CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction, v7

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by pilsenarch

Fitzgerald: One of the best designs that has ever come out of that office (I know, that's not saying much), brick base is obviously relating to the church... I very much appreciate the restraint of the big 'black' box... have to see more renderings to evaluate the rest...

Ralph: Yes, this is just a holding-mechanism rendering... however, I am very concerned about the townhomes sitting to the south of River City in the shadow of both Roosevelt Collection massive wall and the Randolph viaduct...

Also like that the massing at the top seems to reference the church steeple heights center and right.

Glad to hear that the South Loop renderings are indeed placeholders. I should've had more trust in Ralph anyway. It's the most meaningful project being developed in Chicago right now for me personally.

[munchymunch]

Now that its basically confirmed SLS in not in the conservatory tower. I can say that SLS is planning a tower with 200 keys and 100 residential units in Chicago. It was written in a presentation a few months ago.

[hawainpanda]

Originally Posted by ithakas

Feeling underwhelmed...perhaps it's such a big project they spent money on a rendering for a detailed massing study? Though I'm not sure what I'm talking about. This, however, feels like a number of suburban office towers crammed together without empty expressway separating them. Not feeling the genius of Ralph Johnson here, though I hope I'm missing something...

for a massing, the height of all of the buildings are underrepresented, the tallest is only shown as half of 311 s waker (which is 960 feet) but we know the tallest is 600, also that massing doesnt include the plans for the most north east plot, but overall I like the density, and I think with better rendering the project will look much better

[hawainpanda]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

In addition, the tower will bring in $800,000 per year in property tax revenue on a site that's currently not generating none.

There was one lady who said views and light would be blocked. She then said that "tough luck right"? A number of people in the crowd said YES...

dam gorgeous

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by wierdaaron

This is a confused mess of a design. Yet another virtual building within a building, and the proportions of the detailing of the three masses are completely disharmonious. The International Style box shoved into the corner with the irregular-grid facade pattern (another cliche that doesn't look good) completely overwhelms the composition, and the scale of the facade divisions of that mass is way, way too big. It is also placed closest to the church--if it's going to be a part of the design, it needs to be to the east to graduate the proportions down towards the church, not blow them up into it. It's a completely unresolved and discordant assemblage of forms. And the early-90s facade of the big box looks really flat and sterile. And then the diet Classical box at the lower floors?

I don't understand this design at all. Hardly Fitzgerald's best work. It's barely average for them. E2 was a pleasantly modern building with nice detailing and proportions--why couldn't they have made a 30-story version of that?

[sentinel]

So let's summarize all of this recent activity:

- Roszak's tower is still happening

- SLS hotel is still happening, but not in the (presumably still) dead Conservatory Tower, 200 keys + 100 resi units

- The Lend Lease rendering of 'River South' is a schematic framework plan at best, with inaccurate heights at worst and will most likely be refined

- Fitzerald's design of that church-adjacent tower is bland but perhaps a clear, official rendering may make it a little more tolerable.

Any additional information that I'm missing, for page 1?

[hawainpanda]

Originally Posted by Jibba

This is a confused mess of a design. Yet another virtual building within a building, and the proportions of the detailing of the three masses are completely disharmonious. The International Style box shoved into the corner with the irregular-grid facade pattern (another cliche that doesn't look good) completely overwhelms the composition, and the scale of the facade divisions of that mass is way, way too big. It is also placed closest to the church--if it's going to be a part of the design, it needs to be to the east to graduate the proportions down towards the church, not blow them up into it. It's a completely unresolved and discordant assemblage of forms. And the early-90s facade of the big box looks really flat and sterile. And then the diet Classical box at the lower floors?

I don't understand this design at all. Hardly Fitzgerald's best work. It's barely average for them. E2 was a pleasantly modern building with nice detailing and proportions--why couldn't they have made a 30-story version of that?

I'm just glad there isn't a huge obvious podium...

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by pilsenarch

Fitzgerald: One of the best designs that has ever come out of that office (I know, that's not saying much), brick base is obviously relating to the church... I very much appreciate the restraint of the big 'black' box... have to see more renderings to evaluate the rest...

Ralph: Yes, this is just a holding-mechanism rendering... however, I am very concerned about the townhomes sitting to the south of River City in the shadow of both Roosevelt Collection massive wall and the Randolph viaduct...

Have you seen a development of this scale in Chicago that didn't include townhomes? It's a standard part of the developer playbook, because townhomes target a different segment of the market from condos and you can market a townhouse development next to a condo development without competing much.

The only development of this size without a significant townhouse component is Lakeshore East. Over there, Magellan can only build one or possibly two condo towers at a time, but they have sites for 16 towers. Combine that with the cyclical nature of the housing market and you've got a project that will literally take generations to complete.

