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  #1  
Old Posted Nov 21, 2014, 7:22 PM
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CHICAGO | 311 S. Wacker Drive | 65 FLOORS | 961 FT | 1990

If there is one thing I've noticed about Chicago since moving here 2 years ago, people either love this building or they detest it. Personally, I love it. Near the top of my all time favorite building list. So happy that I can see it in person. This building is post modern madness but it's a powerful building. It has a very unique relationship with Sears Tower It's also a unique homage to the Tribune Tower.

However I do have a question? Does anyone have any information of the 2 towers that were supposed to resemble 311 S. Wacker drive? I only know that they would've risen on the parking lot and the small park on the north side of the building.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ive_060528.jpg


http://www.urbansplatter.com/wp-cont...llFar_cKPF.jpg




http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/5329/...cker-drive.jpg


http://m2.i.pbase.com/g4/40/339440/2...11S.Wacker.jpg


http://cdnfiles.hdrcreme.com/236/med...1-s-wacker.jpg


http://buildingdb.ctbuh.org/class-im...ght_(c)KPF.jpg
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  #2  
Old Posted Nov 21, 2014, 9:58 PM
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If I had magical powers and could erase any 5 buildings, this would be top 3.

This building a total and complete architectural disgrace. Not only is it a hideous PoMo nightmare, it is absolutely AWFUL to navigate. The lobby is horribly designed, the layout is bizarre, and its circulation might be the worst I've ever experienced. At lunchtime, it takes 20 minutes to get to the top floors of this shitty building. Just horrid design inside and out, both visually and logistically. And what the fuck is with the palm trees?! Florida is over a thousand miles south of here!

And I can't find it online anywhere, but I believe I once read it was originally designed to have two additional towers share its lot. Idk. I can't really remember. Good riddance nonetheless.

Oh, and welcome to Chicago. Where you from?
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Old Posted Nov 21, 2014, 10:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrandonJXN View Post
I can't be the only one who sees some Kenzo Tange in it, however accidental or superficial the similarities may be:


source
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Old Posted Nov 21, 2014, 10:16 PM
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i have always greatly despised this building.

a Po-Mo trainwreck through and through.
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Old Posted Nov 21, 2014, 11:26 PM
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This building is SO 1990
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Old Posted Nov 22, 2014, 5:09 AM
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This is like the ugly library tower.
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Old Posted Nov 22, 2014, 6:23 AM
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I like it, I think it would look better with the other two towers. From what I remember the other two towers would have looked exactly like the tower you see here.

ALSO: Notice how it echoes the top of the Tribune Tower?
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Old Posted Nov 22, 2014, 6:57 AM
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I like it, I think it would look better in Dallas.
Fixed.


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ALSO: Notice how it echoes the top of the Tribune Tower?
No. No, I don't. And besides, the Tribune Tower is the original PoMo train wreck.
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Old Posted Nov 22, 2014, 10:14 PM
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Oh, and welcome to Chicago. Where you from?
I'm originally from Los Angeles.
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Old Posted Nov 23, 2014, 9:19 PM
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Night-time illumination on the crown is very bright - you can almost see it from Mars
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Old Posted Nov 24, 2014, 2:52 AM
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Probably the fussiest and worst of KPFs built works. I've always felt this building was really unfortunate. Way too many unresolved ideas.
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Old Posted Dec 2, 2014, 3:45 PM
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it is over-the-top pomo, but so much so that it almost comes all the way back around into another statement, though I doubt it was on purpose. Oddly, it's helped a great deal by being next to sears (willis, I know). If it were off by itself it would be worse.

more than once I have told an out-of-town person its the HQ of white castle, and they believe it
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Old Posted Dec 8, 2014, 6:36 AM
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I like it. Yeah, it looks 80s... because it's from the 80s.
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Old Posted Dec 9, 2014, 2:50 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jcchii View Post
it is over-the-top pomo, but so much so that it almost comes all the way back around into another statement, though I doubt it was on purpose. Oddly, it's helped a great deal by being next to sears (willis, I know). If it were off by itself it would be worse.

more than once I have told an out-of-town person its the HQ of white castle, and they believe it
That's kinda how I feel. Like the Showgirls or Mommie Dearest of Chicago skyscrapers.
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Old Posted Dec 9, 2014, 4:58 AM
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more than once I have told an out-of-town person its the HQ of white castle, and they believe it
nice
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Old Posted Dec 9, 2014, 2:16 PM
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Reminds me of an uglier version of the library tower (US Bank Tower) in LA. Its ugly step-sister.

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  #17  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2015, 8:11 PM
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311 S. Wacker

I worked in the building in the early 1990's and as I recall the original design did include 2 additional buildings.

I believe the design included an exact or nearly exact tower which was to be placed on the block directly to the east across franklin mirroring the one constructed. They ofcourse wouldve had to purchase the block and tear down a lot of buildings but they were not and I think still not especially expensive (in the scheme of loop property). This is supported by the flat side of the building which faces franklin and mirroring building back to back seems to make some design sense.

The other buidling wouldve been placed to the north of 311 between Sears tower and 311 and as I recall it was supposed to be smaller and less dramatic.
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Old Posted Jul 25, 2015, 10:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pkarlin View Post
I worked in the building in the early 1990's and as I recall the original design did include 2 additional buildings.

I believe the design included an exact or nearly exact tower which was to be placed on the block directly to the east across franklin mirroring the one constructed. They ofcourse wouldve had to purchase the block and tear down a lot of buildings but they were not and I think still not especially expensive (in the scheme of loop property). This is supported by the flat side of the building which faces franklin and mirroring building back to back seems to make some design sense.

The other buidling wouldve been placed to the north of 311 between Sears tower and 311 and as I recall it was supposed to be smaller and less dramatic.
I can't seem to find them, but I have seen sketches of a proposal to build three identical towers: the current 311 S Wacker, one on the NW corner of that same block, and one on the SW corner of that same block. There is room in both of those corners for such a thing, although having three identical towers would certainly appear less than ideal. They would have been 301 S Wacker and 321 S Wacker.
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Old Posted Aug 11, 2015, 6:59 PM
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311 S. Wacker

I have also been told that all 3 buildings were to be on that same block, I cannot say that I ever saw a drawing or model. The layout that I referred to was what I believe one of the building leasing staff described to us. That being said, my memory or that persons knowledge might have been faulty.

It will be interesting to see what (if anything) goes up on the other two parcels.
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Old Posted Aug 11, 2015, 10:04 PM
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Originally Posted by pkarlin View Post
I have also been told that all 3 buildings were to be on that same block, I cannot say that I ever saw a drawing or model. The layout that I referred to was what I believe one of the building leasing staff described to us. That being said, my memory or that persons knowledge might have been faulty.

It will be interesting to see what (if anything) goes up on the other two parcels.
They were both to be on the same block one on the north side another on the South Side. They would have stood where the plaza and lawn are now and would have been identical copies of 311, but each rotated 90 degree to face each other. If 311 "faces" West, then the North tower would have faced south and the South tower North. Then you'd have all three aligned with one another with their chamfered edges aligned. Would have been an extremely impressive development if completed, but I'm not sure how successful it would have been aesthetically or from an urban planning perspective.

There is an image depicting the entire development out there somewhere on the web, but I can't find it. I did, however, find this article from 1986 describing the development:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1...re-sears-tower
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