[2PRUROCKS!]

There has been some discussion on this thread recently about the overall quality of 1mp and the south wall of Grant Park in general. I will refrain from discussing the south wall to keep this thread on track other than to say from what I have seen so far I think there is reason to be very excited and optimistic about how it will turn out.

Now on to 1mp, the topic of this thread. This building is turning out to be great! A real stunner! I don't say this lightly. Ever since this building was proposed and we saw the first initial renderings I had high hopes for it but I had some concerns. In almost everyway this building has exceeded my expectation and the real thing looks better than the renderings. A lot still depends on how the crown turns out, but based on the structure I see so far victor's model photos, and the renderings I think it should turn out great. Once this building is complete it will be my favorite highrise building of this boom so far
(provided the crown turns out well). Up to this point my favorite highrises of this boom have been 340 Randolph and Hyatt Center, but building should easily surpass those 2. As a matter of fact this is probably the building that is above ground that is exciting me the most know
(even more than Aqua and Trump probably because of its location and it is topped out).

Hear are some of the reasons I think this building is great:

1 the height and location really make it stand out

2 the way it fits it's site at the corner of Roosevelt and the RR tracks, it makes perfect use of the site with the central lobe and the wings extending south and west

3 the two tones of glass was a great move that I didn't anticipate based on earlier renderings. It really helps break the building up so it looks less massive and allows the different parts to stand out. The 2 tones look great and really complement each other.

4 The vertical metal columns in the central lobe vs the horizontal banding on the wings. The vertical thrust of the central lobe is accentuated and the buildings parts are broken up

5 the set backs, I am normally not a huge fan of set backs but in this case they work to perfect effect to brake up the building and making it look like a tight cluster of multiple buildings

6 The crown, I really like it when buildings end in some sort of dramatic fashion instead of with a whimper or a collection of ugly utilitarian mechanical structures. This building is likely to have a great finish that is both decorative and makes the building really stand out as it anchors the southern skyline, and functional as it houses and conceals the mechanical structures. I was a little worried the crown would appear to be abruptly plopped on the top if there was not enough separation between where the central lobe ends and the final setbacks of the wings end. However, so far from what I can discern of the crown it appears this will not be the case. It looks like the central lobe will rise far enough above the final setbacks of the wings. This has the promise of being one of the best crowns or finishes in Chicago.

7 overall all the fit and finish and overall quality of glass and metal are very good which this location calls for. My only concern is that there are bigger gaps at the joints of the metal columns on the central lobe than I would like. I think a snugger fit at the joint or even using extruded metal would have been better. But overall the fit and finish seems very good.

I had been concerned that the building my appear too bulky from certain angels. Overall I think this concern has been largely put to rest. Things done to brake the building up (2 tones of glass, setbacks, and vertical and horizontal elements) really helped mitigate this. I wouldn't mind if the central lobe rose a couple stories higher than the wings still, but overall this building looks to have turned out great and be worthy of its location.