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Caption: AQUA C h i c a g o
Caption: I've been in love with this
skyscraper for some time, and actually had a chance to stay
in it recently when attending the Chicago Forum on Global Cities.
The bottom floors, you see,
are a hotel, while the top
floors are condos.
Here is a tribute to this
lovely building, from outside
and in. With an explanation
for its design at the end, if
you're interested.
Caption: So...
you notice it there,
just south of the Chicago River, peeking out from the other boring rectangular skyscrapers, and you wonder,
"What the hell is that?"
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Caption: Maybe you even catch its reflection in another building, and think the ripples are
perhaps distortions in the
mirrored glass.
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Caption: And then you round the
corner, see it in all its glory,
and try to appreciate it from
every possible angle.
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Caption: The Aqua's irregularly-shaped concrete floor slabs give the
82-story building its undulating, organic, sculptural quality.
Architect Jeanne Gang
has sited the striated limestone outcroppings that are a common topographic feature of the
Great Lakes region as inspiration for these slabs.
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Caption: From the hotel rooms,
floor-to-ceiling windows provide dramatic views.
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Caption: Walking outside on the deck provides an interesting perspective on the curved
floor slabs.
Gang optimized the decks' various sizes for each room to provide the best view of
local sites such as Millennium Park, Lake Michigan & Navy Pier. Shading from the sun was
also a consideration.
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Caption: This project remains the largest ever awarded to an American firm headed
by a woman.
Caption: instagram.com/bbarrie
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twitter: @bob_barrie