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PROJECT REPORT: TALL BUILDINGS
engineer dbHMS, who produced a series of early energy models. They proposed a 50-55% window-wall ratio (“quite low in offices,” says Kevin), and the architects used that as a guide; “We found it drove a lot of things.” LEED “pushes you away from all glass,” says Rodenkirch, but adds “it’s kind of common sense. All glass buildings tend to be a lot more energy-intensive. Putting some opaque walls in and packing the insulation gives you the most bang for the buck.” He says that in a city with extreme temperature fluctuations like Chicago, a building can’t be dominated by cooling or heating: ”You kind of have to do it all.” The pragmatic, business-case driven approach to sustainability distinguished the project from some of its more optimistic rivals nearby, who haven’t hit much- trumpeted energy targets, says Rodenkirch. A lot of them went public with their carbon goals, such as Passivhaus and net zero, and very rarely does it happen.”
TERRACE CULTURE
The building contains several landscaped terraces for office workers, some with outstanding views of Chicago
He says that targeting LEED Platinum also helped broaden the team’s minds: “We could think about the mechanical system in a non-typical way, even the daylighting.” That’s when the design of terraces emerged, “with the ability to set the building back, and gain views.”
Situated broadly at the threshold between
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a collection of high-rises and much older low-rise brick buildings, the new addition has been designed to bridge the gap, echoing the rhythm and scale of both. The stepped terraces not only provide substantial external space, adding wellness to the building, but also present a softer facade to the nearby low-rises.
Form
The 19-storey tower draws on the area’s industrial heritage, with its brick, steel and glass facades, and striking exposed steel bracing to its east and west elevations. SOM consulting design partner Brian Lee commented: “We set out to design a building that would feel like it had always been part of Fulton Market’s historic industrial character.”
The building gradually steps back, and
is ‘backloaded’ towards the north, facing a large glass building across the street (with two more planned). The architects wanted to “preserve the street presence to the south,” so a four storey podium “more or less aligns with the street,” which is mostly in the three to five storey range. The locally- built traditional aluminium curtain wall has opaque ‘shadow box’ sections to the top of the floor-to-floor glass, and infill insulation. The terraces are around 1200 ft2
and begin at level two, with the outdoor space ADF JUNE 2022
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