CHCAGO | Thompson Center redevelopment | Jahn's MASTERPIECE will be saved!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rocket49]

It's a pity they'll be removing the blue and pink panels.

The bright colors were eye-catching and jolted the senses a bit. A pleasant change from bland stainless steel.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by dropdeaded209

...

We had the world premiere in Chicago on December 1 as part of a retrospective of my work--Helmut's family was in attendance, giving me the chance to meet many of them for the first time.

Thank you for posting. I wanted to go to the screening at the Siskel Center but my schedule didn't allow it.

[The Pimp]

Terrible building! This was a terrible design for it's intended use. Just ask anyone who had to work in that building. Complete eyesore.

[west-town-brad]

went to get my drivers license renewed with my wife last week at the Thompson Center. standing in line my wife remarked: "wow this building has a lot of wasted space"

truer words

[woodrow]

^^yeah, lots of wasted space. We should tear it down. Also, the capitol building in Springfield!! TONS of wasted space. Should totally tear that down as well and build a more functional building. I mean, really, all the capitol buildings waste so much space. Also, Harold Washington has tons of wasted space. Ridiculous. And main branch of NYPL - sooooo much wasted space. In Manhattan! Get rid of it and have more functional space. Have you seeen how much wasted space there is at the Poetry Foundation. They should make it way more functional. Also, the Ford Foundation building in NY? Awful, so much wasted space.

[ardecila]

I mean, it does have a lot of wasted space. Half the basement is a giant auditorium that never gets used. There are numerous vacant retail spaces on the ground floor, lower level, and even the 2nd floor. Some of them are basically un-leasable because they have no visibility or they're hard to get to. Etc etc. I will happily defend the atrium and the building's open spaces but it definitely needs to be re-planned, repurposed and renovated.

Putting leasing into the hands of a private landlord will be better too... I know the state went out of their way to lease retail space to minority/Black owned small businesses which is good, but there has to be a mix, you need anchors to drive foot traffic. I imagine the state threw up all kinds of impossible standards and barriers to leasing and buildouts, as well (MBE contracting, prevailing wage, etc).

[The Pimp]

This renovation is nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig. I thought this building was an eyesore when they opened it in 1985. It's a giant 1980's mall with government offices. Tear STARSHIP PLAZA down!.

[west-town-brad]

Originally Posted by woodrow

^^yeah, lots of wasted space. We should tear it down. Also, the capitol building in Springfield!! TONS of wasted space. Should totally tear that down as well and build a more functional building. I mean, really, all the capitol buildings waste so much space. Also, Harold Washington has tons of wasted space. Ridiculous. And main branch of NYPL - sooooo much wasted space. In Manhattan! Get rid of it and have more functional space. Have you seeen how much wasted space there is at the Poetry Foundation. They should make it way more functional. Also, the Ford Foundation building in NY? Awful, so much wasted space.

mildly hilarious comparisons

[woodrow]

Originally Posted by west-town-brad

mildly hilarious comparisons

Wasn't really meant to be. Part of the design program for the Thompson center was to evoke capitol buildings. The atrium was envisioned as a modern day version of a rotunda. My initial comparison is directly to that idea. They wanted a grand public space where the public would interact with the state. They most broke from the idea of a grand government edifice by including retail and restaurants, but that was to further that sense of a public space.

Whether one likes the design or not is a matter of preference and taste, but the idea that it wastes space ignores what Thompson and Jahn were going after.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by ardecila

And also plenty of protests and civic actions. When you talk about "the public square", this is the closest physical translation of that in Chicago. All races and ethnicities are welcomed, all political persuasions, anyone can come and speak their piece. These spaces are especially important when most Americans see the world through the lens of Facebook and Twitter. Real life physical spaces don't have fake news or clickbait.

Making the atrium open-air may reduce the operating costs of the building and improve warm-season comfort for the office workers, but it will remove the enclosure that makes the Thompson Center such an effective year-round gathering space for Chicagoans. Now the atrium will just be another frigid plaza like Daley Plaza or Federal Plaza, which are fine spaces but mostly lifeless in winter.

I hope at the very least that Jahn will do the microclimate analysis and energy modeling that's always been promised, so the atrium can remain cool and ventilated in warmer months, otherwise it could be an unpleasant space year-round. All those plants will just increase humidity so good passive ventilation is key.

