Chicago's Aqua wins Emporis' 2009 skyscraper of the year award

[pico44]

It surely isn't attractive from a distance. The more it's blocked, the better. Ideally it would be blocked from distant viewing in all directions so that the only way to see it is from directly below.

I admit the effect is pretty cool when viewed up close.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I consider a building that is over 2700 ft tall to be quite innovative.

Height means absolutely nothing, it does not make it innovative or inspiring at all.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by The North One

Height means absolutely nothing, it does not make it innovative or inspiring at all.

well, i have a feeling that the editors of emporis are gonna strongly disagree with you when they vote for the burj to win the 2010 award.

are you a betting man?

[The North One]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

well, i have a feeling that the editors of emporis are gonna strongly disagree with you when they vote for the burj to win the 2010 award.

are you a betting man?

If it wins than so be it, theres just nothing great about it but the hight is all im saying. and if height was really that important why wasn't trump number 1? and why wasn't shanghia world financial center number 1 in 2008?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by The North One

If it wins than so be it, theres just nothing great about it but the hight is all im saying.

right, you've made your opinion about the building abundantly clear, but that's all it is, just one dude's opinion. my point is that a great many others have a different opinion than yours, and i suspect many of them are emporis editors who will be voting for next year's 2010 skyscraper of the year award.

Originally Posted by The North One

and if height was really that important why wasn't trump number 1? and why wasn't shanghia world financial center number 1 in 2008?

height is only one of the categories that the emporis editors consider when they vote for the skyscraper of the year. and besides, the burj is a bit of a different animal than those other tall buildings you mentioned. the burj isn't just a little bit taller than other buildings, it SHATTERED the existing height record by 1,050 freaking feet! i have a very strong feeling that fact will weigh heavily in the minds of the emporis editors when they vote next year.




anyway, enough about the burj dubai and the 2010 award, this thread is to celebrate Aqua's achievement of the 2009 award, so let's get back to discussing Aqua.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

anyway, enough about the burj dubai and the 2010 award, this thread is to celebrate Aqua's achievement of the 2009 award, so let's get back to discussing Aqua.

agreed, it is my opinion, moving on.

[The North One]

Anyway...

I hope there will be some kind of rule that does not allow the residents to put any objects on the building's balconies, that would destroy it.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by The North One

Anyway...

I hope there will be some kind of rule that does not allow the residents to put any objects on the building's balconies, that would destroy it.

say what? what's the point of having a large generous balcony if you don't have a grill and lounge chairs and a dining table to enjoy outdoor living high up in the sky.

i will agree that there's a point at which a balcony can become too cluttered (like some of my neighbors here at marina city who seem to use their balconies as storage rooms), but to make a rule that nothing at all can be placed on the balcony is not only silly, it's simply not gonna ever happen.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

say what? what's the point of having a large generous balcony if you don't have a grill and lounge chairs and a dining table to enjoy outdoor living high up in the sky.

i will agree that there's a point at which a balcony can become too cluttered (like some of my neighbors here at marina city who seem to use their balconies as storage rooms), but to make a rule that nothing at all can be placed on the balcony is not only silly, it's simply not gonna ever happen.

Maybe a lounge chair, or a potted plant, but thats it. not a grill, thats just too much, and they already have grills at there rooftop private park, so I don't see the need for that.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by The North One

Maybe a lounge chair, or a potted plant, but thats it. not a grill, thats just too much,

but what if you want to enjoy a nice meal with friends out on your balcony on a pleasant summer evening, would you not allow someone to have a dining table and chairs? i've got a table that can seat 8 on my balcony, and i love it for entertaining purposes. let em tell you, a night of outdoor poker and beer 33 floors up overlooking the chicago river is a wonderful thing.

as for grills most highrises in chicago seem to allow them, but i would imagine there are some that don't, but i don't know which way aqua will go with that. i myself would never live in a building that didn't allow grills, after all, nothing goes better with poker and beer than some grilled sausages.

Originally Posted by The North One

and they already have grills at there rooftop private park, so I don't see the need for that.

would you want to take a 70 story elevator ride every single time you felt like charring up some sausages? maybe that works for you, but i grill WAY too often to make that a practical alternative.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

but what if you want to enjoy a nice meal with friends out on your balcony on a pleasant summer evening, would you not allow someone to have a dining table and chairs? i've got a table that can seat 8 on my balcony, and i love it for entertaining purposes. let em tell you, a night of outdoor poker and beer 33 floors up overlooking the chicago river is a wonderful thing.

as for grills most highrises in chicago seem to allow them, but i would imagine there are some that don't, but i don't know which way aqua will go with that. i myself would never live in a building that didn't allow grills, after all, nothing goes better with poker and beer than some grilled sausages

Yes a small table would be ok I guess, but are the balconies at aqua as big as the ones in marina city?

would you want to take a 70 story elevator ride every single time you felt like charring up some sausages? maybe that works for you, but i grill WAY too often to make that a practical alternative.

