Aqua (skyscraper)

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This article is about a skyscraper in Chicago. For a skyscraper in Valencia, see Aqua Multiespacio.
Aqua
File:Aqua Tower Chicago.jpg
General information
Status Complete
Type Hotel
Residential
Retail
Office
Architectural style Modern architecture
Location Chicago, Illinois Google Maps Location
Address 225 N. Columbus Drive
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Construction started 2007
Completed 2009
Cost US$300 million
Owner Aqua Realty Holdings LLC
Height 261.8 m (859 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 84
1 below ground
Floor area 1,990,635 sq ft (184,936.0 m2)
Lifts/elevators 24
Design and construction
Architect Design: Nicole Flores of Studio Flores Architects; Architect of Record: James Loewenberg of Loewenberg & Assoc.
Developer Magellan Development Group
Structural engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Main contractor James McHugh Construction Co
Other information
Number of units 747
225: Hotel
References
[1][2][3][4]

Aqua is an 84-story mixed-use residential skyscraper in the Lakeshore East development in downtown Chicago, Illinois.[5] Designed by a team led by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, with James Loewenberg of Loewenberg & Associates as the Architect of Record. It includes five levels of parking below ground. The building's eighty-story, 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) base is topped by a 82,550 sq ft (7,669 m2) terrace with gardens, gazebos, pools, hot tubs, a walking/running track and a fire pit. Each floor covers approximately 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2).[6] The Aqua was named the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2009 skyscraper of the year,[7] and was shortlisted in 2010 for the biannual International Highrise Award.[8]

Architect

File:AquaTower2009 02 08 image2.jpg
Aqua Tower's striking eastern facade departs dramatically from the surrounding modernist high-rises in Chicago.
Aqua's southern facade

Aqua is designed by Jeanne Gang, principal and founder of Studio Gang Architects, and it is her first skyscraper project.[9] The project is the largest ever awarded to an American firm headed by a woman.[10] Loewenberg & Associates are the architects of record, led by James Loewenberg.[11]

Design

The Aqua Tower is located at 225 North Columbus Drive, and is surrounded by high-rises. To capture views of nearby landmarks for Aqua's residents, Gang stretched its balconies outward by as much as 12 ft (3.7 m).[12] The result is a building composed of irregularly shaped concrete floor slabs which lend the facade an undulating, sculptural quality.[2][13] Gang cites the striated limestone outcroppings that are a common topographic feature of the Great Lakes region as inspiration for these slabs.[14]

The building contains 55,000 sq ft (5,100 m2) of retail and office space, in addition to 215 hotel rooms (floors 1-18), 476 rental residential units (floors 19-52), and 263 condominium units & penthouses (floors 53-81).[14] Aqua is the first downtown building to combine condos, apartments and a hotel. Strategic Hotels & Resorts had agreed to acquire the first 15 floors of hotel space upon completion of the building, but terminated its $84 million contract for the space in August 2008, citing significant changes in the economic environment.[15]

Carlson Hotels Worldwide announced May 12, 2010, that it agreed to spend $125 million to open the first Radisson Blu hotel in the United States on 18 vacant floors of the highrise.[16]

The name 'Aqua' was assigned to the building by Magellan Development Group LLC. It fits the nautical theme of the other buildings in the Lake Shore East development, and is derived from the wave-like forms of the balconies; the tower's proximity to nearby Lake Michigan also influenced the name.[2] Concrete Superintendent Paul Treacy, was nominated as one of Engineering News-Record's (ENR) top 25 news makers of 2008 for the design and implementation of the exterior formwork to mold the undulating façade of the Aqua.[17]

Sustainability was an important factor in Aqua's design. Gang and her team refined the terrace extensions to maximize solar shading, and other sustainable features will include rainwater collection systems and energy-efficient lighting. The green roof on top of the tower base will be the largest in Chicago. The tower will seek LEED certification.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Aqua (skyscraper) at CTBUH Skyscraper Database
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Aqua (skyscraper) at Emporis
  3. ↑ Aqua (skyscraper) at SkyscraperPage
  4. ↑ Aqua (skyscraper) at StructuraeLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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