Buildings
Studio/Gang Designing Chicago Skyscraper
(archrecord.construction.com - 03/28/2006)
By Edward
Keegan
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click image to view larger  |
| Rendering courtesy
Studio/Gang Architects |
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| Model image ©
David Seide/ Defined Space |
Chicago-based Studio/Gang/Architects
has released its initial designs for Aqua, an 83-story residential
and hotel tower just south of the Chicago River. The building
will be located in the city's new 28-acre Lakeshore East Development,
south of the Chicago River and east of the Loop.
Firm principal Jeanne Gang created rippling
edges in the concrete-framed structure's facade by using a
unique floor plate for each of its concrete slabs. The unit
plans are conventional, comprising twelve variations enclosed
by a glass thermal envelope. But the undulating exterior spaces,
which Gang conceived as terraces rather than individual balconies,
give each apartment and hotel unit its own outdoor space.
Gang's team used a large-scale model in their studio to identify
view corridors and help sculpt the design.
Loewenberg Architects is the architect
of record for the $300 million project. The developers are
Magellan Development Group and Near North Properties.
The 1.9-million square-foot building
will be located a few hundred yards west of Santiago Calatrava's
planned Fordham Tower, which received planning commission
approval earlier this month. It will also contain a hotel,
townhouses, a health club, conference facilities, and retail.
Its two-story podium will be topped with a green roof.
Drawings for Aqua will soon be submitted
for building permits, with completion expected in 2009. It
will be Gang's largest project to date. Her most noted previous
projects have been the Starlight Theatre in Rockford, Illinois,
and the Chinese American Community Center in Chicago.
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