CHICAGO | General Developments

[Rizzo]

I certainly hope it's all glass similar to the other store in the colored rendering, but the b&w only shows ground floor and stairwell windows lit. It's just a little concerning.

[spyguy]

Originally Posted by pip

ah ok thats better I was going by the first small pic

Just to be clear the first image is of the Chicago store, the second is of a store in Beijing that I think gives an idea of what the Chicago store will look like cladding-wise.

Originally Posted by Hayward

I certainly hope it's all glass similar to the other store in the colored rendering, but the b&w only shows ground floor and stairwell windows lit. It's just a little concerning.

I'd like more windows too, especially some diamond shaped ones. But at the end of the day I think it's still a positive statement about Chicago and a handsome addition to the Mag Mile.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by spyguy

The new Burberry flagship store (thanks to denizen467 for the heads up)

I was going to say, this is a ballsy building, I like it, especially if its got that sick black cladding like the one in Beijing. Windows aren't necessary if the blank wall is interesting and serves a purpose. Whatever happened to form follows function? Since when do we need third floor views while shopping? That just wastes wall space where items can be displayed. They put windows where they need them: Ground floor and the stairwell where they don't waste display space...

I think its a great design and am so glad its not going to be some rancid pomo atrocity.

This will be the most handsome building constructed on Michigan Avenue since the Hancock building if its got the same materials as the Beijing store. Its also much more vertical than the Beijing store and subsequently has better massing. I love the exposed stairwell too. I think this design is much better than the Beijing design from those standpoints...

[Busy Bee]

This new Burberry looks slick. I too hope the materials will be top notch. Whenever I compare boutique retail flagships, the one I always treat as a standard bearer is:


Tokyo Prada

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[sentinel]

^^Thanks for posting spyguy.. do you or denizen have any info. on who the architect is, or a larger rendering?

[denizen467]

^ I do not, but there's a good chance that spyguy does. Spyguy, nice of you to mention the credit.. it's a rare occasion that I am able to scoop you, LOL!

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

This will be the most handsome building constructed on Michigan Avenue since the Hancock building if its got the same materials as the Beijing store. Its also much more vertical than the Beijing store and subsequently has better massing. I love the exposed stairwell too. I think this design is much better than the Beijing design from those standpoints...

Dang, good point, now that you mention it. Sort of disconcerting, really.

But, I feel Boul Mich has recently hit a critical mass where this should become less rare. Not just because Burberry is initiating an arms race in design presence along the street, but because of the other international boutiques moving in (Zara, H&M, All Saints, TopShop), the cachet of the Peninsula, the Ritz (despite everything), and the fact that the street is pretty much built out with higher-end retail now (the last couple inexpensive places like Garrett's and Hanig's having disappeared). Incidentally, the national morning cable news show Morning Joe is moving from NYC for 1 day this Friday to do its live broadcast from the RL Restaurant with Oprah, Tom Brokaw, and other local luminaries. From Trump and his tower, to Oprah's season opener on the bridge last season, to Al Roker doing live Today reports (btw I largely read about, not watch, most of this teevee stuff) from Pioneer Court last week, I think Michigan Avenue is nearing national "everyman" recognition as the urbane, glamorous midway point between Hollywood and Rockefeller Center. Pretty soon, national network anchors calling it the "Miracle Mile" will come off not as condescending, but as just plain uninformed. I just wonder whether Rahm Emanuel knows what flowers and planters are...

[ardecila]

Hanig's may have left, but now HomeGoods is moving in, and we've already got Best Buy. I don't think Zara, H&M, or AllSaints are necessarily "high-fashion" brands. You can get those at Old Orchard.

Is Burberry the first purpose-built flagship for a fashion house on Michigan? (Apple isn't a fashion house... yet)

My guess is that the facade will be an inversion of the Beijing Burberry, with the stripes as mirror and the background as black. It'd be cooler if the stripes were somehow window, and the background was concrete mounted flush to the glass.

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

^ Don't forget Gap and Crate & Barrel (the flagship store of which, built long after the Hancock, is quite handsome-- to counter Nowhereman's point).

I don't know... I'm skeptical of the Burberry store's design merits. I don't think there's anything special about the Beijing one; it looks like applique on mirrored glass. And the image of it posted by spyguy is a rendering, no? If so, the finish could be awful. IMO, the best part of the Chicago store is that Miesian staircase abutting the window-wall.

[EarlyBuyer]

Good point Ch.G, Ch.G. The Crate & Barrel is a great example, the Gap however was not built for them, or clothing for that matter.

The original purpose of the building (555 N. Michigan) was for a restaurant called the "Official All-Star Cafe", which was a subsidiary of Planet Hollywood Int'l. When the plans for the All-Star Cafe unraveled, the decision was made to move the (then) Planet Hollywood on Wells St. into the space. Ultimately, Planet Hollywood's financial troubles caught up with them and they withdrew those plans as well. Once PH was out of the picture, a new restaurant venture considered the space which featured fashion model type servers and was to be named the "Model Cafe". That also didn't pan out and ultimately Gap became the tenant, signing their lease in summer of 1999.

[sentinel]

Logan Center construction progress (from webcam)
02.10.2011

It appears that connecting the main auditorium and the studio spaces is getting close to completion (structurally) and the tower core has perhaps 2-3 more floors to go(?)

http://webcams.uchicago.edu/logan/di...=1297355382337

[J_M_Tungsten]

This may have been posted already, but this is for the performing art center above. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lczHRXUAUT8

[Chicagoguy]

Originally Posted by denizen467

^ I do not, but there's a good chance that spyguy does. Spyguy, nice of you to mention the credit.. it's a rare occasion that I am able to scoop you, LOL!


