When you’re in school you tug on your beret and tell your professors and peers that skyscrapers are nothing more than phallic symbols, and the real craft of architecture is in small-scale context sensitive creations that leverage the holistic blah blah blah blah. Nobody’s taking an architecture boat tour down the Chicago River to look things that are small.
Nanning China Resources Center (Courtesy of Goettsch Partners)
And while the vast majority of architects will never work on a skyscraper, that’s not true of the wonks over at Goettsch Partners. The tallest building it’s ever designed recently topped out in Nanning, China.
The Nanning China Resources Center Tower will be 1,322 feet tall when completed later this year, and is one of two skyscrapers from GP that has exceeded 1,000 feet. Under 1,000 feet the firm currently has over 30 skyscrapers under its belt, or under construction.
The 85-story tower will sport 1.8 million square feet of office space, 65,000 square feet of retail space, and a 336-room Shangri-la hotel.
Rendering of the Nanning China Resources Center (Courtesy of Goettsch Partners)
In cities these days, trains are one of those “If you build it, they will come” amenities. Case in point: The new residential tower that just broke ground a block from the CTA’s Green Line Cermak/McCormick Place station.
Rendering of 2111 South Wabash (Courtesy of Draper and Kramer)
The 24-story building is an SCB design for Draper and Kramer located at 2111 South Wabash Avenue. When complete, the tower will bring 275 new homes to the area between McCormick Place, and the Hilliard Tower Apartments — Bertrand Goldberg’s landmark residential complex.
“We wanted the design of this tower to reflect the dynamism of the neighborhood,” says John Lahey, principal of Solomon Cordwell Buenz. “By selectively extruding the façade, we were able to not only capture great views to downtown from the units, but also create a prismatic effect in which the light will constantly change the appearance of the building depending on the time of day.”
The apartments will run from 529 square feet to 1,411 square feet. The smallest units start at $1,800.
Because there aren’t a lot of skyscrapers in the immediate vicinity, the views should be pretty good.
Recently I was watching House Hunters on HGTV and a couple was looking at condominiums in the South Loop. Someone commented that the view of Soldier Field from the unit they selected would remain unobstructed. I told my wife, “No it won’t. Those air rights have already been bought for development.” Such are the perils of high-rise living in Chicago.
The approximate boundary of what was once called The Gateway (via Apple Maps)
We’ve reported several times on previous plans to deck over the Metra Electric tracks and build a neighborhood of skyscrapers on top. To date, none have come to fruition.
But Crain’s Chicago Business reports that another effort is being made to transform what many American cities would consider lost industrial space into new urban life thanks to Chicago-style big thinking.
The man the plan this time is Wisconsin businessman Bob Dunn, according to Crain’s. The business publication reports that he’s been talking with local politicians and bureaucrats about his vision for 34-acres of hovering potential between McFetridge Drive and McCormick Place.
The most recent plan from 2015 was for three thousand new homes in the sky. We reported on plans back in 2012 when it was going to be called “The Gateway,” and again further back in 2008. The Chicago Tribune did a piece on yet another proposal back in 2001.
We should get another chance to write about this latest one in two weeks, as third ward Alderman Pat Dowell has called a public meeting on the plan for March 13th.
Sometimes we all need a break from the workplace while still working. For Olympic skiers, it’s a new mountain. For cops, it can be a different beat. For day traders it’s the Starbucks on Rush Street.
The Ragdale gate (Courtesy of the Ragdale Foundation)
If you have a team at your firm that needs to get out of the architecture studio and into a different studio to recharge, Ragdale may be just the working retreat you need.
The Lake Forest art colony is taking applications from architects, designers, and artists for a team design-build studio residency.
If your submission wins, you and up to nine other people get an 18-day residency and $15,000 to build your submission. That also includes a studio, housing, and three squares a day from the end of May to the middle of June.
If your team could benefit from getting out of your comfort zone for a fortnight or so, check out ragdale.org for more information.
