Projects Finishing Up in '08

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Gtownoe

I got to watch the 300 N LaSalle building go up from about floor 2 until about floor 15 throughout the summer. My office building was right next door to it and I'd spend a lot of my time in between working staring outside of my office window and checking out how the building was being built. I remember me and my boss b.s.'ing making predictions on what it was going to be (neither of us knew anything about it and it was only about 6 floors at the time). After checking out skyscrapercity.com and looking at the rendering of the building I was pretty impressed.

Yup, its one of my favorite current projects.

300 NORTH LASALLE, ONE OF CHICAGO’S TALLEST SKYSCRAPERS, RISING IN SKYLINE

(New Haven, Connecticut – January 25, 2008) Steadily rising over the Chicago River, 300 North LaSalle is emerging in the downtown skyline. One of the greenest skyscrapers to be built in Chicago, the sixty story skyscraper implements numerous innovative design and construction techniques. The tower, designed by *****rd Chilton of New Haven, Connecticut, is expected to top out at over 800 feet, making it one of the tallest skyscrapers in Chicago.

300 North LaSalle respects and continues the tradition of innovative and inspiring skyscrapers in the city of Chicago — the birthplace of the skyscraper. Pre-certified LEED-CS Gold by the U. S. Green Building Council, the 1.3 million gross square foot state-of-the-art project features innovations such as:

• Use of river water as condenser water to reject heat from the building's chilled water air conditioning system. This innovation eliminated the need for cooling towers, make-up water and chemicals.
• Use of river barges to remove excavated material and to deliver and remove equipment.
• Foundations consisting of 50-foot long belled caissons are configured to avoid the previous structure’s existing caissons. The bells on the caissons are among the largest ever used in Chicago.
• A technology-rich infrastructure with integrated low voltage and emergency power systems.
• A third exit stair is provided for the full height of the tower. Not required by the Chicago Building Code, this stair provides enhanced exiting capacity.

Developed by the Chicago office of Hines, the international real estate firm, 300 North LaSalle will be comprised of office, retail, restaurant, amenity and public spaces as well as three below-grade parking levels.

It will also be the new world class headquarters for the international law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, a prominent corporate citizen in Chicago since 1908. The law firm will occupy 650,000 square feet over 30 floors. "300 North LaSalle will truly be a new Chicago landmark – not only on its skyline but also on its riverfront” said Hines Senior Vice President Greg Van Schaack. "It will be a destination where people will be able to reconnect to the river.”

Located on the north bank of the Chicago River, 300 North LaSalle features a half acre waterfront public garden with direct access to the river’s edge and dramatic views of the city skyline. This grand public space enhances the streetscape at the base of the LaSalle Street Bridge and cascades to the river with landscaped terraces, generous seating and a large waterfront café. "This public plaza will be a real asset for this area of Chicago” said Jon *****rd, principal of *****rd Chilton. "It raises the bar for future projects, not only in Chicago but elsewhere as well, on how they will bring pedestrian activity back to urban waterfronts.” Other amenities include a fine dining restaurant, fitness center, conference center, bank and sundry shop.

The tower is designed to accommodate efficiency and flexibility in interior planning and to provide abundant natural light and dramatic views. The elegant, three-story lobby features a decorative cherry wood and ornamental stainless steel screen and floors of warm Italian marble. This material and quality palette is carried throughout the building. A luminous, articulated stainless steel crown culminates the tower form which acts as a beacon within the cityscape and along the Chicago River.

The building’s richly articulated facade of clear low-E glass and stainless steel maximizes daylight while minimizing solar heat gain. The tower is efficient and flexible in interior planning, has a 50-percent green roof, and uses Chicago River water as condenser water, thus eliminating cooling towers and evaporation loss of 10 million gallons of city water annually. Clark Construction has currently diverted 98% of construction waste and demolition debris, and is on track to meet both the City of Chicago and the USGBC requirements.
Substantial completion of core and shell is expected in December 2008. Kirkland & Ellis is expected to occupy the tower in early 2009.

[oakparkdude]

I'm sure some of you know this already, but for those who don't, SkyscraperCity and SkyscraperPage.com are two web forums dedicated to tall buildings and urbanism in general. In general the level of discussion is far wonkier, geekier, and anti-suburban than that found on city-data.com. Lots of good Chicago info on both forums.

[Gtownoe]

Thanks for the "grand update" Via Chicago...

I didn't know the building was known for being so environmentally friendly. I already knew the architecture was pretty damn amazing though.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

I'm sure some of you know this already, but for those who don't, SkyscraperCity and SkyscraperPage.com are two web forums dedicated to tall buildings and urbanism in general. In general the level of discussion is far wonkier, geekier, and anti-suburban than that found on city-data.com. Lots of good Chicago info on both forums.

Yea, Skyscraperpage is a great community. Extremely active and firmly moderated (theres already been over 8,000 posts on the Chicago Spire alone, and the foundation hasnt even been laid yet)...usually between 2-3,000 people logged on at any given point, and theres a hugely dominant Chicago crowd. Some developers have privately acknowledged they browse the forum and take some ideas and opinions they read into consideration, and many construction people working on the projects post updates as well. Exceedingly pro-urban/anti suburban; right up my alley