Mr Downtown]

An interesting sentence from the state's press release: "The winning team presented a proposal that was truly iconic and will be easily adaptable to the final project site (which changed late in the competition)."

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

An interesting sentence from the state's press release: "The winning team presented a proposal that was truly iconic and will be easily adaptable to the final project site (which changed late in the competition)."

The DPI site is shown in slightly different locations from the original masterplan (east of the fountain thingy):


vs the updated masterplan from this year, where it's shown east of one of the low-rise office buildings:


I suspect there's still a lot of massaging of the overall master plan.

[ardecila]

Sun Times has renderings this morning. Hard to tell how this is situated in The 78 based on the renderings. The design reminds me of Koolhaas' entry for the Lucas Museum, looks like OMA has been wanting to do this "pinecone" facade in Chicago for awhile.

Of course this will invite comparisons to Vessel in NY.

[RedCorsair87]

^Sign. Me. Up.

I love this. Looks very refreshing for Chicago

[ardecila]

There's actually a lot more information at the Capital Development Board's website:

Board #1:
https://www2.illinois.gov/cdb/procur..._Board%201.jpg

Board #2:
https://www2.illinois.gov/cdb/procur..._Board%202.jpg

Presentation (Video):
https://www2.illinois.gov/cdb/procur..._2256x1504.mp4