CHICAGO | 400 N Lake Shore Drive | 851 FT & 765 FT | 73 & ? FLOORS

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by 10023

I’m definitely getting a Miami vibe from these buildings.

Also, I think they look good together from the southeast, but not from directly east, in which case the gap between them is too wide relative to the buildings themselves and takes the whole ensemble out of proportion.



In Kevin’s post above, the second photo looks great but the first looks awkward.

What they should do, if you ask me, is move the smaller tower slightly farther south, narrowing the gap AND, at the same time, giving more space between that tower and Ogden Slip, which would widen the protected view corridor toward the Tribune Tower.

Plus, looking at Mr Downtown’s early post, they might be able to use the Spire’s caissons?

I can agree with that. They are spaced a bit far apart and do create a sort of odd proportion problem. I think if they added another vertical band on the lakeside on each tower that it would probably widen them enough to decrease that effect. You wouldn't want the top being too wide, though. I don't like the look of "top heavy" towers where they're skinny at the bottom and flare out at the top. Some of the Asian supertalls that do that look odd to me.

[Steely Dan]

here's kamin's review:

New plans for Spire site: Arresting towers, solid urban design and room for improvement
Blair Kamin
Chicago Tribune

A pair of boldly sculpted towers. Dramatic improvements to the riverfront and the lakefront. A long-overdue goodbye to the most visible scar, a 76-foot-deep foundation hole, left by the Great Recession.

There’s a lot to like in the freshly unveiled plans for the long-dormant Chicago Spire site, but I’m not ready to turn cartwheels. The plans, which call for sibling towers of 1,100 and 850 feet, lack the architectural invention associated with the corncob-shaped high-rises of Marina City, the greatest of the city’s riverfront residential complexes. And the proposed towers sometimes lapse into visual overkill, as if the architects and their client were trying too hard to set the project apart from Chicago’s increasingly crowded field of supertall residential high-rises.

The client, Related Midwest, already has performed one post-recession miracle. At 111 W. Wacker Drive., it took a frozen-in-place, 26-story concrete skeleton, the remnant of an abandoned plan for a 90-story hotel-condo tower, and turned it into an eye-catching 60-story apartment high-rise. Now, working architect David Childs of the New York office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the developer is trying to perform the same magic on a much bigger stage — the symbolically charged site of 400 N. Lake Shore Drive.

full article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...516-story.html

[Skyguy_7]

As far as afternoon shadows go, I have to imagine the fish are pretty excited about 400 N LSD.

[harryc]

Originally Posted by 10023

I can’t imagine why anyone would oppose that proposal, when it’s basically out in the lake, next to an expressway, and what would have been the tallest building in North America was previously approved for the site.

They didn't like it then, they don't like it now. No getting around it this will have a major impact on already majorly impacted traffic. Thankfully SOAR is not so bad. http://soarchicago.org/

[left of center]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I'm also curious to see what happens to the ramps off Lower LSD that Kelleher paid for. Will they just go directly into 400LSD's parking garage with no public purpose? (Those could also provide emergency access to the park for ambulance/fire apparatus.)

I think it would be a smart idea to use it as a public off ramp for North Water St. It would alleviate some of the potential future traffic demand that these towers would generate.

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

Also at least initially it looks like from the early plans they aren't promising to oversell Dusable Park. It just looks...finished. Which is good enough for me. I never understood the hope and promise for what will always be a very isolated park. We don't have to make it Millenium Park II which was what the CS seemed to promise it at times.

