CHICAGO | General Developments

[Jim in Chicago]

The British School and Amli Lofts are in a heated race for the "ugliest new building in the South Loop" award. If you haven't gone past Clark/Polk recently you should. The lofts get uglier with every passing day. A picture can't fully capture the totality of it, you need to see it with your own eyes.

[SamInTheLoop]

^ What's amazing about the lofts is that don't forget the design started off even worse (perhaps even significantly so, if that's possible!) from what we've ended up with......

At least this part of the South Loop has a quite nice piece of new design to look forward to in the near future in the form of the H+P-designed 1000 S. Clark.....

[emathias]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

I'm well aware, in fact that's literally exactly my point. Who would want to send their kids to the shitty British school when they can get essentially the same education at a free selective school, the same education at a significantly cheaper Catholic school, or the same education at the similarly expensive GEMS school which has a much nicer building in a much nicer location. It's completely bizarre thatbthe British school is choosing such a garbage building on the fringes of an industrial wasteland. How are they planning on competing? What's their selling point? We have a shitty park on our roof? Not when GEMS is located fronting one of the nicest parks in the city. They must be targeting people who can't buy taste with the "we have tea and crumpets, how sophisticated" pitch...

I have a feeling they might be completely lost in a forrest of much nicer, much flashier competitors and end up closing their doors in the not so distant future.

You assume that they only compete locally, which isn't really the case. International schools like the British School can provide seamless curriculum across their locations making it easier on families of executives or other high-dollar earners who move frequently. While purely local families may not find the British School their ideal, that may not even be their target market.

[Kenmore]

re: the riverwalk and extending the usable season into the winter months, Chicago should really look to cities like Vienna who manage to have very lively outdoor street scenes in the winter...dining/drinking (alcohol) will be the key.

[jcchii]

the whole south loop is in desperate need of a great building anywhere west of mich and south of roosevelt

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by emathias

You assume that they only compete locally, which isn't really the case. International schools like the British School can provide seamless curriculum across their locations making it easier on families of executives or other high-dollar earners who move frequently. While purely local families may not find the British School their ideal, that may not even be their target market.

Oh I'm sure that they will have some students, but how long can they survive by bilking newly arrived immigrants to the city? These people will eventually wise up and go "wait, you mean I can send my kids to a school that isn't located in a suburban shipping and receiving facility?" I think the design issue might be even more pronounced for foreigners. We often forget that there are a lot of places on this earth where this kind of schlock design is almost unheard of. I can't imagine a London banker moving here and going "yes, I would like to send my child to school in a building made of concrete with bricks printed onto it" when they are used to the stunning design that has been happening in London lately.

[XIII]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Oh I'm sure that they will have some students, but how long can they survive by bilking newly arrived immigrants to the city? These people will eventually wise up and go "wait, you mean I can send my kids to a school that isn't located in a suburban shipping and receiving facility?" I think the design issue might be even more pronounced for foreigners. We often forget that there are a lot of places on this earth where this kind of schlock design is almost unheard of. I can't imagine a London banker moving here and going "yes, I would like to send my child to school in a building made of concrete with bricks printed onto it" when they are used to the stunning design that has been happening in London lately.

There is some quality design in London, but not every building is a Norman Foster masterwork.

For every decent building, there seem to be at least 2 or 3 "Walkie Scorchie" design flubs.
Death Ray

You think Chicago Nimbys are bad, London's are 1000 times worse and then you have to get through the even worse Nimbys on the local council. The only way anything seems to get built is by paying off the papers to proclaim that the development is "just like New York in London" and praying for some sway in popular opinion.

Also, the London market is turning and more projects are starting to go "on hold". They've already lost a few big office projects and more vacant lots are starting to languish in the city center.

but I digress....

[wierdaaron]

I actually don't mind AMLI lofts that much anymore, and I see it multiple times a day. I'd much rather look at some "brick" than a cracked-up parking lot. And compared to the original design, what we have now is like a gift from Mt Olympus. I've actually been toying with the idea of moving there due to their fiber internet hookup, but I need to see the views first.

I think if anything can "save" the south loop it's the parking lot at State and Harrison/Balbo. Right now it acts as a pedestrian desert you have to cross between the loop and the sloop, and if it were activated nicely it could bridge that divide and really bring the area together. That lot is looking for buyers so I have my fingers crossed that someone will do something smart with it. There's a few other parking lots in the area that could still sprout up, too, and hopefully without lawns and motor courts.

[Tom Servo]

The British School appeals to rich idiots with spoiled brat kids. The building's name, reputation, and its amenities are what they're attracted to... I doubt anyone who will be sending their brats here gives a shit, or even notices for that matter, the design of the building. Jesus. What's so hard to understand? I really don't understand why we are all drilling this into the ground so annoyingly hard. Yeah, it's ugly. But there are SO many worse projects to direct our criticism at. And honestly, it's really not THAT bad. It's buried and hidden in a sea of condos; it's very low profile and tucked away behind the viaduct even. Its impact is negligible.

And regarding LVDW posts. Your point is silly: people with a shit load of money will ALWAYS send their kids to over-priced private schools like this or Latin or Gems or wherever because they are status obsessed and these schools appeal to their ego. You'd be hard pressed to find someone in that echelon of society who would send their kid to a public school. These people want their kids surrounded by money and their piers to all be from similar socio-economic backgrounds, not someone from a poor immigrant family on the SW side. Besides, the CPS selective enrollment high schools (Jones, Payton, North Side...) aren't schools that you simply send your kids to. You test into them. It's a process. Who from the upper echelon does anything but what is easy or that they can't simply pay for?

[Chi-Sky21]

Um, these schools do provide an above average education, and the connections you would make there probably over a lifetime will pay for the expense! Just saying.

[Tom Servo]

Northside College Prep, Walter Payton College Prep, Jones College Prep, and Whitney Young are the four best high schools in the state and some of the top in the nation. These "top-tier" private schools like Latin or this one are nothing more than extremely expensive schools with very nice amenities. Their prestige is tuition based, not a endemic based. Just saying...

Now, that's not to discount ALL private schools. Loyola, Notre Dame, St. Ignatius... are very good schools too. I'm just not sold on all these über-rich academies.

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

These "top-tier" private schools like Latin or this one are nothing more than extremely expensive schools with very nice amenities. Their prestige is tuition based, not a endemic based. Just saying...

So just because a school's tuition is high the education provided is somehow inferior?
You should find a mirror and brush that enormous chip off your shoulder.

[Mr Downtown]

Gotta love the bizarro-world idea that parents choose schools based on the architectural sophistication of the cladding materials.

The only question about the building's exterior design these parents will ever raise is "how close can Mummy get in the Range Rover to drop you off?"

[Tom Servo]

Thank you! ^^^

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Gotta love the bizarro-world idea that parents choose schools based on the architectural sophistication of the cladding materials.

The only question about the building's exterior design these parents will ever raise is "how close can Mummy get in the Range Rover to drop you off?"

Thanks for bursting the bubble with this post. The design obsessed people on this forum too often don't realize how much they operate outside the minds of the general public, rich or not.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

I'm assuming it was all Structured and VDT pushing for quality at their Halsted location, because it couldn't possibly have been the British School itself - otherwise, how could you go from that to this pile of shit? One day you're working with Joe Valerio, and the next with Joe 'Antunafish' (borrowed!)??

Structured Development I believe was master-planning the thing, British School was just an anchor tenant.

The new British School is especially disappointing because school design is one of the few areas where Chicago consistently produces world-class architecture, even (or especially) for public schools. Perkins+Will's new Jones College Prep, the John Ronan-designed prototype high schools all over the south side, the JGMA-designed UNO schools, Henry Ford Academy in the old Sears power plant, and now GEMS. For one of the city's premier private schools to pay for such a piece of shit is really disappointing.

I don't necessarily know that the location is awful. Yes, it sucks to get there from Lincoln Park, but South Loop, West Loop, Little Italy, Chinatown, etc all have plenty of families with means. Catholic schools have always been an option but many secular or non-Catholic parents are highly uncomfortable with this.

[Chi-Sky21]

Funny, seems schools moving all over the place!! The south loop Village leadership academy may be heading out to the west loop instead.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...dical-district

[george]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Northside College Prep, Walter Payton College Prep, Jones College Prep, and Whitney Young are the four best high schools in the state and some of the top in the nation. These "top-tier" private schools like Latin or this one are nothing more than extremely expensive schools with very nice amenities. Their prestige is tuition based, not a endemic based. Just saying...

Now, that's not to discount ALL private schools. Loyola, Notre Dame, St. Ignatius... are very good schools too. I'm just not sold on all these über-rich academies.

CPS also offers Lane Tech and Lincoln Park HS is the sixth major. Ogden International HS in Noble Square is up & coming.

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by george

CPS also offers Lane Tech and Lincoln Park HS is the sixth major. Ogden International HS in Noble Square is up & coming.

There's a big gap between Whitney Young and Lane Tech. Even bigger with LPH, which is just a regular high school.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

Gotta love the bizarro-world idea that parents choose schools based on the architectural sophistication of the cladding materials.

The only question about the building's exterior design these parents will ever raise is "how close can Mummy get in the Range Rover to drop you off?"

No one is claiming that architecture is in any way the deciding factor at play. This entire conversation stemmed from the post where I mentioned that I know that parents from Lincoln Park that send kids to these schools are already starting to consider different alternatives. My point is not just that "this is ugly, no one will like it", it's that they are bifurcating their campus, locating it a long distance from the grade school, building an ugly ass building, using complete crap materials, and choosing a site that is surrounded by big box retail and soulless streets. How can they possibly expect to compete with the aforementioned cheaper alternatives and the direct competition like GEMS when they are doing this?

Think about it, if you are a parent with multiple kids, you probably have them in several different grades. Do you really think suzy soccer Mom wants to sit in LSD traffic at the beginning of rush how after picking up Tommy from North and Halsted and then take 30 mins to get Johnny from the South Loop? I know for a fact (because I know people with kids in these schools and have even heard it from other friends in Lincoln Park who know even more people that send their kids that) that a lot of British School parents are thinking about alternatives for their kids once they get to HS because of the location alone. Then add on the shit design, cheapo materials, awful location, etc and you can see the problems adding up.

In short, GEMS and similar schools are going to look a lot better than the British School to prospective parents because they have a single, unified, campus, central locations, state of the art design, high quality finishes, etc while the British School is clearly going to fail at all of those.