The $6 billion development includes more than two dozen buildings lining both sides of the north branch of the Chicago River between North and Webster Avenues. What it doesn’t include is a 20,000 seat soccer stadium, or an entertainment district run by Live Nation. Both of those were removed in order to get the approval of Second Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins. Instead, open space has been increased to a total of 21 acres, which includes parks, hardscape, and new riverwalks.
The $900 million TIF is the largest in Chicago history. So what does the city get for its (your) money? Most of it is transportation related: New bridges across the Chicago River, an extension of The 606, a new Metra station, new water taxi stops, and a reconfiguration of the Elston-Armitage-Ashland Circus.
When complete, Sterling Bay envisions a neighborhood with six thousand new homes, 3.08 million square feet of commercial space, 220,000 square feet of hotel space, 812,000 square feet of retail space, and 8.12 million square feet of mixed use space. The buildings will run from 80 to 650 feet tall.
Chicago loves architecture history. But it has a bad habit of tearing it down and leaving it strewn around the region. Now a historic kitchen has a chance of being loved once again.
Landmarks Illinois disassembled the kitchen and moved it into storage of safe keeping. Now it’s looking for someone to give the kitchen a new home, in a place where the public can get to know not only its important design, but its important history.
After Johnson Publishing moved out of 820 South Michigan Avenue so the office building could be turned into apartments, Landmarks Illinois saved a piece of the historic publishing empire: The test kitchen.
The test kitchen just before disassembly (Courtesy of Landmarks Illinois)
The 1971 Johnson test kitchen was designed by William Raiser and Arthur Elrod, and though not in the greatest shape when it was purchased for one dollar, it still represents the height of interior design of its era.
If you work for an institution or organization that might be a good steward of something like this, read the press release below. Or just read it anyway to learn more about an important piece of Chicago’s past.
Courtesy of Landmarks Illinois
Landmarks Illinois Seeks Qualified Owner, Steward of Iconic former Johnson Publishing Company Test Kitchen
CHICAGO – Landmarks Illinois, a statewide historic preservation nonprofit, is seeking a new owner for the one-of-a-kind former Johnson Publishing Company Test Kitchen, designed in 1971 by Palm Springs-based interior designers William Raiser and Arthur Elrod. Landmarks Illinois (LI) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified institutions, organizations, corporations or other entities interested in accepting ownership of the former test kitchen and reassembling it for educational display or use.
The iconic test kitchen, featuring bold colors, patterns and appliances, was previously housed on the fourth floor of the Johnson Publishing Company Building at 820 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago and was where Ebony Editor Charlotte L. Lyons would experiment with new recipes before putting them in the magazine’s monthly feature, “A Date with a Dish.”The former test kitchen strongly reflects the mod interior design styles and bright colors of the 1970s. It also corresponded with Raiser and Elrod’s interiors throughout the former Johnson Publishing Company building, designed by local African American architect John Warren Moutoussamy.
“An ideal future owner of the test kitchen has appreciation for its unique design and wants to honor the history and significance of not only the space but of the Johnson Publishing Company, which became one of the most important African American-owned companies in the nation,” said Bonnie McDonald, President & CEO of Landmarks Illinois. “Institutions with knowledge in design history and historic preservation, as well as those with experience in featuring and celebrating African American culture, are encouraged to apply.”
Landmarks Illinois acquired the test kitchen in April 2018 for $1 and, with the help of professional volunteers among its membership and from the Skyline Council of Landmarks Illinois, documented, carefully disassembled and removed the kitchen from the Johnson Publishing Company Building. Landmarks Illinois took ownership of the test kitchen after a developer purchased the Johnson Publishing Company building with plans to convert it into residential space. Due to the cultural and historic significance of the test kitchen, which was largely intact at the time of its disassembly and removal from the building, Landmarks Illinois wanted to see it preserved and celebrated.
