CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction, v7

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by Jibba

It is kind of a dog. XO was fine, but this is clumsy and turgid.

Totally agree. Not a fan at all. Did you read the little explanations under the diagrams? It's like they didn't even try. Ugh.

[ChiTownWonder]

http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2...9-s-wabash.php curbed article of McCormick place apartments

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by ChiTownWonder

http://chicago.curbed.com/archives/2...9-s-wabash.php curbed article of McCormick place apartments

Those are nice. SCB should stick to that scale.

[sentinel]

Cermak & Wabash looks great.

13th & Michigan looks interesting - perhaps not a stellar design, but I appreciate the desire to create something against the grain, relative to everything else on S. Mich.

The Vinoly proposal(s) knocks my fucking socks off. Nuff said.

In other news, the new Conrad hotel will be opening in May 2016. 300 keys, very very spacious rooms since its an old office conversion. Very luxe interiors. Will report more later.

[Near North Resident]

Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G

Totally agree. Not a fan at all. Did you read the little explanations under the diagrams? It's like they didn't even try. Ugh.

lol yeah, it read as though "hey we probably spent about 15 minutes thinking on this one"

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G

Totally agree. Not a fan at all. Did you read the little explanations under the diagrams? It's like they didn't even try. Ugh.

I'm not seeing clumsy or turgid here. Not at all. I wouldn't say "I'm a big fan", but this building is fine. It's tall, all glass, simple, and well proportioned. It's a generic, glass tower with decent looking facede treatment (albeit fairly gimmicky). I'm just not seeing this the way you two are... and I generally don't like anything.

XO, imo, was the turgid proposal. I was glad to see that thing die. I never understood the obsession with it.

[wierdaaron]

Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G

Totally agree. Not a fan at all. Did you read the little explanations under the diagrams? It's like they didn't even try. Ugh.

This?


I think it's worth pointing out that none of the 3 things announced last night have parking podiums. The parking ratio on the Mich Ave one is a little high, but that was a concession to the neighborhood and the above-mentioned parking shortage in prairieville.

The tower massing goes down to the street level at least, and the podium is only apparent on the sides and doesn't scream parking garage:



It is a little wanda-y with the angled chamfers looking a bit like fustrums, but holy cow could it have been worse.

[ChickeNES]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

It is a little wanda-y with the angled chamfers looking a bit like fustrums, but holy cow could it have been worse.

It looks like they took that pattern from Block37 and turned it sideways.

[ChiTownWonder]

Yea that mini wanda is totaly non offensive. Its modern glassy, one smooth design.

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G

Totally agree. Not a fan at all. Did you read the little explanations under the diagrams? It's like they didn't even try. Ugh.

I know. It's like a parody of a piece in a grad school application. "Take this big thing, make it into two, and then add this geometry, man."

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

I'm not seeing clumsy or turgid here. Not at all. I wouldn't say "I'm a big fan", but this building is fine. It's tall, all glass, simple, and well proportioned. It's a generic, glass tower with decent looking facede treatment (albeit fairly gimmicky). I'm just not seeing this the way you two are... and I generally don't like anything.

XO, imo, was the turgid proposal. I was glad to see that thing die. I never understood the obsession with it.

It's certainly fine. It would be nice as one taller volume. The two masses are not balanced with one another, and it makes the composition look incidental. There's just not a lot of design here; a minimum of it, at best. A step above 500 LSD, which is saying practically nothing. And the street-level treatment is hack.

I can understand not liking XO, but at least it was dynamic.

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by Jibba

It's certainly fine.

Exactly. I guess what I'm saying is, compared to all the other horrible shit that has come out of that SCB office for over a decade, this is an amazingly huge improvement. I mean, compared to all their absolute turds like Hubbard Place, Kingsbury Plaza, those "Streeter" twins, that 340 eyesore, or even their newest pile of shit up the street on State, this is damn near world-class. Comparatively, of course.

