CHICAGO | General Developments

[Via Chicago]

Well, I presume the reason the city is hiring designers is to hopefully do a better job than they can. I wouldnt read too much into those renderings.

FWIW the projecting stuff on Merch Mart idea has been done before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsEyMiqlcpY

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Exactly. Bringing the people down to activate the space will be key. "Summer on the River" would be kind of cool. Also, all the buildings feel that much taller the closer you are to the river! I don't like the movie screen on the Merchandise Mart thing though. A bit much.

Seems like we're very much in agreement about this. I don't like the video projection thing either. If they were to absolutely want video projection on anything, I think they should do it much smaller and elsewhere. With a bunch of people though, the lighting could look great with the right types of lights and businesses/people.

I don't know why, but it kind of reminds me of the light that businesses emit on certain parts of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, such as:
http://www.hotelbuyukkeban.com/wp-co...ata_bridge.png
http://image.shutterstock.com/displa...y-86097244.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/48046430.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7273/7...1d2971b4_o.jpg

[ChiTownCity]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

A couple of conceptual renderings are available here:
http://www.suntimes.com/photos/galle...story=25116763

Whoa, so much for a peaceful stroll down the river with a significant other. I don't mind, and actually quite like that touch of blue outlining the river in this initial concept. That's about the only positive I can see from it as long as it doesn't actually get that bright. I never been a fan of masking/turning old architecturally sound buildings into giant billboards of random "art" so I really hope they don't go down this overly gaudy route...

[intrepidDesign]

Ultimately it wont be lights that bring people down, you can look at those from the bridges. There will have to be some kind of element that engages the public, food, music, performance, but not The Taste on the river (so to speak). I would urge the city to spend less time thinking about lights and more on substance. The lights are important, but without something unique and meaningful behind it, the whole thing will ring hollow. It would also be nice if instead of going the typical "brought to you by Chase Bank, Chase What Maters®" make it all local companies, local breweries, local designers, musicians, performers, local artists. Don't charge them an arm and a leg for permits, hell dont charge them anything, I think that would go a long way to making it something you can only experience here. Docked floating beer gardens anyone?

[J_M_Tungsten]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Seems like we're very much in agreement about this. I don't like the video projection thing either. If they were to absolutely want video projection on anything, I think they should do it much smaller and elsewhere. With a bunch of people though, the lighting could look great with the right types of lights and businesses/people.

I don't know why, but it kind of reminds me of the light that businesses emit on certain parts of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, such as:
http://www.hotelbuyukkeban.com/wp-co...ata_bridge.png
http://image.shutterstock.com/displa...y-86097244.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/48046430.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7273/7...1d2971b4_o.jpg

Great examples. The purplish lights under the bridge worry me a bit, but this is going to be a huge visual site, so I think the lights will be much less intense when you actually pass by.

Imagine this day...

[wierdaaron]

Oh, actually lighting the river makes more sense than lighting the riverwalk (since that's about to be in demo-flux). I do hope they get a little more professional design insight than they did for the Congress lighting scheme. It would need to be pretty subtle lighting to not seem totally out of place for Chicago. I really love the classic orange glow of Chicago at night, I'd rather see that augmented than replaced with neo-tokyo purple and green.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Great examples. The purplish lights under the bridge worry me a bit, but this is going to be a huge visual site, so I think the lights will be much less intense when you actually pass by.

I agree. I don't think it will be really SHARP, but it will still give off a warmer feel. I for one think that the city's colors are too drab sometimes. In my example pics - in real life they are pretty cool and it's not drastic or anything but subtle and positive. It actually adds to the experience because they're subtle but

I think it will be good. The colors in Chicago can be a little too drab sometimes. I always love the street art in Pilsen and Little Village because it brightens up the area even when it's shitty out. I like using Istanbul as my examples randomly, but it's a very colorful city in many areas where even drab rainy days aren't as bad in some areas (http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73...77ea269a76.jpg).

Now, if Chicago could get a pedestrian street like one of these, I'd be really happy (starting at 0:13): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-ndizYF2zU

[J_M_Tungsten]

Sweet. Definitely wheels-to-the-curb on that street.

[UPChicago]

Originally Posted by petey2428

My whole point was that it would make more sense for an international retailer to open a store in a city where more people have already heard of the brand. Being an Asian retailer, I would assume that out of all the ethnic groups, Asians would be more aware of the brand (fyi, I'm a foreign born Asian immigrant).

I honestly don't care if Uniqlo opens a store here. They are known more for their cheap basics (keyword here is cheap), so it's not something people would see anyway. An observation is not the same as an affirmation. People get so upset when someone points out that Chicago is more Midwestern than cosmopolitan, and apparently that's a bad thing?

Midwestern and cosmopolitan are NOT mutually exclusive.....

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by J_M_Tungsten

Sweet. Definitely wheels-to-the-curb on that street.

That's what you get when the ancient Romans, Byzantines, Greeks, Spanish, etc built your city. Great city. Check out the vid above too. I wish we had that here. I can't tell you how vibrant and amazing these streets are every single night even when it dips down to like 25-30 degrees and they whip out the heaters.

Color can be a good thing when used correctly and there are many examples of cultures out there who use it pretty well in their architecture and cityscapes.

[wierdaaron]

Can anybody ease my fear that eventually all of the warm orange sodium street lights in the city will be replaced by white LEDs or something? I'm extremely in favor of being environmentally conscious, and I even like clean white lighting for certain uses (landscaping in particular) but the orange hue of the city lights adds so much character that I think losing it would be a tragedy.

