CHICAGO | General Developments

[wierdaaron]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Anybody else see this? Also what do you think of the building design? Not sure if this will be high rise or not but very interesting

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...tball-centric#

The Chicago Basketball Academy, which would "combine a traditional core curriculum with sport-related science, technology and business electives," according to its website, is still in the early development stages.

It seems like that's kind of sending the wrong message to kids who already see their only possible career options as criminal, rapper, or sports star. It feels like saying "Well your only shot of making it in the world is shooting hoops, so we might as well make that the basis of your entire education."

Oh well. I don't like the design, but they don't have a location yet so it's liable to change.

[marothisu]

^ Actually the school is not only for players. It's also for people who want to learn the front office management business of a sports team, which is why the cirriculum would focus on business too. This is nothing 100% new though. Look at prep schools for basketball which many college and NBA players have gone through. It's similar in a way. To me, it does feel like a real project because it's not a 100% new concept. Parts of it might be, but there are many, many prep schools that specialize in basketball out there and have existed for years. There are some other big names behind it in a way too. Though they have to get their education stuff squared away if they haven't already

[ardecila]

Well, there's certainly a lot of passion for basketball in the city's low-income communities, but not everybody is talented. To the extent this opens up opportunities in management, training, marketing, etc I see it as a good thing. Definitely better than a bunch of fat old white dudes controlling the business side of the sport. Don't get me started on the creepiness of the white coach-black player dynamic (and basketball coaches are almost uniformly white for some reason).

Anyway, I don't mind the idea. Any school that fuels the passions of its students will get better results than the city's huge array of neighborhood high schools.

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

I second that - I like this a lot.....very nice infill.....

+1

Very subdued, minimal, modern yet contextual... I would like to see similar projects pop up all over the city.

[jbrady3324]

Originally Posted by untitledreality

A few neighborhood projects by Noah underway or proposed:

1400 West Chicago

Is it not odd that the front windows of the buildings are staggered such that the units to west can see into the east most units?

[wierdaaron]

^I had a similar situation in my last apartment in 1401 S State. Big glass window-walls, and the unit next to mine had its bedroom protruding out about 4 feet, which gave them a full view into my whole apartment. I saw naked people. Can't imagine what they saw of me.

[i_am_hydrogen]

Proposal for Clark & Belmont has been redesigned (blah):

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20131...re-traditional

Previous design:

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20131...-belmont-clark

[the urban politician]

^ Frankly I kind of prefer the newer design. It emphasizes the corner with a flatiron-esque effect. Anything to get that corner redeveloped into something more urban suits me

[hygge]

^UP, I couldn't agree more. Big design improvement, but too bad NIMBYs downsized it. Crushing blow, though, for a city so severely strapped for cash. NIMBYs win again, but at least its a lot better than its current state.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

^ Maybe one of the more unrefined designs - however conceptual - I've ever seen from Perkins + Will. Not very nice. Maybe it was just a few 'pro bono' hours spent throwing together.

This actually has one of those 'not remotely a real project' feel to it......

And that says nothing of the misplaced priorities of having a high school in this city focused on basketball and the 'basketball industry'....it's pretty sick actually - as bad as Chicago schools in general still are - and they are very bad - at educating its large majority low income urban minority student body in reading, writing, math, science and social studies, I can assure you that perhaps the one thing we need least is to divert more focus and scarce resources to getting the city's youth more interested in basketball....

At any rate, like I said, nothing about it really says 'real project'....

Just curious if you know of a large school system that is really good at educating large majority low income student bodies. They may exist, but I haven't heard about them.

[k1052]

I'd prefer a more modern design on that corner rather than trying to mimic other existing structures in the city but I can live with it. Units up, parking slightly down, and minimal street deadening podium impact compared to the previous design. The design change will give the developer much better NIMBY cover than other proposed projects have enjoyed...which was probably the plan all along.

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

Proposal for Clark & Belmont has been redesigned (blah):

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20131...re-traditional

Previous design:

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20131...-belmont-clark

Not very attractive, but nice to see that intersection get built up finally. Question: that entire building fits on the DD lot? Or are other buildings also being torn down? Seems pretty big.

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

Proposal for Clark & Belmont has been redesigned (blah)

Thats actually a drastic improvement in my opinion. The form is much more focused, the facade has been broken down into a human scale, and instead of a sea of glass it utilizes rich, crisp terracotta. The Clark elevation and North elevation still look miserable, but this is a big step forward. Looks less like a office building and more like a livable space.

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by hygge

^UP, I couldn't agree more. Big design improvement, but too bad NIMBYs downsized it. Crushing blow, though, for a city so severely strapped for cash. NIMBYs win again, but at least its a lot better than its current state.

The new design is actually one floor taller and has two more apartments than the first iteration.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by untitledreality

Thats actually a drastic improvement in my opinion. The form is much more focused, the facade has been broken down into a human scale, and instead of a sea of glass it utilizes rich, crisp terracotta..

That'll be the day. There is no chance in hell they are using terracotta on a new construction project or any project where they aren't being forced to for preservation or historic reasons.

Too bad it can't come back into style as a material. It's one of those materials that is really only expensive because it is rarely used. If even one in ten new buildings started using terra cotta again, the price of terra cotta would plummet because it is basically just a fancy glazed brick in terms of how it is produced. I could even see very minimalist terra cotta being used in an an excellent way to introduce fine geometric details to a hyper-modern design.

[george]

I prefer the later concept. The first design was cookie cutter.
Interesting how this reference was drawn.
'Hirsch looked at other iconic buildings on corners in busy intersections, such as the Uptown bank building and the Northwest Tower in Wicker Park, to create a "modern" building that "still has the traditional feel of the neighborhood" for Lakeview, he said.'
Nothing wrong with a modern take on tradition if it's done thoughtfully.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by george

I prefer the later concept. The first design was cookie cutter.
Interesting how this reference was drawn.
'Hirsch looked at other iconic buildings on corners in busy intersections, such as the Uptown bank building and the Northwest Tower in Wicker Park, to create a "modern" building that "still has the traditional feel of the neighborhood" for Lakeview, he said.'
Nothing wrong with a modern take on tradition if it's done thoughtfully.

Neither is even close to having the presence of this building in Madrid ...

[george]

Ya think. That's not even a comparison. ^ Apples to oranges.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by emathias

Neither is even close to having the presence of this building in Madrid ...

But this building in Madrid is nowhere near as tall as this on in Dubai:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa

[DonMendigo]

What seriously needs that earlier design is the intersection south of that at Clark, Halsted and Barry. That intersection is a total abortion between the CVS, Walgreens, Petco, Sports Authority and their respective surface parking lots. Really a lamentable suburban "oasis" in an otherwise vibrant east lake view. Wish there were someway to take that intersection back.