[honte]

^ I think continuing the streetwall along Wacker Drive is a critical feature of any LSE building. So far, the streetwall erodes in LSE due to the DeStefano buildings and, although I hate to say anything negative about him, due to Weese's hotel there.

With this goal in mind, the proposal we see now is about as "soaring" as you can get. The absence of the centermost portion of the tower opens up the sky and produces something rather slender and airy, but the frontage on Wacker is unchanged. It's a sensible concept that actually makes some sense instead of being a pure design play. Meanwhile, the profiles from the sides promise to be very thin and I think could be quite elegant if detailed well.

Also, Aqua and other LSE buildings will be framed beautifully when you get glimpses of them through the opening in this tower (assuming the sightlines work out that way). But I wouldn't count on Aqua being a major skyline player no matter what gets built at this site. It's going to be too hemmed in by BCBS and other buildings to be anything other than an extremely pleasant surprise.