EVANSTON | 708 Church St. (Fountain Square Tower) | 409 FT| 35 FLOORS

[Wheelingman04]

I think this tower looks very good.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Equilibria

I actually like the art deco accents, in a nod to the Library across the intersection.

good point, i hadn't made that connection in my own mind yet, thanks for pointing that out.

Originally Posted by Equilibria

Nonetheless, That transition could be a little cleaner, but that would mean no pretty trees on the shelf.

yeah, it cuts both ways, doesn't it? i don't think the base is a perfect solution, but i also don't think the nods to some neighborhood contextualism are awful. i really like the tower of this project. and the podium, as far as podiums go, isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things. do the two components work together? not really. is there an architectural solution to make the two competing forces work better together? perhaps, but i don't know what that is.

in any event, from what i've seen so far, this project will have a FAR superior street level presence than sherman plaza across the street, but i suppose that's not really saying very much.

[DCCliff]

Originally Posted by Equilibria

I can actually picture that facade pretty well at street level, and it seems to match well with the other facades thereabouts (Hotel Orrington, Library, etc). I actually like the art deco accents, in a nod to the Library across the intersection. Nonetheless, That transition could be a little cleaner, but that would mean no pretty trees on the shelf.

I just don't see it. the podium overwhelms and ignores the Hahn Building. The close-up view from Steely only reinforces (in currently-rendered state, anyway) the greater sophistication of the tower skin vs. the base skin. Also, tend to agree with alex1, but my description is less elegant: It's CLUNKY in the extreme. Perhaps a reworking that was sensitive to the Hahn and even to the post-prairie/art & crafts (its not deco) library would be more successful. Or maybe just a facade less busy. SCB, Klutznick-Fisher/Focus, can you take the challenge?

I also disagree that garage entrance is in the only place it can go. What about splitting the entrance/exit on both Orrington and Sherman and minimizing impact on each side?

This is HUGE for Evanston and must not be f**ked up. (And - full disclosure - having grown up nearby, the condition of DT Evanston means a lot to me.)

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by DCCliff

SCB, Klutznick-Fisher/Focus, can you take the challenge?

the architect for this project is booth-hansesn, not SCB.

Originally Posted by DCCliff

I also disagree that garage entrance is in the only place it can go. What about splitting the entrance/exit on both Orrington and Sherman and minimizing impact on each side?

that would be the worst case situation. if you have to put in curb cuts on this block for the new project, it's far better to do it in only one spot than to start spreading the curb cuts around the block and making the pedestrian experience worse in more places. the garage exit/entrance is in the best possible place right now. it should certainly not go on the church street side, and because sherman is a more prominent street than orrington, i like the orrington placement they have gone with.

[Steely Dan]

another NIMBY battlecry debunked:


Chief douses tower fire claims
Submitted by Bill Smith on Thu, 12/20/2007 - 8:25am.

Evanston Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky says the city is fully prepared to fight fires in any high-rise building, whether it's 20 or 60 stories tall.

"The tactics and strategies are the same," Berkowsky said. "Practically speaking, beyond eight stories, we treat all fires as a high-rise situation."


full story: http://www.evanstonnow.com/business/...er-fire-claims

[DCCliff]

the architect for this project is booth-hansesn, not SCB.

Ooops, thanks; sloppy - - knew that. And I have to admit your garage argument is correct.

[a chicago bearcat]

was just in downtown evanston
and noticed something interesting about this building in comparison to those around it

The retail or ground floor, is huge, twice the height of most in the downtown area, but similarly scaled to the newer developments, all of which feel pedestrian-wise, more like michigan avenue than the downtown evanston I really love, such as just around fountain square

but, this is an odd complaint in one sense, because all of the "historic" buildings in evanston are infact imitations of what was being built on michigan avenue at the same time, when it was the boutique alternative to State street, and evanston wanted to be the alternative to Michigan avenue

so maybe it's appropriate on a philosophical level for it to impersonate michigan avenue, but I'd much rather have the pedestrian scaled storefronts of the older buildings, because I despise mall-ification of the street

[Steely Dan]

this article from the evanston review is from last week, but i've been out of commission since blowing out my knee on christmas eve, so here it is. also, as a reminder, now that the plan commission has given its final approval of this project, it will likely be on the agenda of the City Council's Planning and Development Committee at its Jan. 14 meeting, that's less than 2 weeks away.


Tower plan heads to City Council
December 27, 2007
By BOB SEIDENBERG City Editor

A developer's proposal to build a 49-story tower downtown now goes to the Evanston City Council after city Plan Commission members offered widely divergent views last week on the project's merits.