Landmarks Illinois is now asking for proposals from qualified institutions to acquire, move the test kitchen out of storage and reassemble it in a manner and location that will publicly tell the story of Johnson Publishing Company, which was founded by John H. Johnson in 1942 and is best known for publishing Ebony and Jet magazines. Those submitting a response to the RFP must demonstrate why they are the best steward for the test kitchen and how they will display or use the kitchen to share the story and history of the space in an inspiring way.
Proposals are due Wednesday, May 1, 2019, by 5 p.m. Central time. Proposals can be emailed to Lisa DiChiera, LI Director of Advocacy, at LDiChiera@landmarks.org. Download the full proposal here. Landmarks Illinois aims to transfer ownership of the test kitchen no later than June 30, 2019.
If you think that Chicago’s high rise condo buildings don’t have the allure for international buyers that buildings in Miami, London, and Dubai do, you might be wrong.
Rendering of 1000M (Courtesy of Time Equities)
The developers of 1000M (1000 South Michigan Avenue) have designated the 133 condominiums on floors 41 through 47 the “International Collection.” They appear to be smaller units, running from 325 (!) square foot studios up to three bedroom units in a mere 825 square feet.
That may seem miniscule to you and me, but if you’re a frequent international traveler, this might be just the pied-à-terre you’re looking for when “terre” is Chicago, and your pied isn’t going to stay very long.
1000M International Collection interior (Courtesy of Time Equities)
If you watch House Hunters International, or avail yourself of Airbnb overseas, you know that people in Europe and Asia have a different definition of “spacious” than we do. Those are the exact markets that the International Collection is after.
Kara Mann, interior designer of 1000M (Courtesy of Time Equities)
To that end, the interiors, designed by Kara Mann, have space-saving kitchens along one wall, and built-in closets.
You’ll remember that the rest of the building was designed byHelmut Jahn and includes an additional 288 luxury condominiums, a winter garden on the 72nd floor, a coworking space, a library, a private dining room, a music conservatory, and in what might be a trio of firsts for a Chicago skyscraper: a golf simulator, both hot and cold plunge pools, and a salt therapy room.
Residents of the International Collection have full access to all of those amenities and more.
Will micro apartments for the mega wealthy work? Right now the answer seems to be somewhere between “maybe” and “yes.” Twenty of the units, which start at $313,000, have already been sold. And moving 15% of your inventory before sales have officially begun can be described as a good sign.
1000M International Collection interior (Courtesy of Time Equities)
1000M International Collection interior (Courtesy of Time Equities)
1000M International Collection interior (Courtesy of Time Equities)
1000M International Collection interior (Courtesy of Time Equities)
If you like the idea of having a Gold Coast address right across the street from Lake Michigan, but don’t want to live someplace someone else has, your opportunity is here. Pre-leasing has begun for 61 Banks Street, so you can pre-live there until the building opens.
Rendering of 61 Banks Street (Courtesy of Draper and Kramer)
The eight-story building at 61 East Banks Street replaces a surface parking lot on the last empty Lake Shore Drive parcel between Ogden Slip and North Avenue. The first of the building’s 58 apartments should be available for move-in by May.
The building was designed by the West Loop’s Booth Hansen for Draper and Kramer and features all of the usual accoutrements you’d expect from this voting precinct, plus proper underground parking, bay windows for panoramic views, and a glassed-in rooftop lounge with library.
Back at ground level, seven two-story townhouses line the Lake Shore Drive facade and wrap around to Banks Street. Rent for one of the townhouses starts at $8,100/month. The average 2,400-square-foot apartments go for a more modest $7,200/month.
Rendering of 61 Banks Street (Courtesy of Draper and Kramer)
When Goettsch Partners revealed its design for 110 North Wacker, it included interesting feature: A series of three V-shaped structures along the Chicago River.
These elements are designed to help support the fifty-something stories of skyscraper above them, as the Howard Hughes and Riverside Investment and Development project hangs over a new section of riverwalk it will bring to the city.
If you have trouble visualizing how that’s supposed to work, we’ve put together a little animation showing the diagram filed with the City of Chicago, the rendering from Goettsch, and the steel in situ, as photographed by Loop Spy Chris.
