A tale of 2 urban plazas: Trump Tower and Wrigley Building

[M II A II R II K]

A tale of two urban plazas: Trump's merits a big thumbs up; the Wrigley Building's, a Bronx cheer


May 06, 2010

Blair Kamin



Read More: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune....d-of-help.html

This is a tale of two outdoor plazas: The first, just completed by Donald Trump, could become one of Chicago’s great public spaces (left). The other, wedged between the two sides of the adjoining Wrigley Building, is an eyesore that looks even worse with Trump’s striking new space standing alongside it. The fates of the two public spaces are interlocked because they provide pedestrians a continuous link between Michigan and Wabash Avenues.

Trump and his design team for the Trump International Hotel & Tower — the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, former SOM partner Adrian Smith (now at his own firm) and landscape architect Peter Schaudt — have given the city a genuine gift. And the plaza could become even better if tenants fill empty retail spaces alongside it and Trump makes it more people-friendly. Because the developer’s 92-story skyscraper has a relatively small footprint, it actually endows its site with more open space than the former occupant, the squat, seven-story Chicago Sun-Times Building. And there is not just more open space, a total of 1.2 acres, but more attractive and usable open space. The plaza features rich layers of greenery, alluring pathways around and through the skyscraper, and curving steps that look out on the Chicago River, the Michigan Avenue Bridge and a skyline backdrop right out of a movie set.

If the luminous, sky-reflecting steel-and-glass exterior wall of the Trump skyscraper is the best thing about the project, compensating for its subpar spire and riverfront bulk, then the outdoor space runs a close second. The key to its success is the way the plaza approaches the river — not with a harsh, cliff-like edge, as did in the 1957 Sun-Times Building, but with three tiers (left) that gradually step down, forming a theater-like space that draws the visitor’s eye to the water. The plaza teams beautifully with the new, city-owned stretch of riverwalk, which opened last year on the river’s south bank, to humanize the water’s edge.

The architects have expertly woven pathways through the once-tangled site, making it far easier and more pleasant to traverse. The materials, to Trump’s credit, are top-of-the-line -- surprising, perhaps, given his image as the prince of glitz. For his part, Schaudt has wisely skipped garden-variety trees and shrubs for a richly-textured mix of wetland grasses, sumac bushes and tall plane trees that evokes a Midwestern riverbank. Large waist-high planters immerse pedestrians in the foliage, furthering the riverbank impression. “The whole idea of landscape in the urban environment is to pull people away—with illusion,” Schaudt said.

[uaarkson]

The Wrigley plaza just needs some trees and a fountain.

[hammersklavier]

Agreed.

[Ordo_]

Did Wrigley's plaza really have a purpose before? I mean unless you were using it as a shortcut to get home, I cant imagine the average pedestrian wandered through there. Now that there is somethign to actually divert foot traffic off of Michican, they'll take steps to improve it?

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ What they should do is create retail along the insides of it. Not only would that benefit the owners of the building by generating additional revenue, but it would help draw people into the Trump Plaza and further increase the potential link between Michigan and State.

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

^^^ What they should do is create retail along the insides of it. Not only would that benefit the owners of the building by generating additional revenue, but it would help draw people into the Trump Plaza and further increase the potential link between Michigan and State.

Totally agree.

[george]

[harryc]

The purpose of the plaza was to cover the rail lines below.

Standing under the Wrigley plaza (lower Kinzie) - looking East, Tribune plaza is in front and to the left (N)

[scalziand]

Please tell me that the original terracotta is still there under the new fascade.

[harryc]

Originally Posted by scalziand

Please tell me that the original terracotta is still there under the new fascade.

Nope

removing the old "awning"

[wrab]

But was it Gensler who removed the terra cotta for the current scheme? Wasn't there an earlier reclad? According to Kamin, the plaza was created in 1957 as a link to the Sun-Times Building, and is owned by the city.

[ardecila]

Exactly - the original terracotta has been missing for a long time. Replacing it would mean a costly process of measuring and duplicating the tiles that exist elsewhere on the building.

I actually don't think it's so bad, given the constraints that Gensler was under. It looks like the modernist plaza is lapping up onto the side of Wrigley, and it changes from black granite to white spandrel glass to mitigate the transition.

Plus, the plaza isn't even visible from Michigan Avenue because of the enclosed breezeway, so the rear of the building can take on a slightly more modern aesthetic.

[spyguy]

Rather interesting concept I came across:

[Rizzo]

^ See, now that proposal looks absolutely beautiful. It celebrates the Wrigley building's architecture.

Did they actually do anything besides ripping out the old canopy? From the looks of it, the plaza pavers/concrete need to replaced with a new surface. And btw, a recast replica of the terra cotta is not as expensive as you might think it is. In the long run might have been worth it.


And the breezeway needs to be demolished.

[ethereal_reality]

Originally Posted by harryc

The purpose of the plaza was to cover the rail lines below.

Standing under the Wrigley plaza (lower Kinzie) - looking East, Tribune plaza is in front and to the left (N)

below: A photograph from 1957 showing the plaza infrastructure and the rail lines beneath.


found on ebay

[ethereal_reality]

Here is another photo from the same time period (1957).



ebay

[Zerton]

The Wrigley plaza isn't done yet...

[george]

Nice finds, spyguy & ethereal_reality. I've always found the Wrigely Plaza space to be a little on the dark side, devoid of natural light. Additional lighting as on those proposed columns would help the cause. Nice shots from 1957!

[Remy_Bork]

Wow, that remodeling job with the glass roof looks gorgeous! Too bad it seems like they have taken a cheaper route for the time being.