From Urbanland – Water and Concrete: Looking at Chicago’s Aqua Tower
In contrast to Chicago’s typically masculine style of architecture, the undulating waves of Aqua Tower’s balconies hint at an organic shape, and have generated acclaim for design architect Jeanne Gang, the MacArthur Fellow (2011) who founded locally based Studio/Gang/Architects.
The facade undulations were created by extending concrete slabs to create exterior balconies of varying sizes and shapes, which enhance occupants’ access to views of Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, Millennium Park, and the city skyline.
.
If you’re into the challenges of construction, details here.
This is such an exceptional building. Its situation, next to the Aon Centre, is such an intense contrast… simply beautiful.
Lovely, yes. Interesting and different, yes. But those elegant concrete fins extending from the building act as the fins of a radiator, sucking the heat from the living quarters. The article describes how they were formed and weather sealed, but doesn’t say if they were thermally isolated from the interior, or if they are even usable (I can’t see guardrails in the photo, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there). So how did it get a LEED rating?
Reblogged this on CitraGran Cibubur.
Reblogged this on The Flowers Of Heaven (ariskaririn) and commented:
arround the curves
The ledges would provide sun shading in summer.
There’s a couple of towers being built in Surrey ca;lled “Wave” inspired by this one:
http://www.waveliving.ca/
Nothing similat in Vancouver, UNLESS you count the 1960s slab tower at Denman and Davie called Ocean Tower which also has shallow undulations in its balconies.
http://cdn.pixilink.com/V/101/69/46/V1016946-904-1835-MORTON-20.jpg
Long-forgotten 1950s NY/Miami/Las Vegas architect Morris Lapidus is never given as much credit as he should for inspiring some of these latter day sensuous structures.