G
ganjavih
Guest
Sapphire's current design may not be as good as it could be or as good as previous versions but, come on, an international joke?
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W
wyliepoon
Guest
Not when compared to all the Shanghais and Dubais and Moscows out there. It seems like there are a lot of cities out there building every skyscraper design they can lay their hands on, no matter how bad the design.
B
building babel
Guest
So we pitch Toronto as the city that, architecturally speaking, is less of a joke internationally than Shanghai, Dubai and Moscow?
Can't we aim a little higher than that?
Can't we aim a little higher than that?
B
buildup
Guest
Stinson may have the inside track compared to these other announcements because I'd assume he's targetting a lower market.
There are a lot of middle income people who'd love to reside in a 70-90 story tower. Wheras Ritz, One St Thomas, Four Seasons, Shangra-lai will all battle it out for the same ultra-high-end condo/hotel guest.
One St Thomas still isn't sold out despite the fact its started.
There are a lot of middle income people who'd love to reside in a 70-90 story tower. Wheras Ritz, One St Thomas, Four Seasons, Shangra-lai will all battle it out for the same ultra-high-end condo/hotel guest.
One St Thomas still isn't sold out despite the fact its started.
W
wyliepoon
Guest
Article from Yahoo! News (click link to see article with rendering)
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tallest_building;_ylt=AlZh79eHTjNOYP7X09ubGcis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-
Architect Envisions Tallest Building in US
By NATHANIEL HERNANDEZ, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 13, 9:20 AM ET
CHICAGO - The architect's concept is breathtaking: a spiraling, 115-story tower that would pierce the sky along Chicago's lakefront and grab the title of the nation's tallest building. Off the drawing board, though, history shows that such plans often fail to live up to their record-breaking aspirations.
Over the past 20 years, dozens of high-rise proposals such as the new Fordham Spire in Chicago have been billed as the world's or nation's next tallest building. But most of the projects have ended up either scaled down or scrapped before the shovels even hit the dirt.
"Since 1950, there's only been a handful of world's tallest buildings and those that have been built have ruled for a long time," said Lee Bey, a former architecture critic who is writing a book about unbuilt skyscrapers. "These things are obviously very complicated to build and complicated to finance."
To get high-rise projects off the ground, developers have to clear financial, regulatory and political hurdles while alleviating high-rise security concerns that surfaced after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Chicago is home to the nation's current tallest building, the Sears Tower, and has seen more than one unsuccessful attempt to top the 110-story structure.
Sixteen years ago, the 125-story, Cesar Pelli-designed "Skyneedle" was supposed to go up just blocks from the Sears Tower and snare the title by towering almost 2,000 feet over the Chicago skyline. A real estate slump scuttled the plans.
Pelli went on to design the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which did overtake the Sears Tower as the world's tallest buildings in 1997. They were eclipsed in 2003 by the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan, which measures 1,679 feet.
More recently, the Trump International Hotel and Tower under construction at the site of the old Chicago Sun-Times building along the Chicago River was originally slated as a record-breaker.
Developer Donald Trump had planned for the 92-story project to have a spire that would surpass the Sears Tower's 1,450 feet. But he later scaled down the proposal after some tenants expressed concerns about living in such a tall building after Sept. 11.
Security concerns also altered the design of New York's Freedom Tower at Ground Zero ¡X although it's still supposed to overtake the Sears Tower as the country's tallest when it's finished in 2010, with a spire reaching to 1,776 feet.
Other recent proposals have been scrapped altogether.
One of those, a proposed 1,837-foot building in Melbourne, Australia, was expected to top Taipei 101 as the world's tallest when it was completed. The project was spiked in 2001, however, after it failed to win government approval.
Famed architect Santiago Calatrava doesn't think his Fordham Spire in Chicago will meet the same fate. Calatrava, known for designing the Milwaukee Art Museum addition and the Athens Olympic sports complex, contends the height of the Fordham Spire is essential to the building's design.