Maybe once they move to something else they can at least tint them orange somehow. Like a white bulb in an orange lantern. I hate the idea of Chicago's misty orange glow at night eventually turning into a white bloom.

[Mr Downtown]

The new Lakeside Bank at NWC 14th & Michigan will be a two-story building all along the Michigan frontage, with a big drive-thru facility west all the way to the alley, auto entry and exit from 14th. Must be finished by end of the year, as MPEA is taking the Cermak & Indiana location Dec. 31st.

[i_am_hydrogen]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

Can anybody ease my fear that eventually all of the warm orange sodium street lights in the city will be replaced by white LEDs or something? I'm extremely in favor of being environmentally conscious, and I even like clean white lighting for certain uses (landscaping in particular) but the orange hue of the city lights adds so much character that I think losing it would be a tragedy.

Maybe once they move to something else they can at least tint them orange somehow. Like a white bulb in an orange lantern. I hate the idea of Chicago's misty orange glow at night eventually turning into a white bloom.

As a night photographer, sodium vapor lights are the bane of my existence. I remember reading awhile back that the city was planning to replace them with metal-halide lights. But it seems like that hasn't come to fruition, except in a few locations. For example, the lights on LSD are now metal-halide.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...ts-orange-glow

[BWChicago]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

Can anybody ease my fear that eventually all of the warm orange sodium street lights in the city will be replaced by white LEDs or something? I'm extremely in favor of being environmentally conscious, and I even like clean white lighting for certain uses (landscaping in particular) but the orange hue of the city lights adds so much character that I think losing it would be a tragedy.

Maybe once they move to something else they can at least tint them orange somehow. Like a white bulb in an orange lantern. I hate the idea of Chicago's misty orange glow at night eventually turning into a white bloom.

They started swapping Sodium for Metal Halide in 2011. Not sure how active that program has been under Rahm. I think Western looks better, myself.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...ts-orange-glow

[wierdaaron]

Guess I should get some orange-colored glasses.

[Chi-Sky21]

Tungsten...i love you. (strictly plutonic) I was just going to comment about how i find it funny we get better renders on this thread than the suntimes can do..and then scroll down a bit...and see this.

Imagine this day...
[/QUOTE]

AWESOME!!

[markh9]

Some activity today, but Cold Storage feels frozen in time.



-------

Also, while picking up some kabanosy from Kurowski's today, I ran into this, which seems to have flown under the radar:











At Milwaukee and Central Park. If memory serves, wasn't this a Latino charter/private school? Not UNO...something that started with an A? I remember seeing some renderings 2 or so years ago, but not much since then.

EDIT: Found it! It's the ASPIRA Business and Finance High School.

Aspira Financial High School is an 81,000 s.f., four-story charter school facility with a 32-space parking lot on a 1.0 acre lot. The site drainage provisions were designed utilizing sustainable best management practices (BMPs) including green roof and permeable pavement systems in order to mitigate onsite runoff onto the public way and public sewer system.

Small renderings here:




And a small bit of info here and here.

There were a lot more renders posted in this thread 2 years ago, but the linked website seems to be down.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by marothisu

The river is not "perfection" The skyline around it is nice but a lot could be done to it. I guess it depends on what they want to do with it all, but I kind of like it, especially if they can put eateries and stuff in some areas there or make it more active for people. Maybe dim the lights a little though.

Are you talking about the pedestrian experience? Because the skyline around it isn't just 'nice'; it's one of the most breathtaking series of views in the city. In fact, I'd argue it rivals the Michigan Avenue street wall along Grant Park in beauty. I throw 'awesome' around a lot but in the case of the river I think it applies in its truest sense.

Originally Posted by alex1

I don't know. I moved to New Haven, CT in 2007 and to Hoboken (directly across the Hudson from the Meat Packing District) in 2009 and I genuinely don't see much of a cosmopolitan divide between the different regions.

I was frankly surprised by the number of trashy Jersey Shore types in Connecticut.

[zolk]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

Can anybody ease my fear that eventually all of the warm orange sodium street lights in the city will be replaced by white LEDs or something? I'm extremely in favor of being environmentally conscious, and I even like clean white lighting for certain uses (landscaping in particular) but the orange hue of the city lights adds so much character that I think losing it would be a tragedy.

Maybe once they move to something else they can at least tint them orange somehow. Like a white bulb in an orange lantern. I hate the idea of Chicago's misty orange glow at night eventually turning into a white bloom.

Regardless of the lighting technology, the city now uses white lighting for all new installations. They're requiring a color temperature between 4000 and 4600 Kelvin with a color rendition index of 85 or greater.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by ChiTownCity

Whoa, so much for a peaceful stroll down the river with a significant other. I don't mind, and actually quite like that touch of blue outlining the river in this initial concept. That's about the only positive I can see from it as long as it doesn't actually get that bright. I never been a fan of masking/turning old architecturally sound buildings into giant billboards of random "art" so I really hope they don't go down this overly gaudy route...

While I hope they do something tastefully and noteworthy I will give them credit for trying instead of not doing enough or going with the status quo. I had been a bit worried that they plan not to do anything with the open air squares separating Lower Wacker from the River Walk between Michigan and Wabash. I've often thought that some sort of kinetic art/lighting or tasteful displays is really needed there in order to not make the overall river walk project to look pedestrian and unfinished.