It’s interesting to see how the original plan is being realized right before the eyes of a hundred thousand commuters a day. It’ll be even more interesting to see the finished product, since architectural renderings tend to be only six degrees of Kevin Bacon related to the finished product.
For you heavy steel junkies, check out the rest of Chris’ recent photos of 110 North Wacker below.
110 North Wacker under construction (Courtesy of Loop Spy Chris)
110 North Wacker under construction (Courtesy of Loop Spy Chris)
110 North Wacker under construction (Courtesy of Loop Spy Chris)
110 North Wacker under construction (Courtesy of Loop Spy Chris)
110 North Wacker under construction (Courtesy of Loop Spy Chris)
110 North Wacker under construction (Courtesy of Loop Spy Chris)
110 North Wacker under construction (Courtesy of Loop Spy Chris)
110 North Wacker under construction (Courtesy of Loop Spy Chris)
The second community meeting about Wild Mile Chicago was held recently, and enthusiasm is growing for a project that would have seemed a few McNuggets short of a Happy Meal a decade ago.
Anchored on the banks of the Chicago River in the Goose Island area, Wild Mile Chicago envisions a mile-long “eco park” running along, and into, the industrial waterway.
Don’t get too excited. This image that’s been circulating in the local media is just an aerial photograph that someone outlined with a green highlighter. No rendering was done.
What has turned this fantasy into a near-reality is a trio of recent events. First, a shift in the urban planning zeitgeist so that cities no longer turn their backs on rivers, and instead embrace them as part of the city. Second, the increased flow of people who want to both live in downtown Chicago and have near-immediate access to nature. And third, the combined exodus and expulsion of heavy industry from the Goose Island area with its subsequent rezoning to accommodate knowledge workers and the coffee shops, gluten-free yoga mat pop-ups, and free-range avocado toast safe spaces that come with them.
If all that sounds too granola to be true, it’s not. There’s some important names behind this, including SOM and the Department of Planning and Development. So it looks like this is actually going to happen.
Which is a good thing. Greening the river is also cleaning the river. Chicago used to hold swimming races downtown. Now the people most often seen in the Chicago River are kayakers warned not to get any of the water in their mouths. It says something about your river’s water quality when even the mob won’t dump bodies there anymore.
A vision of what Wild Mile Chicago might look like, from the community presentation. The trees floating in rubber rafts is fun. It would be quite the spectacle if one or more of them get loose and float down the river.
If completed as currently envisioned, Wild Mile Chicago will run from Chicago Avenue up to North Avenue, initially along the channel portion, but eventually expanded to both sides of Goose Island.
It’s not supposed to be a park like the “rooms” of the downtown Chicago riverwalk. Wild Mile is more like a linear wildlife refuge, with people taking a back seat to making space for critters. This is good for the creatures because it gives them a plane to live. And it’s good for people because the sad truth is that from aquatic plants to zebra mussels to dolphins, wildlife is an excellent pollution filter.
But Wild Mile is about more than just pollution. Turning the Chicago River from an industrial canal back into a river helps with flood control. The old thought was that waterways should be streamlined and channelized to move excess water out of the way quickly making it the problem of whomever is downstream (Saint Louis sued Chicago over this once). Today the thought is that, as much as possible, storm runoff should be captured before it becomes a problem. Plants are awesome for this. They slurp up water like they need it to live. And planting trees is a lot cheaper than building another deep tunnel or water treatment plant.
If you were in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics, you may have seen the swales built around the athletes’ village to help with stormwater runoff.
Wild Mile has been in the works for a number of years, and was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission two years ago (though many media outlets just discovered it last week and act like it’s something new). But now that we’re headed toward the third public meeting about this project, it’s starting to seem like less of a bunch of words on paper, and more like a real chance to heal some of the sins of the city’s industrial past.
If you’d like to know more, the Wild Mile web site is a little light on details. But another community meeting is coming up next month at a date and time not yet determined.
Max Ronalds 