His plans show a svelte, platinum building with twists akin to an enormous drill bit climbing into the clouds. The high-rise will house a hotel and up to 250 residential units that he hopes will fetch between $1 million and $2 million apiece.
"It's very atmospheric. It's not a building that is a severe statement in the skyline," Calatrava said. "We need the height; otherwise, the building almost disappears because it is so slender."
But reaching for the sky comes at a price, and developer Christopher Carley estimates the Fordham Spire could cost about $500 million to build.
Carley, who wants to break ground in March and finish construction in four years, has not yet arranged financing for the project. Before he can start building ¡X assuming the project wins city approval ¡X 40 percent of the pricey residential units will have to be sold.
"I have already several indications that that will be definitely achievable. So, we really don't have a Plan B," Carley said.
But some question whether the Fordham project can attract the necessary financing considering the state of Chicago's real estate market ¡X one more hurdle that could keep the "tallest building" dream from becoming a reality.
"The real issue is does Chicago have the number of buyers that are willing to invest in a building like this," said Adrian Smith, who designed the new Trump building and a 160-story tower in the United Arab Emirates that is expected to become the world's tallest when it's competed in 2009.
"In New York, $1,000-a-square-foot is not a lot of money," Smith said. "In New York you have three times as many people vying for a place like that. I just don't know if you have enough buyers here."
___
On the Net:
Fordham Co.: http://www.fordhamco.com/
Santiago Calatrava: http://www.calatrava.com/
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tallest_building;_ylt=AlZh79eHTjNOYP7X09ubGcis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-
Architect Envisions Tallest Building in US
By NATHANIEL HERNANDEZ, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 13, 9:20 AM ET
CHICAGO - The architect's concept is breathtaking: a spiraling, 115-story tower that would pierce the sky along Chicago's lakefront and grab the title of the nation's tallest building. Off the drawing board, though, history shows that such plans often fail to live up to their record-breaking aspirations.
Over the past 20 years, dozens of high-rise proposals such as the new Fordham Spire in Chicago have been billed as the world's or nation's next tallest building. But most of the projects have ended up either scaled down or scrapped before the shovels even hit the dirt.
"Since 1950, there's only been a handful of world's tallest buildings and those that have been built have ruled for a long time," said Lee Bey, a former architecture critic who is writing a book about unbuilt skyscrapers. "These things are obviously very complicated to build and complicated to finance."
To get high-rise projects off the ground, developers have to clear financial, regulatory and political hurdles while alleviating high-rise security concerns that surfaced after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Chicago is home to the nation's current tallest building, the Sears Tower, and has seen more than one unsuccessful attempt to top the 110-story structure.
Sixteen years ago, the 125-story, Cesar Pelli-designed "Skyneedle" was supposed to go up just blocks from the Sears Tower and snare the title by towering almost 2,000 feet over the Chicago skyline. A real estate slump scuttled the plans.
Pelli went on to design the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which did overtake the Sears Tower as the world's tallest buildings in 1997. They were eclipsed in 2003 by the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan, which measures 1,679 feet.
More recently, the Trump International Hotel and Tower under construction at the site of the old Chicago Sun-Times building along the Chicago River was originally slated as a record-breaker.
Developer Donald Trump had planned for the 92-story project to have a spire that would surpass the Sears Tower's 1,450 feet. But he later scaled down the proposal after some tenants expressed concerns about living in such a tall building after Sept. 11.
Security concerns also altered the design of New York's Freedom Tower at Ground Zero ¡X although it's still supposed to overtake the Sears Tower as the country's tallest when it's finished in 2010, with a spire reaching to 1,776 feet.
Other recent proposals have been scrapped altogether.
One of those, a proposed 1,837-foot building in Melbourne, Australia, was expected to top Taipei 101 as the world's tallest when it was completed. The project was spiked in 2001, however, after it failed to win government approval.
