CHICAGO | One Bennett Park | 837 FT | 68 FLOORS

[XIII]

Originally Posted by munchymunch

http://www.grecstudio.com/projects/east-grand-ave.html

Is it just me, or does the tower look taller in the new renderings?

[sentinel]

Good eye - it may be, but perhaps it might also be a function of a more accurate rendering

[vandelay]

474 N Lake Shore Dr. is about 600 feet tall. The rendering looks a little tall.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by vandelay

474 N Lake Shore Dr. is about 600 feet tall. The rendering looks a little tall.

Maybe it will be higher than 850' although with 67 floors probably not.

[ardecila]

Interesting, I wonder if those are old renderings? They show a full-length pedestrian arcade along Peshtigo Ct and no outdoor motor court to the west of the tower along Grand.

If this is the current version of the design, then it will be very well-designed at street level.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by XIII

Is it just me, or does the tower look taller in the new renderings?

It's the perspective and this rendering is more accurate than the original watercolor. The tower hasn't grown anymore.

The GREC site is a bit dated as it was approved at 68 floors and won't have 500 units. It'll have about 100 condos and between 200-250 rental units.

[HomrQT]

I'm liking this building more every time I see it. I hope they use quality materials that do the renderings justice.

[rlw777]

I can't remember when is this one supposed to start?

[sage]

Originally Posted by rlw777

I can't remember when is this one supposed to start?

IIRC someone earlier in this thread said construction would likely start in the third quarter of this year.

[Tom Servo]

Originally Posted by HomrQT

I hope they use quality materials that do the renderings justice.

The building will be clad in precast concrete panel with a stone base. Same as that Ritz Carlton pile of shit down the street. Don't hope too much.

[Notyrview]

How DARE you sir! How dare you defame these gorgeous and CLASSY towers!

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

The building will be clad in precast concrete panel with a stone base. Same as that Ritz Carlton pile of shit down the street. Don't hope too much.

We know this, or is this an assumption at this point?

[Tom Servo]

We know this. Beyond the base two floors they will use a precast concrete panel system.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...0-%20Final.pdf

[sentinel]

The whole point of a precast concrete panel system isn't to mitigate cost (in fact, it can be more expensive, depending on the project or application), but rather to control the quality of the manufacturing of the material in a more exacting environment. The combined use of stone and precast can be done very well if detailed properly, and I trust RAMSA more than some outfit like Lucien LaGrange. Stone at the base will look great, and under the right design direction, it CAN blend seamlessly with the precast above it, as seen in the computer renderings.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by sentinel

The whole point of a precast concrete panel system isn't to mitigate cost (in fact, it can be more expensive, depending on the project or application), but rather to control the quality of the manufacturing of the material in a more exacting environment. The combined use of stone and precast can be done very well if detailed properly, and I trust RAMSA more than some outfit like Lucien LaGrange. Stone at the base will look great, and under the right design direction, it CAN blend seamlessly with the precast above it, as seen in the computer renderings.

In this case it's to mitigate cost. I asked and they stated.

I asked about a limestone veneer system like what was done for NBC Tower and they mentioned the expense of that.

And NO, it can't blend seamlessly.

[Rizzo]

Yeah, they won't blend together well. I don't know if it has to do with the porosity of the material, but precast streaks and stains in the weather unlike limestone which seems to fade or patina a bit which looks desirably 'weathered'

[munchymunch]

delete

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by Hayward

Yeah, they won't blend together well. I don't know if it has to do with the porosity of the material, but precast streaks and stains in the weather unlike limestone which seems to fade or patina a bit which looks desirably 'weathered'

Exactly. Limestone gets etched by the trace amounts of acid in rain (this was true even before sulfuric acid from industry was a problem) which exposes the flecks and flakes of seashells and other calcified remains that act as the "aggregate" in the stone. This results in a very fine grain, sandpaper like, texture from a distance. If the surface of concrete gets etched and the aggregate exposed we call that spawling which destroys the material and can eventually cause structural failure. What the difference? Limestone is formed over eons under pressure, concrete is just an abbreviation of that chemical process over a matter of days or even hours with no pressure at all. It's pretty obvious which will naturally weather better.

[sentinel]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

In this case it's to mitigate cost. I asked and they stated.

I asked about a limestone veneer system like what was done for NBC Tower and they mentioned the expense of that.

And NO, it can't blend seamlessly.

Yes it can - I worked on a project in Chicago (not anywhere near downtown) with a linear cut, pre-assembled limestone panel veneer, which had to match the lightweight, precast concrete fascia because they abutted up against each other, weight on the overhang being the primary factor for the switch. It still looks great more than 10 years later. Again, detailing is everything.

That being said, I'll reserve judgement until I see the cladding going up for this building.

[vandelay]

Precast panels can be good, depending on their quality and detailing. This is a precast panel building: