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  #181  
Old Posted Feb 27, 2009, 10:57 PM
kristiaan kristiaan is offline
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I can't believe it.
A silver cladding would look tacky, black makes the building bolder.
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  #182  
Old Posted Feb 27, 2009, 11:07 PM
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The Sears Tower in silver....eww....makes me shudder
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  #183  
Old Posted Feb 28, 2009, 5:05 AM
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Talking

I really dont think this would look bad, and more than sure companies would be attracted to a much more modern/sleek looking building. Take into mind that sears IS very modern, but a little (big) change could do it good, i mean their not tearing it down or anything. It would actually go hand in hand with Trump and the soon to be built Spire, only if this is done, i could forget about those two, because i will love sears even more. Moral of my story, I think sears deserves more attention, unfortunately its not getting any, so this could* be a good thing, (think park monroe), does the re-clading look as bad as everyone thought? BUT dont they dare touch JOHN!!!
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  #184  
Old Posted Feb 28, 2009, 6:02 AM
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Yeah! Think Park Monroe .
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  #185  
Old Posted Feb 28, 2009, 6:12 AM
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does the re-clading look as bad as everyone thought?
worse
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  #186  
Old Posted Feb 28, 2009, 2:04 PM
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I saw this on CNN yesterday. The talk of recladding to silver, installing solar panels and trees on the "balconies". I was thinking "solar panels sure, everything else, no!".
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  #187  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2009, 3:58 AM
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How could it be anything other than what it is?

Last edited by george; Mar 9, 2009 at 9:46 PM.
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  #188  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2009, 6:56 AM
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Better yet, lets just have Daley send some bulldozer crews over to Manhattan in the middle of the night and bulldoze giant X's back and forth across the length of Manhattan, especially central park...
I am certainly for a drastic change/improvement, but particularly for a total stripping of the façade of the Sears, and while making it more energy efficient, to give the colossus a more pleasant looks as well. Gulf+Western in Manhattan had become largely an empty drlict building until D. Trump bought it, stripped it down and completely recladded it in a ritzy skin. Now, people cant pay enough to rent space in there. The Sears can use the same treatment--not painting it silver or something as cheapish as its current skin, but a total and well-thought-of recladding to make it more inviting to the renters than scaring them away as it does now. Whether such improvement is initiated from an owner in Manhattan or Dubai, is immaterial. But I can understand why some of the folks in this forum are so defensive about the Sears: they are used to its dumpy looks
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  #189  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2009, 7:36 AM
Nowhereman1280 Nowhereman1280 is offline
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^^^ Yes, because Sears looks dumpy??? No, sorry, not buying that a building that looks almost identical to the day it was built looks dumpy. If they reclad it, it will look like shit because it was built in a shape and massing that would be complemented by black. Some shitty mirrored glass facade is the furthest thing from "ritzy" its more like New York soon to be dated contemporary kitsch...

Anyhow, by your logic, the Empire State building would get better rent if they ripped the cladding off and made it silver glass...
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  #190  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 3:35 AM
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Anyhow, by your logic, the Empire State building would get better rent if they ripped the cladding off and made it silver glass...
Empire State Building's Deco facade is a work of art, not a generic tinted glass windows stuck into equally generic, cheap black aluminum panes. If it were, it would be struggling for recognition AND tenants like Sears. How many people have heard or can recognize the Sears? Now, compare that to the Empire.

There is no point in continuing this debate of "whether" or "should". Ever since I first brought up this topic, more and more evidence is surfacing for, well, re-surfacing the Sears by its owners. The structure is grand and wonderfully innovative. It is the skin that disappoints, if not scare off, the on-looker (and potential tenants). Why else has this great structure remained such an unknown? Please explain that all ye who want to keep it the way it is. No one is arguing for another generic, cheap facade to replace the current one.

I like to invite all those who are not cultish about the Sears-as-is to participate in suggesting better facades. Hopefully we can offer some elegant (yes, elegant, not pretty or chintzy) ideas to the owner of the Sears when they embark on re-cladding it...
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  #191  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 4:42 AM
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They should not reclad the Sears Tower. That's just wrong. It's like George Lucas going back and adding special effects to Star Wars.

The Sears Tower is mean. Like the bus in 'Slap Shot.' Making it silver with trees and windmills, pansies or whatever would ruin it.

