CHICAGO | General Developments

[george]

Originally Posted by ardecila

It's not a black and white image; the bollards in the lower right are yellow, and the curb ramps seem to be reddish. That means the monochrome on the building is intentional.

Personally, I've always preferred to do SketchUp renderings in the most subdued colors possible. It doesn't have a sophisticated rendering engine, so it renders materials in a really horrid cartoonish way. (Some people like the aesthetic, but I don't).

As for the design: bravo. Modern, but simple and unassuming. The little notch on the corner indicates the significance of the Division/Ashland intersection without resorting to crazy antics. Plus, the building somehow incorporates a drive-thru, but it seems to be extremely hidden.

MOAR PLZ

Black & white or monochromatic, who cares, it's the same difference. The rendering doesn't do the preliminary concept justice. I don't like the cartoonish aesthetic either. The design, even at this early stage, isn't bad, IMO. The drive-thru was met with such neighborhood opposition that hiding it was well intended.

[ardecila]

^^ I don't know what you mean by "not doing it justice". The removal of color was done intentionally by the architect. If there is a color strategy, then I'll be interested to see that. But if it's just stainless spandrels with reflective glass, I really don't see the need for color of any sort in the rendering.

I'm happy for the drive-thru because it sets a precedent. I don't think there are any other buildings in the city that integrate a drive-thru in this way. Most of the neighborhood bank mid-rises built a separate drive-thru kiosk in conjunction with a parking lot. MB in the West Loop does have a creative drive-thru, though.

If we look at things pragmatically, I don't think banks are willing to give up their drive-thrus, and customers still don't feel safe approaching an ATM on foot (especially during the day). I'm often on foot and I'm frustrated by banks that only provide a drive-thru for after-hours withdrawals, but I definitely see the need for them.

Who knows, maybe one day we can get a drive-thru McDonald's at the base of a mid-rise?

[SamInTheLoop]

Originally Posted by spyguy

^Yeah, great updates and variety.

Pizza Hut replacement at Division and Ashland

Love it. If this actually represents a plan more in line with the community's liking and sensibility, when did it actually become so enlightened? How does a community get educated and vocal about issues of higher density, good urban design, quality architecture, etc. Imagine if more neighborhoods in the city were forward-thinking....

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ That probably happened when the neighborhood became infested with hipsters 80% of whom are art school grads or some other design major or just generally interested in design, and all moved there specifically seeking an urban environment.

[untitledreality]

Firstly, kudos to Hayward for the photos, a great little trip around the city.

Originally Posted by Remy_Bork

...it seems like the top few floors are abandoned.

They are the open air floors of the imbedded parking garage.

Originally Posted by lawfin

I get the rage inside about at best delayed opportunity and at worst lost opportunity. If thos examples would go midrise ~4-7 stories or so it would go along way to being more urban and I think better for the city as well

Same here, I just think of all of the old warehouses that once lined clybourn and have to shake my head. HOWEVER, ripping up a parking lot or a cheaply constructed strip mall is a piece of cake and tends to be an inexpensive option.

Im glad you threw in a streetview of a corner Bank... that building typology is maddening to me... its like dropping a bomb in the heart of a neighborhood. PNC is especially guilty of this (Addison/Ashland, Halsted/Wrightwood, and many more Im sure)

Originally Posted by spyguy

Pizza Hut replacement at Division and Ashland

Looks good... but lets all pray that the architect figures out how to handle a corner before this starts going up.

[untitledreality]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

Love it. If this actually represents a plan more in line with the community's liking and sensibility, when did it actually become so enlightened? How does a community get educated and vocal about issues of higher density, good urban design, quality architecture, etc. Imagine if more neighborhoods in the city were forward-thinking....

Underpaid + Overeducated = This

[george]

I'll try to find the color rendering of the Pizza Hut site project (Division & Ashland) which was presented to EVA by the developer... unless spyguy finds it first. It gives a much more accurate representation of what this potentially might become. Regarding the 80% hipster art school grads, the plans show a large 2nd floor space dedicated for use as an art studio. That kinda gives you an idea of the target market.

[BWChicago]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I'm happy for the drive-thru because it sets a precedent. I don't think there are any other buildings in the city that integrate a drive-thru in this way.

