CHICAGO | The Elysian | 686 FT / 209 M | 60 FLOORS | COM

[Rizzo]

This should be relocated out of the construction section. I live practically across the street form this. There is currently no scheduled work permits at this time, no visible work or maintenance of any kind. Therefore, is officially a completed project.

[denizen467]

A couple months ago there was something somewhere on the upper half of the building that they were changing the color of (or there was some boom or crane around there) - is that done?

Though I guess getting 2 stars (!!) in the Michelin Guide for the Ria restaurant is sorta an indicator that the thing's completed.

[ChiTownCity]

This would look so much better with windows on its crown/hat thing...

[kingkirbythe....]

crown/hat thing = mansard roof
:-)

[george]

Check it, Curbed, On the Market:

http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/categories/gold_coast.php?page=2

[Rizzo]

As unfortunate as the outside turned out, the unit is certainly spectacular.

[ardecila]

I would live there.

It's like the top of the Eiffel Tower - that unit would be the only place in the city where you don't have to look at the Elysian.

[wrab]

I wouldn't live there, but I'd visit all the time to use that great bathtub.

[spyguy]

It blends in better at night, from a distance:


jaimolas/ flickr

[brian.odonnell20]

If they just took the "hat" off, it wouldn't even look that bad.

[Lecom]

Originally Posted by orderlychaos

crown/hat thing = mansard roof
:-)

Calling that crown/hat thing a "mansard roof" would be an insult to mansard roofs.

[Metranite]

The roof is supposed to be absurd. It's a mansurd roof.

[denizen467]

^ It was originally planned as a reasonably attractive mansard roof (see the renders). During construction it ended up getting VE'd into something rather different and unfortunate. Probably not much the architect could have done; blame the developer.

[wrab]

Originally Posted by Metranite

.....It's a mansurd roof.

Blandsard roof?

[wrab]

From the excellent Curbed Chicago website:

Curbed Awards 2010 Real Estate: The Buildings!

Biggest Seller: No condo development has experienced as much success as Elysian during the recession. The building owns all the top spots in 2010 condo sales, and in one week alone at the beginning of this month, seven condos sold for a combined $36.3 million.

Read the Curbed Chicago article here.

[wrab]

^ The developer is clearly in touch with the sensibilities of a certain high-end segment of the market. Can't say I quite understand it, but the numbers here don't lie.

[denizen467]

^ I'd say it's three things:
--The motor court - it's like suburban country club privacy in the middle of the city (no developer has been so ambitious as to include an enclosed "front yard" like this in the heart of a highrise residential environment);
--The location - it's basically Oak & Michigan, yet it's off to the side enough for privacy; and
--The branding - the evocative french name, the rustic fin-de-siecle, je-ne-sais-quoi typeface, the french theme and the marketing website and materials that went with it (think of how many developers choose the bland, midwestern-flatland grid-coordinates, zero-imagination route of names like "600 Lake Shore Drive").

So other than those couple big hits, the dude probably lacks enough aesthetic sense to know the failsard roof was just one awful fail.

[SamInTheLoop]

^ The Elysian by Lucien Lagrange is such an all-around outrageous turd of a design, that it really solidifies in my mind how awful overall tastes still run for a substantial proportion of Chicagoans with money (or without money for that matter) - seeing the spate of closings this year at eye-popping prices.....especially in a city of such distinguised architectural tradition, it's pretty sad I have to say...

For other evidence of this, check downtown condo listings with pictures of how some folks have designed/furnished the interiors of their units in what are some of the better modern exterior designs of the recent boom - there's quite a number out there.....that you have regrettable absolute taste in design is one thing, but when you would willfilly design/furnish a unit in poor form that also violently clashes with a solid (or better) quality exterior design almost leaves one hopeless....

[ardecila]

I can't bring myself to be quite that snobby. Modern buildings should be flexible enough to accommodate the gamut of people's tastes in furnishings and decoration.

If the last boom has covered Chicago in turds, I blame the architectural community for putting out such crap. It is possible to make elegant, well-proportioned facades in both traditional and modern styles. These scars on our city are failures at this. But it's not the job of the public to have "acceptable taste". They don't see "well-composed" or "clumsy" design, only the rudiments of architectural style, square footage, and amenities. It's our responsibility as architects to design buildings that we can rightfully call well-designed.

[SamInTheLoop]

^ I don't know - perhaps I'd feel differently if I were an architect myself, but I'll reserve the right to retain a bit of snobbishness (or the ability to call a spade a spade as it were)......the public does have a lot of choice in the marketplace, and consumption dollars do reveal design taste, admittedly among many other things...

Truth be told I generally tend to agree with you - I definitely do blame architects more so than developers for putting up a POS..........no developer, even one who cares about nothing more than $$$, even on a ruthless budget and relentless VE program, has outlined to his/her commissioned architect that the end result must look like a crap.....I believe even under those circumstances, even average design architects can produce quality work deserving of their profession...