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Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop
Absolutely, and what's more, the same is probably true for most of the world's supertall towers in most cities. That's not to say that a decent number of recent examples were not developer-driven (as opposed to very corporate-determined) - but that even most of those didn't come down to straight economics/efficiency etc. Vanity, ego, national statements of status, pride, whatever clearly have a lot to do with the actual height and form of so many of these towers above and beyond what simple economics would have produced.
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For Chicago, if people are looking for architectural peacocking and world renowned icons, they’re going to be disappointed on the whole. The Monadnock Building is exemplary Chicago whereas New York has the Chrysler Building.
What Chicago gets instead is buildings that are representative of their time period. When there’s a substantive change in technology or society’s habits, economy or ideology, Chicago architecture is better able to highlight that shift than other cities that are focused more on eye-catching style.
For instance, a dominant (perhaps primary) theme of the current architectural era is demarcating public-private space. It’s the whole point of Hudson Yards, but they whiffed because of that project’s preoccupation with ‘iconic shapes’ and public art.
Personally I don’t think sticking with basic designs is a bad thing at all since the constant pursuit of novelty for its own sake and instagrams-for-foreign-investors can make cities and people lose the plot and lose sight of other goals for their architecture.
I think even the most basic Chicago blue boxes have grappled more honestly with the question of space and public interaction. Visibility vs privacy. Plaza vs Terrace vs Roof Deck. Signage. How to include balconies while avoiding the pockmarked condo look.
Even Chicago’s most iconic and unusual buildings have very straightforward design philosophies behind them.
Tribune Tower: The press and corporation as church and civic power
Marina City: Car is King, Freedom from the straight line and right angle because of concrete
Hancock Tower: Skyscraper as mixed use residential and commercial, tube structure and exterior bracing for open floor plans
Vista (St. Regis): Undulating glass, how to make a sleek sculptural condo building with exterior spaces