There's one at Diversey & Ashland, I think

[ardecila]

^ Ah, you're right. I never bothered to look twice at that building, given how hideous it is. It's not mixed-use, but the drive-thru is integrated skillfully.

[denizen467]

In news from the Van Buren Street corridor, the new National Hellenic Museum is having an inaugural event in early November, and it looks like it actually may have even soft-opened already.

And the site prep on the huge empty parcel near Racine is now publicly being presented as a Target - a section of the construction fencing is adorned with the red bullseye logo. Though we knew what the general plans were, I think there had been little official word that that's actually what was going on there, or a timetable. They have been driving piles - do we have any renders, since I can't remember whether this was a Petersen-esque configuration (store on top of parking lot), or Addison-esque (2 story store next to parking lot/garage), or Broadway-esque (subterranean parking)?

Their site runs a quarter-block short of the Racine/VanBuren intersection, which will become a new gateway to the West Loop, but which really could use some improvements. It would be nice if the completed Target would spur more retail around Racine and kick that gas station out of there (wishful thinking).

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by denizen467

I can't remember whether this was a Petersen-esque configuration (store on top of parking lot), or Addison-esque (2 story store next to parking lot/garage), or Broadway-esque (subterranean parking)?

^ Judging by renderings I've seen, it's kind of a hybrid of a Petersen-esque and Broadway-esqu configuration.

Store on top of parking, but with a more prominent and attractive corner entry like you see on Broadway.

Not perfect, but a decent design considering its urban context

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by denizen467

Though we knew what the general plans were, I think there had been little official word that that's actually what was going on there, or a timetable.

No, Target held community meetings last summer and has been talking with Fioretti since last spring. Chicago Journal reported on every step of the process, although I think Crain's kinda skipped over it.

Amazingly, the feedback at the community meetings pressured Target to adopt a glassier, more modern design, instead of their original brick plans.

Old design:


Current (ish) design:

[ardecila]

As a bonus, a super-sized rendering of the Division/Larrabee Target:

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Amazingly, the feedback at the community meetings pressured Target to adopt a glassier, more modern design, instead of their original brick plans.

Old design:


Current (ish) design:

I figured such continuous reportage would have carried over into the forums here. Just how current-ish are those renderings - they don't show much change; just some glass added to the bays in the background and a slight reduction in use of brick (to the extent it can be discerned from these renders). Maybe the exaggerated overhang with the punchout is considered modern.

I like how their urban designs have improved on the Petersen model with the corner atriums as at Broadway.

[ardecila]

The bigger change occurs further down Van Buren, where the two fire stairs are. In the original rendering, those are solid brick towers. Now there is a large glass box next to each one that allows views into and out of the sales floor, and space for merchandise to be displayed to the street.

The asymmetry of the canopy over the entrance atrium is also a lot more dynamic, and yes, the punchout is pretty awesome.

I also believe that instead of a brick wall on the parking level, there will be a metal screen with vines, which should give the building a more Corbusian look without wholly revealing the parking underneath.

[i_am_hydrogen]

[denizen467]

^ Hydro, that building and your photography brilliance were made for each other. And the mutual analogy can be extended to include the sign you carefully positioned along the left edge in the second image.

Originally Posted by ardecila

The asymmetry of the canopy over the entrance atrium is also a lot more dynamic, and yes, the punchout is pretty awesome.

The bright red soffit gets extra credit. Paying special attention to entrance design would seem to be a universal no-brainer, but few retailers seem to follow through like this.

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The doomed italianate at Clark & Illinois is down to just one corner fragment remaining, in an eerie day-after-the-Chicago-Fire kind of way.
By mid week it will be history.

[ardecila]

^^ Can anybody get a photo of the Clark/Illinois demolition? That sounds like a pretty cool moment.

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by ardecila

As a bonus, a super-sized rendering of the Division/Larrabee Target:

This is an improvement. What's happening there down along Division at ground level in the renderings. There's appears to be glazing or maybe it's just open. Liner retail? That's would be nice.

[ardecila]

The stair towers are flush with the sidewalk, but the main facade pulls back, forming recesses that are flowerbeds. Unifying the whole thing is a long canopy with movie-theatre-style ad posters below.