In the concrete jungle known as Chicago, architecture is praised and gawked at. Believed to be the birthplace of the sky scraper, Chicago is famous for the buildings that reside there are well as the architects that designed them. But in 2009, a new building has been erected, one unlike any other in the city. In the heart of downtown Chicago is an eighty two story apartment building that resembles cascading water or draped fabric. Step aside Mies van der Rohe and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, there’s a new style in town. Remarkably enough, this silky smooth structure is constructed of all the normal, manly, tough building materials such as steel, concrete, and lots of glass. But a woman, Jeanne Gang, who heads her own architecture firm, Gang and Associates, designed this particular building. Completed in 2009, Gang appropriately named her masterpiece “Aqua”. Aqua is the tallest building designed by a firm headed by a woman and Gangs first skyscraper. In a male dominant profession, Gang proudly shows off her sense of style. Not only has it caught the eye of plenty respected architects and critics, it has collected quite the rap sheet of architectural awards.
Gang’s design, when broken down, is fairly basic. It centers around a conventional rectangular glass slab, similar to a majority of high rises found in Chicago. But one thing that sets this building apart is the thin, curving, undulating, concrete balconies that wrap around all four sides of the building. These balconies range in size from just a few feet all the way to 12 feet in width. The design of the façade is quite appropriate for the location of the building. Not only does it reside in the heart of the windy city, it is also located in an up and coming residential area near the lake. Using the idea of contextualism, Gang has visually brought the idea of waves into the beautiful skyline of downtown Chicago. The building has a sense of unique rhythm which causes it to look different from any angle viewed at. Though it is a very bold building and stands out in the skyline, it is very organic and malleable.
Besides being a economical success, Gang designed a green building. The real intent of the design is not immediately apparent, which makes the building, from a technical point of view, more remarkable than it looks. Not only are the balconies integral to the design, the create shade for the apartments below, as well as protect the building from the forceful winds in Chicago. Wind is always a factor for architects and engineers when designing for Chicago and normally a solution is a device called a tuned mass damper, but for Gang, this wasn’t the right solution. The balconies are designed to break up with windy forces, which allows for a more economical solution. Gang also received a reward from animal activist group PETA because of the balconies. PETA says birds are less likely to fly and kill themselves on this high rise because the curved balconies are more visible to the birds as well as the etched markings on the glass. These two elements combined make a more animal friendly building; something most architects do not strive to design.
Gang has been compared to Zaha Hadid, the most famous female architect out there, but what Gang has that Zaha does not, is that she is a problem solver not just a shape former. Gang has tackled what many male architects have yet to accomplish; style and functionality. She takes the placement of a project and researches in order to find the best solution to the problem. It is unheard of for a sky scraper so tall to have balconies all the way up, but Gang wanted to fix that. Not only did the balconies serve as a design element, they function well to repel wind and break it up. For a building that appears to be so simple on the outside, it is amazing how much duality exists within it. These are elements that hopefully will continue on with Gang and her firm and be more present through out the skyline of Chicago. Though she has tackled many buildings in the area, such as Columbia Colleges MPC center, it would be exciting to see what other sky scrapers she has up her sleeves.
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