View Single Post
  #91  
Old Posted Apr 7, 2017, 1:10 PM
the urban politician the urban politician is offline
The City
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Chicago region
Posts: 21,375
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila View Post
I think the secret sauce is elevating the parking levels on pilotis above the sidewalk. By providing two levels of active use (office? amenities? hotel meeting space?) above the ground floor retail, it doesn't have the same dead River North feeling you get when the second floor is all blank. You don't really see blank walls (or cars) until the fourth floor, and you have to crane your neck to even see it.

MiLa had some similar moves, building a tall glassy "chandelier atrium" on the Michigan Ave side in front of the podium. 111 S Wacker did it too, in more dramatic fashion.

Architects know how to solve the podium problem, and the answer is not "stick the parking underground". But it usually comes with extra cost to the developer. I'd like to see an optional design review process that developers could undertake that would encourage these types of architectural solutions, with the carrot of density bonuses. Unfortunately Rahm decided it was better to just charge developers in cash rather than in better architecture.
I hate to burst the bubble here, but with the redesign the active uses above the first floor will be gone. This is really going to be an old school parking blob