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Originally Posted by Toasty Joe
The same 1970s that brought us 2 (basically 3) of our most iconic supertalls and put us on the world map, again?
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Well, Sears was a vanity project for the world's largest retailer building the world's tallest building, not a developer-driven project. Cost-effectiveness didn't matter. JHC was a mixed-use tower, so it also demanded a unique design solution. Even Standard Oil/Aon was a vanity project for an obscenely wealthy corporation, hence the decadent marble cladding that was foolishly slathered on it. Chase was not a supertall, but it was similar to JHC since it was not a straight-up office tower, the First National Bank demanded a huge open banking hall for the public at the base of their tower so it also required a unique design solution.
Once you get past those four buildings, you're left with... a bunch of International Style boxes, some designed by Mies and some not. IBM Center, Equitable, all of Illinois Center, Riverside Plaza towers, CNA, Inland Steel, Mid-Continental, Kemper, etc
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And my primary frustrations are around the confluence, for obvious reasons. Sprinkled throughout the city, these can be great (see One Chicago, BMO) and add to the textured cityscape we all love. But clustered and all around the same height... bleh.
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Nuveen is still part of the ensemble at the confluence and it is very much not a blue glass box. Wolf Point East is blue glass, but it reads very different because of the chunky white mullions. And of course the Merchandise Mart is a colossal pile of beige limestone that more than offsets all the glass.