'Aqua'

The skyline of Chicago is beautiful. No one can deny that fact but if given a bucket of legos and a photograph of it then one could recreate it. Majority of the building are square, tall, maybe a curve here and there and most importantly there is glass. If a residential building then maybe a balcony here and there. As always there is an exception to every ‘rule’...Aqua. The building stands tall at 225 North Columbus Drive. The structure claims ideals and titles that not many others can touch with a ten foot pole.

Aqua stands at 86 stories tall with a residential buyer in mind. The building is designed by Jeanne Gang. Gang is the principal and founder of the firm Studio Gang Architects. Aqua was the firms first skyscraper project. With a woman in charge and the building standing those 86 stories Jeanne Gang holds the title of the tallest building in the world designed by a woman. There is more to this building than a world record.

The interesting thing about Aqua is it’s ever changing exterior. Whether you are in a car on Lake Shore Drive, on the bus coming down Michigan Avenue or walking down any street in the neighboring downtown area the shape of the building seems to change with every angle that you are approaching it. Even greater, if you stand outside the structure and look directly up the building looks anything but a perfect square. It resembles weathered rocks and stones that you would find in the Grand Canyon. The reason for this ever changing exterior is it balconies. The sporadic placement, which actually holds a purpose, give the building its character.

With the balconies playing such large part in the exterior and drawing so much attention there is always function that follows a form. The balconies were designed to be up to 12 feet wide in some areas of the building. Made out of limestone the ledges were designed with inspiration from the great lakes. The wave shaped balconies mimic the Chicago shoreline and the waves that crash onto it perfectly. When looking directly up at the building you can actually see the movement of the balconies to create an even deeper impact of water. What is even more interesting is the fact that these sporadic wave balconies are actually considered ‘green’. The width of the ledges allow the building to have solar shading keeping cooling cost down. Also, the place of the waves allow birds to notice that this is a building rather than accidentally flying into the side due to the windows.

This structure has won more than just the award for being the tallest building in the world designed by a woman. There are actually quite a few others and rightfully so. The firm has already been granted from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals due to birds being able to the wave balconies and not be as likely to fly into the side of the building. The structure actually posses enough energy saving features to obtain the LEED silver rating. This is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design which is granted from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The building is being split into one part residential and the other will be a space that holds 215 hotel rooms. The Carlson Hotels Worldwide are spending around $125 million to open their first Radisson Blu hotel in the United States on 18 floors of the building.

Aqua is a sight to behold. To take a structure that is as large and tall as this one and design something that can be seen in so many angles is amazing. With the balconies actually serving a purpose other than just a place to sit a chair or maybe a side table but for the people of the building to actually take in all the the Aqua has to offer. Here is to hoping that more designers take this out of the box approach in creating structures that form a skyline while serving as a habitat.