| . |
|
|
 |
|
| Venue: |
Chicago Tourism Center
72 E. Randolph, Chicago, IL
September 4-October 4, 2009
|
| Duration: |
4 September - 11 October, 2009
|
Organizer:
|
Burnham Plan Centennial Committee, City of Chicago
|
| Reviewer: |
|
|
Download PDF of exhibition review here |
|
| |
|
|
This exhibit in the Tourism Center is a continuation of the Burnham and Bennett’s ‘1909 Plan of Chicago’ centennial celebration. Instead of educating the public on the 1909 Plan, this exhibit thinks ‘outside of the box’ by asking current Chicago architects to design for Chicago’s future. As a result, many of these projects are visionary in their use of materials and design philosophy. Without real clients and budgets, the designers were free to think conceptually, for what a better Chicago might look like. Not surprisingly, ecology, clean energy, and bringing nature to the urban lifestyle are common themes.
The easily accessible first floor of 72 E. Randolph provides the one-room exhibit hall for this presentation. The exhibit contains high-quality posters, models, and videos to explain this new world of a possible future. Its themes are divided in parallel with the 1909 Plan: Transportation, the Lakefront, Urban Plans, and Public Spaces. Also included in this exhibit for the 21st century are Towers and Catalysts. As Daniel Burnham has been quoted many times, “make no little plans.” This exhibit is to stretch peoples’ minds on what may be possible in Chicago’s future “to stir men‘s souls”.
One of the most visionary projects is Joe Valerio’s ‘Chicago 1000011101’. The architects Valerio, Dewalt, Train have ‘thought big’ by covering the central city in a skin. The purpose of this skin is to climate-control the downtown area naturally. Buckminster Fuller’s Geodesic Dome covering Manhattan had a similar idea but it was artificially temperature-controlled (at least in theory). This ‘skin’ includes solar towers that anticipate the stack affect of air buoyancy. As a result, the cooled air over the Lake Michigan waters are wafted into the downtown while the heated air rises and exhausts out the top of various solar towers. While not buildings per se, these towers would dominate the skyline of a future Chicago. This project is an example of the visionary ecological schemes proposed.
Some of the other projects are very realistic in their concepts. Urban farms and green transportation systems are not as far away as we may think. Some of these subjects are covered in posters without the nuts-and-bolts details. While many are possible with today’s technologies, this exhibit is to illustrate the conceptual possibilities without getting into the working-drawing details of future technologies.
Because of our Tall Building theme, the ‘Towers’ section of this exhibit will be reviewed. It is made up of seven projects that are very diverse. The most unique is the ‘Eco Bridge’ tower by Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill Architecture. Instead of building on land, they have decided to build an energy generation tower off of Monroe Harbor, in Lake Michigan. As a result, it is more of a tourist experience since it is a destination from the downtown. As a day excursion, it seems like a fun idea. In addition to the views of the city and lakeshore from a tower observatory in the lake, the structure would generate energy with wind turbines from the lake-effect breezes.
The second project they display is the ‘Clean Tech Tower’. As a multi-use downtown tower, this structure would produce power from its wind turbines. The number of turbines increases as the building gets taller, to take advantage of the breezes at height. These turbines are concentrated at the building’s corners to also take advantage of wind-speed at the change in plane.
Ross Wimer of SOM is exhibiting a ‘P-I’ tower that looks like it is designed for a client. While energy saving, the project does not present energy generation like the previous examples. It is designed for the north bank of the Chicago River and includes a plinth for public amenities. It seems like a multi-use project that can be constructed today.
Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang is exhibiting an ‘Eco Casino’ for a twist to the tower theme. Instead of the usual office, retail, or residential functions of most Tall Buildings, Ms. Gang is proposing a gaming casino that runs on solar and wind energies. The bright lights and 24/7 operation of a casino could now be supplemented by eco-friendly energy sources.
Larry Booth of Booth Hansen is presenting a ‘Hotel Cool’ for downtown. As Chicago was becoming a metropolis, the city hotel became defined. The Auditorium and Palmer House set the standard for what to expect in a hotel experience. With the arrival of the auto, the rural/suburban motel replaced the train ride/hotel experience of the urban center. Mr. Booth’s project desires to redefine this lost urban experience. The grand lobby of old is replaced with a garden public space. The hotel functions are reorganized for a 21st century lifestyle. It is not ‘what is old is new’ but how we redefine our priorities with new technology.
Thomas Hoepf of Teng is presenting ‘111 W. Wacker’, a multi-use tower along Wacker Drive. This tower changes profile from bottom to top. The mid section is the thinnest. As it rises from this point, the floor plans increase in area. This results in more leasable floor area at the top of the building, where the rents are higher. It also results in an interesting profile compared to the standard building extruded form.
Paul Florian of Florian Architects is presenting an ‘Eco Scrapers’ scheme. These twin towers are multi-use with a rigid web structure on the exterior. Besides creating interesting patterns on the facades, the structures have flexible interior planning for multiple functions and re-use. This is one type of sustainability, since the towers are not tied to a single function and can be replanned over and over without major structural changes.
As a place to see the future, this exhibit fits the bill. While not strong on details or projected costs, this exhibit is to just dream about what could be.