From an urban design standpoint, you can put midrises next to highrises and achieve a successful mix of scales. From a developer standpoint, those highrises and midrises contain the same condo housing product - you're putting all your eggs in one basket. I know P+W tried to split the difference at River South with some clever architecture, but I believe these were eliminated.

[Notyrview]

The proportions on this building are really awkward and it doesn't look residential at all. They really need to rethink this. It looks like that midrise office building right by the mart - i think on the southeast corner of kinzie and wells.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Notyrview

It looks like that midrise office building right by the mart - i think on the southeast corner of kinzie and wells.

the southeast corner of kinzie/wells is a glassy highrise residential building named EnV. designed by VDT, it seems pretty well regarded by the armchair critics of this forum, generally speaking.


source: http://www.multihousingnews.com/news...004047266.html

[Buckman821]

Originally Posted by sentinel

So let's summarize all of this recent activity:

- Roszak's tower is still happening

- SLS hotel is still happening, but not in the (presumably still) dead Conservatory Tower, 200 keys + 100 resi units

- The Lend Lease rendering of 'River South' is a schematic framework plan at best, with inaccurate heights at worst and will most likely be refined

- Fitzerald's design of that church-adjacent tower is bland but perhaps a clear, official rendering may make it a little more tolerable.

Any additional information that I'm missing, for page 1?

The Roszak's tower renderings are on Curbed but I still don't think they've been posted here unless I missed it.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by Buckman821

The Roszak's tower renderings are on Curbed but I still don't think they've been posted here unless I missed it.

Someone did post renderings here a few weeks ago and there is already an entry on pg 1.

The Fitzgerald tower renderings are new.

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by Notyrview

The proportions on this building are really awkward and it doesn't look residential at all. They really need to rethink this. It looks like that midrise office building right by the mart - i think on the southeast corner of kinzie and wells.

I was going to add to my post that the visible portions of the south and east elevations are very reminiscent of EnV (and in a good way). Indeed, they're the most pleasant sections of the design. Why they battering-rammed an ill-conceived office box into it and then added a Post Modern temple as the chimera's face, I'll never understand.

[rlw777]

delete

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

If that church were an old building that would be torn down soon for another shiny development, I'd say fine. But as the whole point is to let the church remain for many more decades, this really isn't a good fit. This is a site that does call for a much more tall and slender tower, pushed to the east, with a massing that steps up away from the church roof. They could create some really nice outdoor terrace spaces with that approach.
Instead of just dropping a dark brutal cube next to an old church. Building needs some context.

Also, I'd move the building lobby to the center of the building instead of being right next to the church. Give a little space for when big events such as weddings are massing on the street there.

[wierdaaron]

Straight from the horse's computer:



More Details on That 24-Story Tower Proposed for River North [Curbed]

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by Jibba

The International Style box shoved into the corner with the irregular-grid facade pattern (another cliche that doesn't look good) completely overwhelms the composition

Yeah. I understand the desire for variation, and don't necessarily have a problem with it, but it's generally pretty thoughtlessly executed. The Landon Bone Baker project on Division is a much more successful example.

[spyguy]

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/reale...iew-apartments

Wirtz launches Lakeview apartment building
Wirtz Realty has started construction of a 19-story apartment building in Lakeview. The 82-unit building at 2950 N. Sheridan Road was designed by Chicago-based architecture firm Booth Hansen and is being built by Power Construction, also of Chicago. The building will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units with monthly rents ranging from $2,900 to $6,000, according to Wirtz Realty, the real estate unit of the Chicago-based Wirtz Corp. Construction is expected to last 22 months. “We take great pride in anything we put our “W” on, from sports teams to banks to real estate, and we have taken care to ensure that this new residential development contributes positively to the Lakeview neighborhood,” Rocky Wirtz, chairman of Wirtz Corp., said in a statement.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by aaron38

Also, I'd move the building lobby to the center of the building instead of being right next to the church. Give a little space for when big events such as weddings are massing on the street there.

I think the idea is that the designers are trying to activate the alley space between the new building and the church. I think they want it to be like a smaller version of the Miro Court in the Loop, like a little respite from the sidewalk.

If the lobby entrance wasn't right there for supervision, it would just become a niche for undesirable activity.

I agree that the building mass should have been shifted to the east a bit. Maybe go taller with fewer units per floor. I'm guessing the earlier design was "sculptural" in a way that tried to be deferential to the church, like this proposal in Toronto:

[wierdaaron]

I think the lobby situation is weird because there has to be one for the apartments and one for the church parking. There'll be a separate entrance and elevator just for the church's parking spaces.

As for the massing, they basically said this was the most efficient. Taller and thinner would cost more.