Quote:
Originally Posted by thegoatman
How are people excited about this? Looks like they're just sprucing and remodeling the building a bit? I expected more. I'm glad its not getting demolished, but still.
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This is functionally the same as Jahn's plan to preserve the building. Reclad the building in a high-performance curtain wall and make the atrium open-air like the
Sony Center in Berlin.
Jahn proposed adding a highrise too, but that was really just a sweetener to make redevelopment more financially feasible. Apparently it is feasible without the highrise, which means more of the plaza space can be preserved.
I have some issues with the design as rendered... it looks sterile AF and has none of the personality of the original design. The usefulness of the atrium is greatly reduced by making it open-air, especially in winter. And it appears like this will lose a lot of the things that made Thompson Center great. The atrium provided a site for civic participation, and the food court provided some of the few affordable lunch options in the Loop. The replacement looks pretty soulless and corporate. BUT this is also highly schematic. Those huge 50' wide pices of glass will get more detail, and I'm sure the program for the building will be refined as well so there is lots of room for improvement.