The commission had voted 4-3 at their Dec. 12 in support of developers' request for zoning relief to allow construction of the high-rise, almost twice the size of the city's next tallest building, on the south side of Church Street between Orrington and Sherman avenues.

full article: http://www.pioneerlocal.com/evanston...7-7-s1.article

[aaron38]

^From the article:

Nearly twice as tall as the next-highest building, "It doesn't add to the skyline, doesn't create cohesion, but rather dominates," argued the group members, one of whom, Schuldenfrei, is a doctoral candidate in architectural history at Harvard University. Nyden and Burrus boast professional planning credentials.
"A skyline should be composed of buildings, generally of the same height, but they should be distinguished from one another by a variety of roof forms," said the group.
Evanston's skyline, they said, should not be composed "of mainly 25 story buildings and then a single building twice as tall."


Wow. Since when is the plateau the ideal shape of a skyline? And Sears and the Empire State Building don't add to their respective skylines then?
He doesn't make a very convincing argument.

[LucasS6]

I agree that having one building be twice as tall as everything around it isn't usually a good look. The way to fix this, however, isn't to stop a building twice as big from being built, but turning that demand into other buildings: some 50% taller, some 75% taller, to make the one 100% taller fit in better.

It's not a reason to stop growth, it's a reason to encourage it.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by aaron38

^From the article:

Nearly twice as tall as the next-highest building, "It doesn't add to the skyline, doesn't create cohesion, but rather dominates," argued the group members, one of whom, Schuldenfrei, is a doctoral candidate in architectural history at Harvard University. Nyden and Burrus boast professional planning credentials.
"A skyline should be composed of buildings, generally of the same height, but they should be distinguished from one another by a variety of roof forms," said the group.
Evanston's skyline, they said, should not be composed "of mainly 25 story buildings and then a single building twice as tall."


Wow. Since when is the plateau the ideal shape of a skyline? And Sears and the Empire State Building don't add to their respective skylines then?
He doesn't make a very convincing argument.

Hell, I guess Evanston will have to build a few more 50-story buildings now to make the Fountain Square Building fit in.

[honte]

Originally Posted by aaron38

He doesn't make a very convincing argument.

It's rarely a good thing when architecture historians attempt to become architecture critics.

[Marcu]

Evanston may be close to Chicago but it's a world apart. Much of Evanston's old NIMBY guard is comprised of pseudo-intellectuals whose detox diets and intense meditation regimines are better suited in a Boulder or Sedona. Thankfully, the old guard is slowly being replaced by working professionals, families looking for an urban setting with good schools, and empty nesters. In other words, by real people. To the old guard, this isn't just about a tall building. This is the final straw that will make Evanston maintstream again. Expect them to fight this tooth and nail until the building is topped out.

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

Hell, I guess Evanston will have to build a few more 50-story buildings now to make the Fountain Square Building fit in.

Exactly. And once Fountain Square is built, anything less than 50 stories is "out of the character of the neighborhood"!

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by honte

It's rarely a good thing when architecture historians attempt to become architecture critics.

Harvard must really be lowering its standards...

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

Hell, I guess Evanston will have to build a few more 50-story buildings now to make the Fountain Square Building fit in.

that's doubtful, all the talk in the downtown planning discussion is that the fountain square block would be the only block in evanston where a building this tall could be built. all the surrounding blocks would be zoned for building heights that would taper down, creating the often mentioned "wedding cake" effect. the downtown plan now being considered may not be enacted as currently proposed, but your vision of a downtown evanston filled with 50 story buildings is most likely just fantasy.

Originally Posted by LucasS6

I agree that having one building be twice as tall as everything around it isn't usually a good look.

i disagree. the 1st image below looks just fine to me. it looks FAR better than the plateau skyline that the 3 dissenting plan commission members are lobbying for (2nd image).

[Ch.G, Ch.G]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

all the surrounding blocks would be zoned for building heights that would taper down, creating the often mentioned "wedding cake" effect.

God, Evanston is so weird.

[Steely Dan]

^ i fail to see what's so weird in the statement that i made. would you care to explain?

[Dr. Taco]

^ I think its pretty weird, too. Except it might not be weird in the sense that evanston is different from other cities. But it is pretty weird how the government is trying to shape the shape of their skyline in any one direction

[Steely Dan]

^ again, i fail to see what's weird about that. it's called city planning; it is in fact quite normal.