Lol, how often do you grill You could also make sausages in your kitchen. I think it would be a very small sacrifice for the architecture of a masterpiece, and i'm sure tables and gills won't be a deal breaker for most buyers.

I think grilling would be the last thing on my mind when buying an apartment.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by The North One

Yes a small table would be ok I guess, but are the balconies at aqua as big as the ones in marina city?

the Aqua balconies pictured below aren't a whole lot smaller than my balcony here at marina city.


http://www.studiogang.net/projects_e1.htm

Originally Posted by The North One

Lol, how often do you grill

3 or 4 times a week in warmer weather, less in winter.

Originally Posted by The North One

You could also make sausages in your kitchen.

BLASPHEMY! a sausage without flame char is no sausage that i'd be interested in eating.

Originally Posted by The North One

I think it would be a very small sacrifice for the architecture of a masterpiece

architecture ALWAYS takes a back seat to the art of grilled meats. maybe you think marina city has been ruined by the hundreds of grills and tables and chairs that dot its baclonies, but i really don't think it's a big deal. the visual chaos actually helps make the buildings look lived in and real (altough, as i said before, the people who treat their balcony like a storage room and cram it full of crap definitely take it too far)

Originally Posted by The North One

and i'm sure tables and gills won't be a deal breaker for most buyers.

i wouldn't be too sure on that one, for people who are specifically looking for highrise condos with balconies of usable size, i would imagine that outdoor dining and grilling actually are an important part of the equation for them.

Originally Posted by The North One

I think grilling would be the last thing on my mind when buying an apartment.

you and i are very different people. i once lived in an apartment up in wrigleyville for several years that didn't have any dedicated outdoor grilling space and it drove me absolutely nuts, it was a very dark period in my life. i eventually had to move to a place with a porch so i could once again enjoy the flavor of grilled meat.

[The North One]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

architecture ALWAYS takes a back seat to the art of grilled meats. maybe you think marina city has been ruined by the hundreds of grills and tables and chairs that dot its baclonies, but i really don't look at it's a big deal. the visual chaos actually helps make the buildings look lived in and real.

Ok thats just silly , but I don't mind them on marina city, but I think on aqua it would be much more noticeable because the balconies are more open and out there, unlike marina citie's which are more kinda tucked in the building.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by The North One

Ok thats just silly , but I don't mind them on marina city, but I think on aqua it would be much more noticeable because the balconies are more open and out there, unlike marina citie's which are more kinda tucked in the building.

^ well, all i can say is be prepared for disappointment because i'm pretty sure Aqua allows residents to put furniture on their balconies (i don't know specifically about grills, some buildings allow them, some don't for fire safety concerns)

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ The city really does need to ban unsecured Weber Grills though. Theres been many an occasion where a razor sharp Weber dome has come slicing and spinning through the air from 30 or 40 stories nearly decapitating pedestrians below.

I am like you Steely, nothing better than grilling in the summer, especially grilling while enjoying your highrise balcony. You should invite me to one of your poker games sometime!

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by The North One

Maybe a lounge chair, or a potted plant, but thats it. not a grill, thats just too much, and they already have grills at there rooftop private park, so I don't see the need for that.

^ Hey Hugo Chavez, it's not really your business what I have on my balcony as long as a) it's not dangerous and b) it's not obsene and profane

[The North One]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Hey Hugo Chavez, it's not really your business what I have on my balcony as long as a) it's not dangerous and b) it's not obsene and profane

Did i ask what was on your balcony? No, I couldn't care less, i'm talking about what clutter and large objects on them could do to the building, it would destroy the look of it.

[rockyi]

I didn't realize so many highrises allowed grills. When somebody is grilling near the back stairs of my building, the smoke comes right into my kitchen then fills my apartment if I don't close the door quickly enough.

[Aleks]

grills in highrises here are still uncommon here. balconies are just too little, and the large ones increase the price by like 50 million trillion dollars.

those in aqua seems fit for grilling, or else, whats the point? doesnt chicago get hott summers anyways?

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by The North One

Height means absolutely nothing, it does not make it innovative or inspiring at all.

Then you obviously know nothing of structural or architectural engineering if you don't think that a building over a half-mile high is innovative. Enough about the Burj.