Dang, good point, now that you mention it. Sort of disconcerting, really.

But, I feel Boul Mich has recently hit a critical mass where this should become less rare. Not just because Burberry is initiating an arms race in design presence along the street, but because of the other international boutiques moving in (Zara, H&M, All Saints, TopShop), the cachet of the Peninsula, the Ritz (despite everything), and the fact that the street is pretty much built out with higher-end retail now (the last couple inexpensive places like Garrett's and Hanig's having disappeared). Incidentally, the national morning cable news show Morning Joe is moving from NYC for 1 day this Friday to do its live broadcast from the RL Restaurant with Oprah, Tom Brokaw, and other local luminaries. From Trump and his tower, to Oprah's season opener on the bridge last season, to Al Roker doing live Today reports (btw I largely read about, not watch, most of this teevee stuff) from Pioneer Court last week, I think Michigan Avenue is nearing national "everyman" recognition as the urbane, glamorous midway point between Hollywood and Rockefeller Center. Pretty soon, national network anchors calling it the "Miracle Mile" will come off not as condescending, but as just plain uninformed. I just wonder whether Rahm Emanuel knows what flowers and planters are...

I have to disagree with you a little. I feel Michigan Ave. has actually goen down in taste and become very suburban mall. I mean other Burberry, Ferragamo, Saks, and Neiman Marcus, the Avenue has become a mix of discount retailers. Zara, Top Shop, and All Saints are all very similar and they are cheap fashionable clothes. Until you get up to North Michigan Ave it is has become more low end clothing. Hopefully the new Burberry Store will help change that but unless we get some great new high end retail at the base of the Ritz I don't see it becoming great and high end again anytime soon!

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Chicagoguy

I have to disagree with you a little. I feel Michigan Ave. has actually goen down in taste and become very suburban mall. I mean other Burberry, Ferragamo, Saks, and Neiman Marcus, the Avenue has become a mix of discount retailers. Zara, Top Shop, and All Saints are all very similar and they are cheap fashionable clothes. Until you get up to North Michigan Ave it is has become more low end clothing. Hopefully the new Burberry Store will help change that but unless we get some great new high end retail at the base of the Ritz I don't see it becoming great and high end again anytime soon!

^ Zara is not cheap. It's not pricy, but I'd hardly call it cheap.

Secondly, "high end" and "great" are two different things. You can have a great, iconic shopping boulevard without it having to be lined with only really pricy stores.

[lawfin]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Zara is not cheap. It's not pricy, but I'd hardly call it cheap.

Secondly, "high end" and "great" are two different things. You can have a great, iconic shopping boulevard without it having to be lined with only really pricy stores.

I agree. There are several in this forum who are high priced retail fetishists. I do not understand it; guess I am not fabulous enough.

[Rizzo]

^ Join the club. I trash up Oak Street daily with my attire bought from discount department stores. Passerby gasp in horror.

[ardecila]

Nobody's trying to be snobby. I can't afford those boutiques in a million years. But I do want more of them to open and help strengthen Chicago's fashion/retail business. That becomes difficult when stores like HomeGoods and Best Buy have prominent locations on Boul Mich. Places like Zara and H&M are fine, and they do signal a trend upward in the cachet of the street.

I dunno... I feel uncomfortable shopping on Michigan. I'm not a tourist and I'm not fabulously wealthy. State St is definitely more my style - the Zara at Block 37 has a ton of my money.

[FlashingLights]

Any news on YSL coming back to Oak Street?

I personally find Zara to be a rip off expensive for the cheap crap you get. It's a small grade above the crap at H&M and thats not saying much.

[denizen467]

Yeah, I was not suggesting H&M, All Saints, and TopShop were boutiques or that they were evidence of Michigan Avenue going "elite" - just that internationally popular fashion brands from other countries were serious about a presence there, and also that minor and occasionally junky storefronts like "That's Our Bag!" (or whatever) were being replaced. I think I like the idea that the northern reaches of North Michigan have the accumulation of boutiques, while the rest of North Michigan has a high proportion of globally popular retail that is accessible to everyone but not necessarily found in other cities.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by denizen467

Yeah, I was not suggesting H&M, All Saints, and TopShop were boutiques or that they were evidence of Michigan Avenue going "elite" - just that internationally popular fashion brands from other countries were serious about a presence there, and also that minor and occasionally junky storefronts like "That's Our Bag!" (or whatever) were being replaced. I think I like the idea that the northern reaches of North Michigan have the accumulation of boutiques, while the rest of North Michigan has a high proportion of globally popular retail that is accessible to everyone but not necessarily found in other cities.

Yeah, if Michigan Avenue is Chicago's answer to Fifth Avenue, then it's perfectly appropriate for it to have a mix. There is a Best Buy and an Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, but there are also much higher-end places, too. It's a mix. Fifth Avenue still probably skews higher-end, but then again almost everything in Manhattan skews higher-end than things in Chicago do.

[J_M_Tungsten]

^^^ Exactly. Not every tourist is looking to go to Dolce and Gabbana or Prada. You have to appeal to all markets at all levels, and what better place to do that than the biggest tourist area in Chicago.