CHICAGO | OneEleven - 111 West Wacker | 630 FT | 59 FLOORS | COM

[jc5680]

Originally Posted by emathias

I think your disdain of a feature that is in no way the same as precast along a sidewalk is, well, counterproductive, in that it discourages even marginally better design. And the glass with a "swoosh" is much more than just marginally better than pre-cast against a sidewalk.

To be fair, I don't have disdain for the feature. My initial response was to a question about the building creating a "powerful impression" to which I don't agree.

The swoosh I find to be a detail that is little more than a gimmick used to mask the other design shortfalls of the building.

Yes, the swoosh and the pre-cast at river point do not share the same relative amount of design impact. I was merely trying to illustrate similarly poor design thinking. To me, both look like afterthoughts that try to hide significant blemishes.

[Notyrview]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ You would if you had the perspective of how this view would have looked 7 or 8 years ago.

The shorter glassy office tower on the right (the one that says 'Salesforce' on it) wasn't there, neither was the Amli tower, 353 N Clark, 300 N Lasalle, or the tri-hotels and, most recently, 111 W Wacker.

A same view down this corridor back then was far, far, far less impressive

well, i used to work right by there. 300 is powerful. amli is perhaps the ugliest tower i have every seen (i'm not kidding). 111 isn't bad, but it's not powerful. maybe it's because the pic wasn't taken with a good camera, but the whole bunch of stuff there looks far from impressive.

[ThatOneGuy]

Jeez, it's like nobody has ever heard of minimalist architecture.

Everybody has to comment that 'oh this building doesn't have details.'
No kidding.

The architecture comes from the overall clean forms themselves, not from the sculptures you would see on other "detailed" buildings.

Or maybe everybody's still can't get it out of their heads that the awkward looking postmodernist design wasn't built.

[J_M_Tungsten]

It's clear everyone has their own interpretation of this building. I wouldn't describe it as powerful, but it fills a void that has been since the start of the city. Maybe those who despise it can get a petition going to have it demolished and return it to its former glory days (7 story white building):
Source: horschgallery.com
(forgive the not good camera there notview)

[marothisu]

I personally like the building and don't see why everyone is so pissed off about it.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by ThatOneGuy

The architecture comes from the overall clean forms themselves

Good architecture is more than mere massing. Mies, Adrian Smith, Helmut Jahn on good days, and even David Hovey have shown that a simple massing can become transcendent with careful detailing. This box is more like Epstein's design for 150 North Michigan: one simplistic idea and everything else is just spackle and Bondo.

When I say detailing, I don't mean adding ornament or geegaws; I mean understanding how curtain walls can be detailed to look crafted, to properly display the nature of materials, and to offer subtle delights to the eye under different sunlight conditions. Cladding a prism in squares of cheap glass with such bad oilcanning is a fail that can't be redeemed by carving in a random groove/reveal. If you don't have the budget for a curtain wall system that will keep the glass flat, then understand the nature of your materials and use grooved mullions, extend and recess the wall planes, or a hundred other ways to show that you've mastered the art of building, not just the art of extruding a square upward in a CAD program.

[Design-mind]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Great old photo of Wacker Drive. The place is now one of the great canyons with a new kid on the block.

[Vlajos]

I like it, strange how so many hate it. Oh well.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Notyrview

well, i used to work right by there. 300 is powerful. amli is perhaps the ugliest tower i have every seen (i'm not kidding). 111 isn't bad, but it's not powerful. maybe it's because the pic wasn't taken with a good camera, but the whole bunch of stuff there looks far from impressive.

^ I see what you're saying, you're more interested in the design of the buildings, which is fine. Amli really does look like crap.

But I'm talking about the filling in of the cityscape. Chicago's downtown population growth being the fastest in the nation is reflected in such photographic comparisons.

Anyhow, not to take this thread off topic...

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Good architecture is more than mere massing. Mies, Adrian Smith, Helmut Jahn on good days, and even David Hovey have shown that a simple massing can become transcendent with careful detailing. This box is more like Epstein's design for 150 North Michigan: one simplistic idea and everything else is just spackle and Bondo.

When I say detailing, I don't mean adding ornament or geegaws; I mean understanding how curtain walls can be detailed to look crafted, to properly display the nature of materials, and to offer subtle delights to the eye under different sunlight conditions. Cladding a prism in squares of cheap glass with such bad oilcanning is a fail that can't be redeemed by carving in a random groove/reveal. If you don't have the budget for a curtain wall system that will keep the glass flat, then understand the nature of your materials and use grooved mullions, extend and recess the wall planes, or a hundred other ways to show that you've mastered the art of building, not just the art of extruding a square upward in a CAD program.

Yes, yes, yes.

[killaviews]

Originally Posted by Design-mind

Great old photo of Wacker Drive. The place is now one of the great canyons with a new kid on the block.

Is there any other canyon like it in the world?

I know other cities have rivers running through them, but the Chicago River/Wacker drive canyon has some unique features, its lined nearly continuously with skyscrapers and its narrow, making it seem like the buildings are just across the street from each other. I'm curious if there are other examples of such a canyon.

[thewaterman11]

Chicago Architecture Blog has entirely cleared the air when it comes to the inspiration of the swoosh.



http://blog.chicagoarchitecture.info/2014/01/02/status-update-111-west-wacker-sets-itself-apart/

[texcolo]

It's disappointing, but at least they were able to make the best of a bad situation.

[harryc]

[LouisVanDerWright]

^^^Amateurs... Seriously, Related has turned into such a shitty, "slap 'em up" developer... Let's hope to god that Kehller comes through and saves the spire site from these morons...

[marothisu]

I like the view of that first new picture - it adds nicely to the wall. That glass mishap is both hilarious and sad at the same time.

[SamInTheLoop]

^ And hard to believe, particularly after that earlier, very well documented curtain wall mistake......

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

^ And hard to believe, particularly after that earlier, very well documented curtain wall mistake......

Which one? The one at 500 N LSD or the terrible treatment of the alignment of the glass panels adjacent to the "arbitrary zig zag"? They eventually corrected the former and the latter I don't think was a mistake as much as it was them being horrendously cheap. I wish we could just ban Related from Chicago and stop them from polluting our city with any more of their cheap trash.

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by sentinel

If you're referring to this from JMT's photo

The window was installed in the wrong location - it needs to be moved over to the right to align with the window line above and below it, and the gap on the left will still need to be filled in. I'm sure it will be corrected.

^ This is what I was referring to.....

I wouldn't advocate by any means for letting Related Midwest 'off the hook', but what about Lend Lease, Handel etc? How do we divvy out blame and scorn here??

[J_M_Tungsten]

Today


Arbitrary camera angle