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  #192  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 4:56 AM
Nowhereman1280 Nowhereman1280 is offline
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Empire State Building's Deco facade is a work of art, not a generic tinted glass windows stuck into equally generic, cheap black aluminum panes. If it were, it would be struggling for recognition AND tenants like Sears. How many people have heard or can recognize the Sears? Now, compare that to the Empire.
You see the problem you reach is your complete lack of understanding of the facade of this tower. Its no less a work of art than the ESB. The ESB's facade is very plain and is not really notable in any way. The Sears facade is very detailed and has a lot of thought put into it. Just because you are incapable of seeing the art in a series of simple lines, doesn't mean we should desecrate this for future generations. In case of haven't noticed, the facade on ESB is just as much a series of lines as the facade of Sears.

Also, you are completely wrong when you call the facade of Sears cheap, its a very nice, high quality, well constructed facade. Again, you are simply ignorant of the facts, just because we can get aluminum for cheap right now, does not mean the facade is cheap. We could get limestone for cheap in the 50's and 60's and we destroyed 1000's of those facades because people had idiot ideas like the ones you have.

Quote:
Ever since I first brought up this topic, more and more evidence is surfacing for, well, re-surfacing the Sears by its owners. The structure is grand and wonderfully innovative. It is the skin that disappoints, if not scare off, the on-looker (and potential tenants). Why else has this great structure remained such an unknown? Please explain that all ye who want to keep it the way it is. No one is arguing for another generic, cheap facade to replace the current one.
You brought up this topic? What "evidence" is surfacing? And no, its not just the structure in this building that makes the building, the color of it is essential. Black was purposely chosen to contrast the sky and reflect the moody climate and lighting of Chicago. Again. in the 1920's popular opinion thought that Louis Sullivan's ornate facades looked "dirty" and non-streamlined, so they covered a bunch up. We now are horrified by that stupidity. In the 60's we decided that the terracotta and limestone facades of the early 1900's were grimy and dirty and we covered up or ripped a bunch of them down. Again, we are now horrified by this loss. What makes you think that your beloved mutilation of a great work of the 70's is going to be looked upon any differently by future preservationists?
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  #193  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 6:12 AM
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If it were, it would be struggling for recognition AND tenants like Sears... Why else has this great structure remained such an unknown?
"Struggling for recognition"? "Such an unknown"? What are you smoking? The tower is an icon. It's probably the first building conjured up by the average person when someone mentions the Chicago skyline, which is famous in its own right.

And if you find Sears "dumpy" and "cheap" looking, I'd hate to hear your opinion on the the IBM or Seagram buildings, 860-880 LSD, the Hancock or Daley Center. Then again, similar unkind words would likely reveal the scant credibility from which you gracelessly wield your opinion.
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  #194  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 6:31 AM
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Then again, similar unkind words would likely reveal the scant credibility from which you gracelessly wield your opinion.
that might be the funniest thing ever said.
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  #195  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 6:35 AM
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i have a quick question. isn't sears done in anodized aluminum? meaning it couldn't be painted, it'd have to be powder coated? and wouldn't that cost a TON?
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  #196  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 6:53 AM
Nowhereman1280 Nowhereman1280 is offline
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^^^ It is anodized aluminum. That can't even be powder coated.

I used to work in a coatings plant and powder coating wouldn't work on metal that is already anodized. Anodized metal means that it has been forced to go through rapid oxidization which actually builds up a thick, protective coating of whatever-oxide. In this case it would be aluminum oxide. This treatment is extremely difficult to rework, which is why its great as a cladding since it subsequently is also extremely difficult to weather.

You can't powder coat anodized surfaces unless you sand blast them since the powder won't to stick to an oxidized surface (most of the powder coating process actually consists of making sure we get all of the oil and rust off of parts). Even if you were to go through the expense of sand blasting the facade, you would have to disassemble the whole thing anyhow in order to run the pieces through the coating process. In other words, it would be so expensive to rework this facade that I can't imagine any plans other than completely trashing the current facade and re-cladding with a new one.

I am also fairly certain that no paints will stick to aluminum oxide, therefore they would have to sandblast the whole building in order to actually "paint" it.
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  #197  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 7:25 AM
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So does that mean any ungodly attempts at a silverizing are going cease being discussed?
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  #198  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 3:04 PM
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^ No, because they can still mess with the glass.
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  #199  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 4:24 PM
Nowhereman1280 Nowhereman1280 is offline
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^^^ No, what it means is:

A. The media has no idea what they are talking about. They either don't understand how a modern building can "change colors" and think it akin to merely painting your ye olde wooden cottage, or they are purposely dumbing down what they are saying to "paint it" because they know the average person has no idea what a curtain wall is.

B. Since you can't just "paint it" the only way to change its color to silver would be to either rip off the entire facade and put a new one on or...

C. Perhaps reglaze the glass to a silver color. I don't know if that is possible or if it also requires ripping out the glass and replacing it.
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  #200  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2009, 4:50 PM
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The Sears, too big to change, and that's a good thing.
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