Photo Study: Aqua

This will likely be my ultimate post before I go on Summer hiatus; I hope to return to posting in August or September.

"The Aqua" is a fairly recent addition to the Chicago skyline though it has made quite an impression despite being hidden away in the cluster of skyscrapers West of Michigan Ave. between the Chicago River and Millennium Park. It was designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang architects and was completed in 2009. The tower's proportions, which are long and slender compared to most in Chicago, immediately set the structure apart. What truly makes it unique is clearly its waves.

Skyscrapers have an immense verticality that can be exploited for captivating effect. Art Deco towers emphasized their height by featuring unbroken lines that would run along their surface from top to bottom. Mies buildings, with their numerous I-beams running their vertical length, change their appearance as you walk alongside them. The Aqua building presents a different vista; one that morphs as one's distance to Aqua's base changes. It's surface undulates before your eyes, creating a delightful effect. If the sky had been blue I'm sure Aqua's "valleys" and "lakes" would have been ocean azure as well, though the perpetually grey Chicago sky precluded that possibility for today.

Photo Study: Aqua 1

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Photo Study: The Spertus Center

Architecture does not necessarily rely on context, but it is always sensitive to it. Good contextual architecture enters in dialog with its surroundings by conforming, contrasting, or something in between. Most built environments, specifically urban ones, will have a dominant style or architectural tradition. Sometimes a specific site will have complex restrictions (legal or otherwise) with which a designer must contend. Other times there will only be a few simple parameters, such as a limit on height or space that can be occupied.

The Spertus Center is a fascinating example of contextual architecture. Like most buildings on Michigan Ave, it must fill a narrow but long space that is exposed to pedestrians in one limited facade. The Spertus' striking glass grid contrasts well with its surroundings: it fits in its alloted space while creating a memorable spectacle that leaves an impression in any passerby. It's not just the material and modern appearance of the Spertus; it's also its creation of a landscape with highs and lows that makes the building worthy of note.

Photo Study: Spertus Center 1

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Photo Study: The Rookery

It's a common misconception that buildings are designed and built in one fell swoop. Most are built and modified over time by a number of architects and owners in both subtle and less-than-subtle ways. I wanted to look at the Rookery because it's an excellent example of just such a composite structure that is the result of many creative influences.

The Rookery, located on La Salle St., was initially built in 1887-88 by Burnham and Root, a firm responsible for many of Chicago's great early skyscrapers. The building featured a "light court," a large open internal space designed to bring in natural light throughout the structure. The space has undergone two significant renovations; one in 1905 by Frank Lloyd Wright and another in 1932 that added the staircase that begins on the 2nd floor of the light court.

Wright's renovation totally changed the character of the court, though was able to very successfully subsume elements of the old cast-iron decorations (see photo of column revealing the marble's hidden interior). The art-deco staircase similarly works with the existing space, and not against it, despite its return to the cast-iron motif. This court epitomizes the aesthetic evolution of a building, though hides that evolution behind the great craftsmanship that blurs its heterogeneous styles.

Photo Study: The Rookery 1

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