In Chicago?
Anyone who has lived in Chicago for a while will have to acknowledge that just about every new building of any note has been predicted to “ruin the skyline.” And in just about every case, not only have such fears failed to be realized, but the feared intruder quickly became a beloved part of the skyline. Certainly won’t be any uglier than the White Castle tower just S of the Sears Tower.
(The one notable exception is that hulking monolith that occupies an entire block between Adams and Monroe on the E side of Wabash. Ugh!)
Another point well-documented by the mock-up Adler view, is that the Chicago skyline looks quite different from different perspectives. For instance, from many angles other than SW, the Sears does not clearly appear to be the tallest building. From the S, the Hancock does not look all that tall, and from the E or W it appears sort of isolated way off to the north. I think this proposed building does a decent job of linking together Chicago’s Big 3.
The proposed drillbit will be right around the corner from Big Stan (Aon), and the “mechanical pencil” Pru-2. They are putting another couple of dozen floors on the Blue Cross building, and Trump is building his tower just west along the river. I don’t think it will either appear as out-of-place or dominate the skyline as people fear.
And what’s with the hate for the Lake Point Towers? IMO LPT is a mighty cool building, and a significant part of Chicago architecture history. I believe it was previously the world’s tallest apartment building, and it was a huge deal when it went condo. It has been there since I was a kid (70s if not 60s). It was one of few premium downtown residences before the development over the past couple of decades. Used to stick out even more before the area N of the river around the NBC building was developed (whatever cutesy name they are giving that area now).
Finally, whatever you think of this particular design, it IS an architecturally significant development, and as such, the debate over it keeps alive Chicago’s status as a town where the average joe pays more than average attention to the buildings around him. And it is better to have a downtown where folks are interested in building large new structures, than one where the existing buildings are standing vacant. I suspect many a large city would love to have this type of development within its core. If for no other reasons than those, it has my support.
I know…hard to believe, isn’t it?
Oh, I don’t hate the building itself…I think it looks pretty cool. I just resent its existance on what should be reserved for park land. A lot of effort was expended a hundred or so years ago, to ensure that the lakefront would always be for the people, and because of that, we have a fabulous park system along the lake that most of the midwest industrial cities can’t match. The people who made that effort were visionaries, in my opinion. They were from the class of rich folks who could have kept that land for themselves as a means of profit, but they believed that the lakefront should belong to everyone. Keeping that land out of private hands was probably the most important factor in why Chicago is as attractive as it is today. So, I don’t know what deal was struck for that building to be built where it is, but it never should have been.
They should install a fountain that sporadically spurts water out the top.
If they’re gonna make it that tall, they should go all the way and make it taller than the Petronas Towers. But I really don’t care.
If they shoot for tallest in the world, they’ll have to build ridiculously high. The current tallest is Tapei 101, but the UAE is planning to smash that record. Twice.
The Article mentioned 2000’, so it will be.
It should be an interesting building. I don’t understand the complaint.
Petronas Towers
Antenna/Spire 452 m (1483 ft.)
Roof 403 m (1322 ft.)
“[citation needed]”
Top floor 375 m (1230 ft.)
The new builiding is crying out for a big greasy palm.
It definitely looks better from there. I say go for it, but plan something else close-by so it won’t look so lonely.
The Trump skyscraper, which is currently under construction, will be nearby. Both the Spire and the Trump will be along the north side of the Chicago River. Trump is projected to be Chicago’s third highest building behind the Sears and the Spire.
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Personally I think that this is a worthy addition to the Chicago skyline. American cities need to start adding buildings with curving, 21st-century architecture or we risk looking old-fashioned compared to the rest of the world. I hope there’s an observation deck available to the general public.
There will be. But you don’t want to be up there when the building is on ‘vibrate’.
I guess. But with that particular spot, you were always going to have access to Navy Pier immediately to the East. So the lakefront is already interrupted, and LPT doesn’t strike me as really intrusive. Walking/biking/jogging North, you cross the river, and then a very short 1/2 block and you are at the beach. Or take the path where it jogs E to the pier, and go past Olive Park and the filtration plant before hitting the beach.
Do you resent LPT more, less, or equally than McCormick Place? 
(FWIW, I run past the new Soldier Field several times a week and I kinda like it.)
I am not really thrilled with McCormick Place’s placement, either, but I get the point of it, since it is put there sort of for public purposes…and Navy Pier is now a public place, as well. The point is that the land LPT is sitting on could be a park and part of what is now a great tourist destination.
You know, I kind of like Soldier Field, too. To me, it shows a little Chicago-style ingenuity, with the idea of keeping the old, but updating it for modern use. In that sense, I think it’s kind of cool. And I figure that if they didn’t do it, two unfortunate events would have happened. First, the Bears would have moved out to Naperville or Schaumburg or some such…whereever they could find a place to build a modern stadium (which, let’s face it, they sorely needed). Second, the old stadium would have no benefactor other than the park district. Which would mean that the onus would be on the taxpayers to keep it from falling to rack and ruin. So, no, I don’t mind the new Soldier Field, either. Certainly better than the alternatives, in my mind.
Maybe they could have done as nice a job of developing it as they have with DuSable Park next door!
(I understand the developers of the drillbit have proposed developing that park space, mainly because they propose occupying property from lotline to lotline, in an already crowded area.)
It’s so funny to me how different that neighborhood has become (even that it is a neighborhood at all!) When I was a kid, my grandparents lived in the only highrise that was there at the time, the Outer Drive East, which is located right where the S curve used to be. Back then, there was nothing there…the land these buildings are built on was an old railroad yard! I’m glad that it has been developed, I just wish it was all on the west side of LSD, that’s all. All these huge buildings are so crammed in, they do need all the green space they can get, IMO.
Our normal lunchtime run takes us S along the lake, down to 2200, 3100, or on very rare occasion, as far as Promentary Point. It is striking how much underused park space there is S of McCormick. Really a shame they keep cramming more stuff into the small area N to Lincoln Park. For example, they really could have put the Nature Museum anywhere S of 2200. They really need to improve pedestrian access S of the loop. And they could relatively easily add harbor space down there.
Will be interesting to see what happens if the city gets the Olympics, because much of their plans involve the S lakeshore.
I agree with you…I used to live right near Promentary Point, and it was always being used. When I rode my bike up north, no one would be in the park from 50th street all the way to the Shedd. Of course, the neighborhoods along there are not the safest, so I’m sure that has a lot to do with it, but I have always thought that if they did some work to improve those parks, it might help to improve the neighborhoods, too. I am not a big Olympics booster, but I think it’s cool that they are planning to use those south side parks, if for nothing else than to show them off to Chicagoans. There’s a lot of beautiful land down there that I think a lot of people aren’t even aware of. Damn northsiders, too afraid to go south of Soldier Field! (I can say that, because I am one, who had to overcome the fear of the unknown to live in Hyde Park! )