This article is from the Chicago Tribune last week. I've had it in the "hopper" and wanted to get it posted before another day went by. The article discusses the latest changes regarding the new proposed skyscraper in Chicago that is slated to break ground in Q2 2007. Here are some juicy excerpts from the article, which seem to show that this great modern architect is thinking "PrairieMod Lifestyle" with his holistic design...
Renowned Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, expressed pleasure that the building's simplified top, in which the tower's twisting curves would culminate in metal fins protruding slightly above the roof, no longer resembles the needle-like spires of the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, New York's two great Art Deco towers.
"We don't want to imitate something before," Calatrava said.
"I am learning from Chicago," Zurich-based Calatrava added, using his ever-present sketch pad in an attempt to show how his tower recalled the simple silhouettes of the John Hancock Center and Sears Tower, the nation's tallest building.
And as he revealed with a model of the skyscraper, Calatrava has been laying out plans for the area around it, including pedestrian connections beneath Lake Shore Drive to the planned DuSable Park to the east. The model includes one of his signature cable-supported bridges, which would form a link in the lakefront bike path and swing open to allow boats to pass.
"This is a more holistic vision," Calatrava said.
Below is an image from 2005, which demonstrates an earlier concept for the tower.
Images and text copyright 2006 Chicago Tribune