DuSable Park would greatly benefit from a pedestrian bridge from Navy Pier/Polk Park. LSD is such a formidable barrier, and North Water St a very lightly used out of the way dead end, I don't really see it getting too much attention without easy access from Navy Pier to get some spillover tourists from there.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by gebs

Seen here (shameless bump):

Amazing photshop skills, gebs! I'm getting goosebumps just looking at that. The mouth of the river will be unrecognizable in 5 years! (assuming ideal market conditions )

[Busy Bee]

Tangentially related I suppose, but refreshes my desire to see LSD dive into a tunnel starting around Ontario or so and run to the eastward swing south of Randolph, extending classical Wacker all the way around the east face of LSE and connecting to Randolph with access ramps to LSD off the bottom level. All current LSD decks would be removed as well as the bridge over the river. A local traffic LSD could be on top from Ontario south with a ground level bascule or other movable type bridge over Ogden Slip and ending at the river intersecting with Grand and Illinois. I know it sounds crazy, but I think it's a good idea.

[LanvinHomme]

It will take two skyscrapers to replace the Chicago Spire that never was lol

[left of center]

Originally Posted by LanvinHomme

It will take two skyscrapers to replace the Chicago Spire that never was lol

This design is better. The Spire was a megatall, which was probably its best quality, but honestly I believe this was the wrong spot for it.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by left of center

This design is better. The Spire was a megatall, which was probably its best quality, but honestly I believe this was the wrong spot for it.

Agreed. I like to see the zenith of a skyline further in, not sitting all by itself lopsiding the balance. And the "whatabout Sears" in 3,2,1...

[chris08876]

Looking at the rendering, would be cool to have a tri-tower development. A 600 footer as a 3rd tower, with a similar aspect ratio would look cool.

[harryc]

Originally Posted by ardecila

As for the planning concerns - I'm not too disappointed that they're planning to dead-end North Water Street. The Riverwalk and the paths along Ogden Slip are, or should be, the primary pedestrian corridors and the locus of any retail/dining in this area. North Water Street is mostly about vehicular access and loading docks. By blocking off the street in this way, it caps the vista down the street and buffers noise from LSD in a way that should make neighbors happy. With that being said, I'm sure the Fire Dept will insist on some kind of vehicular access to DuSable Park in case of emergency, either they will demand that the street be restored or the Riverwalk be designed as a fire lane.

I'm also curious to see what happens to the ramps off Lower LSD that Kelleher paid for. Will they just go directly into 400LSD's parking garage with no public purpose? (Those could also provide emergency access to the park for ambulance/fire apparatus.)

From the SOAR meeting

[left of center]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Agreed. I like to see the zenith of a skyline further in, not sitting all by itself lopsiding the balance. And the "whatabout Sears" in 3,2,1...

Agreed.

You can at least build around Sears, which has been happening (albeit slowly) ever since it was built.

Not much you can do however, when you have a 2000' tower right on the lake. The lopsided, out of place look that the Spire would have had would have been more or less permanent.

[left of center]

Interesting Harry. Looks like no connection between LSD and North Water via the old Spire ramp. I feel like that would have been a useful bit of infrastructure for the neighborhood as a whole, but the city probably doesn't want traffic to unload onto what is now a mostly quiet street anytime LSD gets jammed up with traffic... which is basically almost always.

[Notyrview]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Looking at the rendering, would be cool to have a tri-tower development. A 600 footer as a 3rd tower, with a similar aspect ratio would look cool.

That’s a really good idea

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

nothing?

the site has been vacant for my entire life, at least.

i think they used to pile-up gravel or something there back in the day.

mr. downtown will know more.



EDIT:

this pic from 1970 shows some kind of industrial/warehouse building on the site


source: https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2016...-for-30-years/

My god, that S-curve on LSD! I can only imagine how many accidents occurred right in that short stretch of road!

Almost hard to imagine the area looked like that just a few years before I was born. Pretty much unimaginable when seeing it now, in fact!

Aaron (Glowrock)

[marothisu]

So - how is the existing foundation - i.e. the hole - going to play into all of this?

[rgolch]

Originally Posted by rgarri4

A lot of change is coming to this side of the skyline!

Great work as always rgarri4! You're such a great asset to the Chicago forum.

Is site I really that wide? I guess I figured it was more slender. But renderings I guess could be deceiving.

[wrab]

(del)

[Kumdogmillionaire]

5 years from now our skyline will look like a straight up sci-fi movie. Hyped