600 N. FAIRBANKS

Multiple architectural styles jut upward, each appearing to joust with each other for prominence in this wonderful city scape view from 600 N. Fairbanks #2809, Chicago IL. This photo, taken by Fred Scovell of the Scovell+Sabatini Team of Rubloff Residential Properties, is from a 28th floor balcony at Helmut Jahn's acclaimed new glass tower

In essence, 600 North Fairbanks recapitulates the age-old formula of the skyscraper as a three-part building with a clearly articulated base, middle and top. The base consists of a high-ceilinged, light-washed lobby and 11 floors of parking, the middle houses 24 floors of apartments, and the top holds four floors of penthouses and an amenity floor (with lap pool, fitness center and sun deck). What sets the building apart, however, is the way Jahn plays with this convention, creating a persuasive essay in minimalism.Windows on the north and south sides consist of large sheets of extra-wide, floor-to-ceiling glass that are unencumbered by the clutter of mullions, air-conditioning units or operable windows. The concrete floor slabs are just eight inches thick, due to Jahn's use of post-tensioning cables rather than old-fashioned steel reinforcing bars. He expresses the slabs on the facade with narrow bands of extruded aluminum. Concrete columns are recessed behind the glass.As a result, 600 North Fairbanks looks remarkably crisp and transparent, though its see-through quality invariably will be compromised as more people move in. If Mies' 860-880 high-rises are skin and bones buildings, clearly expressing their structural frames, this is every bit a skin building. And due to the presence of extra-thick glass, the skin is mirror-smooth, beautifully reflecting the sky, the clouds and nearby structures. That's a welcome shift from the fun-house mirror distortions of other high-rises.

CHICAGO SPIRE-Awe In-Spire-ring

Click on the title CHICAGO SPIRE for a great preview of what may become the greatest residential building in the world located right here in Chicago!

Miesian Lines at 860-880 900-910 N. LAKESHORE DRIVE

To really appreciate Mies van der Rohe try walking in and around his buildings located at 860 and 880 N. Lake Shore Drive which are cooperatives. Two adjoining buildings located at 900 and 910 N. Lake Shore Drive are condominiums and were constructed as replicates of the original Mies properties.


"The scheme consists of two identical 26-story towers placed 46 feet apart with their long axes set perpendicular to each other. The steel skeletal frame is based on a 21-foot grid and is clearly expressed in the elevations, indicated by black-painted steel sheets covering the fireproofed columns and beams. The rigorous consistency of the design is seen in the uniform treatment of each building face regardless of orientation. Each bay is subdivided into four window units by three wide-flange steel mullions. A supplementary mullion is welded to the face of the exterior by the others. Within these divisions aluminum-framed floor-to- ceiling windows are set. The significance of this work is a pioneer curtain-wall expression as well as a fulfillment of the all-glass skyscraper schemes proposed by Mies three decades earlier."
— A. James Speyer. Mies van der Rohe. p26.

CHICAGO RIVER MEETS LAKE MICHIGAN

FUR TRAPPERS TO PROFESSIONALS
Think of denizens of the Chicago River in the 1800s', and fur trappers, canal diggers and stockyard workers come to mind. But look along the river banks these days and you'll see professionals, drivers of the city's current economy, seeking an urban lifestyle with a bit of nature.
Data confirm the large numbers of residences emerging along the river. The number of housing units one block from the Chicago River between 1200 south and 1200 north has risen 85 percent to 10,332 in 2006 from 5,576 in 1996, said Gail Lissner, vice president of Appraisal Research Counselors Ltd., Chicago.
New condominiums and apartments continue to be built, a prominent example being the New East development, where 17 buildings -- including three completions -- holding 4,950 housing units are planned between the Main Branch on the north and Randolph Street on the south. Another major development north of the river in Streeterville is River East, where seven high-rises are complete and six are in planning.
Indeed, projections show the number of housing units is expected to increase 22 percent through 2009, to 12,653, Lissner said.
"The river has great attraction in the market," Lissner added. "I call it our new lake."