Quote:
Originally Posted by Ch.G, Ch.G
Boxes are ubiquitous in Chicago because they make sense. This isn't New York where developers can afford novel studies in form for the sole purpose of differentiating their product; and (thank God) this also (mostly) isn't Miami or Toronto where superficial flourishes are offered up as the poor man's Architecture with a capital A instead. If you're going to deviate from the box in this city, you better have a damned good reason for doing so. Hell, part of the genius of Aqua is that it embraces the box as a starting point. (And I'd argue that the majority of people who dislike Aqua fail to appreciate this fact.)
IMO, looking at what's going up in other cities, I firmly believe that bKL are among the best designers of tall buildings in the country. They understand materials; the understand details; they understand subtlety and restraint. They're one of only a few firms to successfully translate the Miesian aesthetic into the 21st Century. And considering how many pretenders to his throne have abased the glass box since its advent, I think they're playing a very valuable role in doing so.
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To be clear my comment was not about boxy buildings in Chicago. Nor was I deriding the quality of BKL designs as is pretty clear from my assertion that the building will be well designed. Their designs are very solid and are also mostly forgettable. I'm not advocating for Miami, Dubai, or China here. But it would be nice to see bkl taking some more design risks.