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Exactly. I guess what I'm saying is, compared to all the other horrible shit that has come out of that SCB office for over a decade, this is an amazingly huge improvement. I mean, compared to all their absolute turds like Hubbard Place, Kingsbury Plaza, those "Streeter" twins, or even their newest pile of shit up the street on State, this is damn near world class. Comparatively, of course.

True. But I kind of enjoy Kingsbury Plaza... .

And the State Street thing could turn out to be OK. They're aping VDT with that one. We'll see how successful it is. Though, when I was up in that area last, the west wall of the parking podium had zero openings in it! Let's hope some are getting cut in?

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by Jibba

True. But I kind of enjoy Kingsbury Plaza... .

And the State Street thing could turn out to be OK. They're aping VDT with that one. We'll see how successful it is. Though, when I was up in that area last, the west wall of the parking podium had zero openings in it! Let's hope some are getting cut in?

RE Kingsbury Plaza, that's all you, bro...


scb

And maybe the tower won't be so bad. But that base looks like it will be yet another god-awful, confused looking mess. I'm anticipating another horrible addition to State here... unfortunate, yet expected; the standards in Chicago are incredibly low. I came to accept this year ago, which is why bullshit developments like this and many or most over the last decade seldom get me angry anymore. But yeah, I'm 100% not a fan of this State street thing.

[Near North Resident]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Exactly. I guess what I'm saying is, compared to all the other horrible shit that has come out of that SCB office for over a decade, this is an amazingly huge improvement. I mean, compared to all their absolute turds like Hubbard Place, Kingsbury Plaza, those "Streeter" twins, that 340 eyesore, or even their newest pile of shit up the street on State, this is damn near world-class. Comparatively, of course.

I think Hubbard place looks nice in person at least

But you are right they have a specific look that is not very appealing generally, the podium treatment here sucks IMO that wicker basket pattern stuff needs to DIE A FAST DEATH and never be seen again, I mean seriously its the same crap from block 37 turned sideways

but seriously this design is so generic, it would be better and not as clumsy if the tall tower was much taller and maybe tapered towards the top a little more, as it is it looks stupid and tacked on

[rlw777]

^ I like the pattern on the base it adds a nice texture and it's 1000 times better than the horrid graphic patterns we've seen on some parking podiums lately. It's the weird chamfers and attempt to break op the mass of the tower that needs a lot of work here. However for SCB this is a step in the right direction away from their nasty habit of highlighting prominent features of their residential buildings with white cladding.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by rlw777

However for SCB this is a step in the right direction away from their nasty habit of highlighting prominent features of their residential buildings with white cladding.

yeah, for a while there last decade i thought "SCB" stood for "Stripey Cladding Bands".

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

RE Kingsbury Plaza, that's all you, bro...

And maybe the tower won't be so bad. But that base looks like it will be yet another god-awful, confused looking mess. I'm anticipating another horrible addition to State here... unfortunate, yet expected; the standards in Chicago are incredibly low. I came to accept this year ago, which is why bullshit developments like this and many or most over the last decade seldom get me angry anymore. But yeah, I'm 100% not a fan of this State street thing.

Oh, nevermind. I read you wrong. I was thinking of State/Elm (also by them):


http://4eastelm.com/

[pilsenarch]

did anybody else see the drawings that spyguy briefly posted for the 1000'+ 1000 S Michigan tower?

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by Jibba

I know. It's like a parody of a piece in a grad school application. "Take this big thing, make it into two, and then add this geometry, man."

I feel like this method of communicating design intent is just done-zo. It's like, you know, how Facebook was so edgy and cool when it first rolled out and then you get a friend request from your mom and you're like, "Nope." These diagrams were edgy and cool when Rem Koolhaas was doing it, but when the architecture firm equivalent of Amy Poehler's character from Mean Girls takes it up you know it's time to shut it down.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by pilsenarch

did anybody else see the drawings that spyguy briefly posted for the 1000'+ 1000 S Michigan tower?

new thread: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=218947

please continue discussion there.