So I know everyone has been waiting in anticipation for my thoughts on this
But I will offer them for my own catharsis if nothing else.
The Good
-The proposal is very visually interesting and dynamic. It is a bit of a chameleon in a good way in that it will look quite different from different vantage points and perspectives. I particularly like the view of the taller tower from the south west.
-The façade details are top notch with the detailed terracotta and “Chicago” bay windows.
-The way the two towers relate to each other works very well. I normally don’t like twin towers and these are siblings rather than twins. I like how they seem to kind of twist away from each other and break the Chicago street grid to embrace the Lake and River as if they are each looking out onto the waters while slightly turned away from each other.
-I normally don’t like buildings on podiums but I think the podium works well here to unite the towers at the base and serve as screen to LSD. I understand why a podium would be desirable here to block out LSD and offer communal space for the residents that is above LSD overlooking the Lake. I like the mixture of stone and glass that helps ground the towers. There is a curvaceous yet almost brutalist look to the podium.
-I like the crowns. They are simple yet unique and should offer some interesting opportunities for illumination at night.
The Bad
-I agree with Kamin that the towers look a bit cluttered especially when viewed from the Lake and probably the west. I think the towers look very good from the SW and NE but the view from the Lake is a bit jumbled.
-This is related to the point above but the towers while having great façade details are rather busy. There is a lot going on here and I think it all reaches a point of diminishing returns and various features begin to conflict. There is the finely detailed terracotta, the bay windows, the balconies, the setbacks, and the twisted orientation. I think the buildings would benefit if some of these features were simplified. In particular I think the setbacks should be simplified. The current design has the setbacks staggered on north and south halves. I think the setbacks would look better if they are just continuous straight across instead of staggered. I understand that the reason they are staggered is probably to maximize the number of floors with terrace space but the result is too much visual clutter especially with all the other design features and dynamism of the towers.
-I am shocked that better use of the existing Spire foundation is not being used. This seems like a real waste of opportunity and available infrastructure. I had held out hope that something taller than the Sears in the 1500-2000 ft range would be built here because of the existing foundation to support such a structure and the importance of the site. Instead the current plan seems to barely make use of what already exists and almost starts from scratch. I think this is a real missed opportunity. Even if something above 1500 ft wasn’t realistic financially I think something around 1300 ft would be if the Spire’s foundation was used to its fullest extent. Why is the larger tower on the south end when the Spire’s foundation is on the north? At almost any other location in downtown these would be great but here they seem to be a bit of a missed opportunity.
-I think both towers would benefit from the addition of about 200 ft. As currently designed the towers look stubby from some views. Stretching them out but keeping the number of setbacks about the same would also reduce the visual clutter.
The unknowns
-How the podium relates to LSD is very important. LSD is one of the greatest urban drives in the world and deserves to be treated as such in maintaining high design standards to anything built along it. North Point tower and 500 LSD with its never materializing green wall are examples of what not to do. Hopefully the podium treats LSD with respect and not just as a normal highway to be screened out and treated as visual blight.
-How the towers touch the ground and relate to the podium is a question. Some of renderings seem to show the towers touching the ground and rising straight up into the sky without interruption by the podium. I hope this is indeed the case as I would hate to see these appear to be towers on top of a podium and instead are towers rising up directly from the ground that happen to have a podium between them.
-I haven’t really seen the current designs for Du Sable Park and the passages underneath LSD connecting the River Walk and Ogden Slip with Du Sable Park. These are very important issues.
-The walkway along Ogden Slip should be wide enough and offer a pleasant experience for users.
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