The towers were also designed as cheaply as possible. That seems self-evident, but in an era of loose building codes, SOM designed the towers and specified materials of poor quality that were bound to need replacing quickly, placing a huge maintenance responsibility on CHA at a time when they weren't equipped to handle it.
Other towers-in-a-park in Chicago haven't needed demolition - look at Prairie Shores or Lake Meadows (and ignore Draper and Kramer's idiotic replacement plan).
The NYC projects at least seem to have solid brick construction. Here in Chicago, the comparison would be Dearborn Homes, which CHA is preserving rather than demolishing.
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la forme d'une ville change plus vite, hélas! que le coeur d'un mortel...
Last edited by ardecila; Oct 8, 2009 at 7:05 AM.
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