I hope there is some commitment to keeping the space available for that use. Chicago really could use more quality, multi-use gathering spaces and which are truly public, not just the 'privatized' public space that seems the norm

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by woodrow

^^yeah, lots of wasted space. We should tear it down. Also, the capitol building in Springfield!! TONS of wasted space. Should totally tear that down as well and build a more functional building. I mean, really, all the capitol buildings waste so much space. Also, Harold Washington has tons of wasted space. Ridiculous. And main branch of NYPL - sooooo much wasted space. In Manhattan! Get rid of it and have more functional space. Have you seeen how much wasted space there is at the Poetry Foundation. They should make it way more functional. Also, the Ford Foundation building in NY? Awful, so much wasted space.

Grand indoor spaces used to seem more ubiquitous. As we have fewer of them or they are less publicly accessible, they may be better appreciated. Can't take for granted having grand office lobbies, soaring churches, train terminals, banks, hotels, theaters.... even the maligned indoor suburban mall could possess a kind of grandeur

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by woodrow

^^yeah, lots of wasted space. We should tear it down. Also, the capitol building in Springfield!! TONS of wasted space. Should totally tear that down as well and build a more functional building. I mean, really, all the capitol buildings waste so much space. Also, Harold Washington has tons of wasted space. Ridiculous. And main branch of NYPL - sooooo much wasted space. In Manhattan! Get rid of it and have more functional space. Have you seeen how much wasted space there is at the Poetry Foundation. They should make it way more functional. Also, the Ford Foundation building in NY? Awful, so much wasted space.

Agreed 100 percent. Union Station is also a waste and should be made more functional.

[ardecila]

I mean, Union Station was always supposed to be expanded vertically. It's looked awkward since 1925. Hopefully they build something eventually. I agree that the last Goettsch design from 2017 was awful (just a single mass) but a twin tower scheme like the above image would be nice. Obviously that curtain wall is totally wrong but you could definitely do a nice facade system with terracotta, limestone or copper...

[k1052]

Originally Posted by bcp

^^^ thank the lord that never happened....leave US alone, add height to surrounding parcels

It's always looked squat and that should be fixed...just not with anything that's been proposed yet. Either go conventional with something that will blend with the base or go nuts on something wild.

[harryc]

Originally Posted by k1052

It's always looked squat and that should be fixed...just not with anything that's been proposed yet. Either go conventional with something that will blend with the base or go nuts on something wild.

The barbarians are at the gate (again ) just like the Thompson center US's big open spaces are part of the charm, part of a need that is filled.

Ornamentation that serves no purpose whatsoever.


What's this ? nothing there - just for show.


And look at all the wasted space - not even a few birds ( which the Thompson center does have )

[Ned.B]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I mean, Union Station was always supposed to be expanded vertically. It's looked awkward since 1925. Hopefully they build something eventually. I agree that the last Goettsch design from 2017 was awful (just a single mass) but a twin tower scheme like the above image would be nice. Obviously that curtain wall is totally wrong but you could definitely do a nice facade system with terracotta, limestone or copper...

Quick correction: the last design that was panned in the public meetings and linked here was created by SCB. The last Goettsch design was never actually released to the public and the first Goettsch design shown above was nothing more than a napkin massing sketch for the developer proposal.

[rivernorthlurker]

Originally Posted by Ned.B

Quick correction: the last design that was panned in the public meetings and linked here was created by SCB. The last Goettsch design was never actually released to the public and the first Goettsch design shown above was nothing more than a napkin massing sketch for the developer proposal.

The problem with building on top now is that you'd be killing a lot of the sunlight from the recently restored skylight.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I mean, Union Station was always supposed to be expanded vertically. It's looked awkward since 1925. Hopefully they build something eventually. I agree that the last Goettsch design from 2017 was awful (just a single mass) but a twin tower scheme like the above image would be nice. Obviously that curtain wall is totally wrong but you could definitely do a nice facade system with terracotta, limestone or copper...

If Union Station has an addition added on, it should be the original plan by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White.


Source: chicago.curbed.com

[west-town-brad]

Originally Posted by woodrow

Wasn't really meant to be. Part of the design program for the Thompson center was to evoke capitol buildings. The atrium was envisioned as a modern day version of a rotunda. My initial comparison is directly to that idea. They wanted a grand public space where the public would interact with the state. They most broke from the idea of a grand government edifice by including retail and restaurants, but that was to further that sense of a public space.

Whether one likes the design or not is a matter of preference and taste, but the idea that it wastes space ignores what Thompson and Jahn were going after.

that might have been the "design program" but they built a nasty 1980's office building instead and a poor one at that with a lot of grand wasted space. not all that surprising when you see how the state of IL generally spends it's tax revenues. sorry but I spent 10 years going into the building nearly every day and I can't say anything nice about it.

[rgarri4]

Stewart Hicks recently made a nice video explaining its value, its ugliness, and the "indoor plaza" design of the interior.

• Video Link