Famed architect Santiago Calatrava doesn't think his Fordham Spire in Chicago will meet the same fate. Calatrava, known for designing the Milwaukee Art Museum addition and the Athens Olympic sports complex, contends the height of the Fordham Spire is essential to the building's design.
His plans show a svelte, platinum building with twists akin to an enormous drill bit climbing into the clouds. The high-rise will house a hotel and up to 250 residential units that he hopes will fetch between $1 million and $2 million apiece.
"It's very atmospheric. It's not a building that is a severe statement in the skyline," Calatrava said. "We need the height; otherwise, the building almost disappears because it is so slender."
But reaching for the sky comes at a price, and developer Christopher Carley estimates the Fordham Spire could cost about $500 million to build.
Carley, who wants to break ground in March and finish construction in four years, has not yet arranged financing for the project. Before he can start building ¡X assuming the project wins city approval ¡X 40 percent of the pricey residential units will have to be sold.
"I have already several indications that that will be definitely achievable. So, we really don't have a Plan B," Carley said.
But some question whether the Fordham project can attract the necessary financing considering the state of Chicago's real estate market ¡X one more hurdle that could keep the "tallest building" dream from becoming a reality.
"The real issue is does Chicago have the number of buyers that are willing to invest in a building like this," said Adrian Smith, who designed the new Trump building and a 160-story tower in the United Arab Emirates that is expected to become the world's tallest when it's competed in 2009.
"In New York, $1,000-a-square-foot is not a lot of money," Smith said. "In New York you have three times as many people vying for a place like that. I just don't know if you have enough buyers here."
___
On the Net:
Fordham Co.: http://www.fordhamco.com/
Santiago Calatrava: http://www.calatrava.com/
N
nassauone
Guest
That is a tower of pure beauty. I think if it gets built it will be one of the greatest in the world. Just looks the those lines and curves!
B
bizorky
Guest
I bet they'll get this up before the WTC replacement.
I
Irishmunk
Guest
It should BE the WTC replacement. ( I admit it looks fragile, but, realistically, how many times in the future are terrorists going to be able to fly planes into buildings? I think that risks is over.)
C
Chris8484
Guest
I really hope chicaco builds this one, i hope its not another unbuilt project for Chicago
F
frizzed
Guest
Chicago Spire (Chicago)
chicagobusiness.com/cgi-b...l?id=19877
Chicago’s planning commission Thursday approved the 124–story Fordham Spire, a 2,000–foot residential and hotel tower that will be the tallest structure in the U.S., developer the Fordham Co. said.
“With this approval, we’re on our way to adding another architectural treasure to this great city,†said Christopher Carley, CEO of Fordham Co.
Fordham Co. The ambitious lakefront project is designed by famed Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, who has one numerous awards including the 2005 Gold Medal Award from the American Institute of Architects for his addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum.
The project now goes before the full City Council. A statement from the Fordham Co. said the body is expected to approve the project at its next meeting.
“This is a very unique, historic moment for our city,†said Ald. Burton F. Natarus, during the commission meeting.
chicagobusiness.com/cgi-b...l?id=19877
Chicago’s planning commission Thursday approved the 124–story Fordham Spire, a 2,000–foot residential and hotel tower that will be the tallest structure in the U.S., developer the Fordham Co. said.
“With this approval, we’re on our way to adding another architectural treasure to this great city,†said Christopher Carley, CEO of Fordham Co.
Fordham Co. The ambitious lakefront project is designed by famed Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, who has one numerous awards including the 2005 Gold Medal Award from the American Institute of Architects for his addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum.
The project now goes before the full City Council. A statement from the Fordham Co. said the body is expected to approve the project at its next meeting.
“This is a very unique, historic moment for our city,†said Ald. Burton F. Natarus, during the commission meeting.
W
wyliepoon
Guest
Re: First it was Tokyo's new 'CN Tower'. Now it's Chicago's
E
elook
Guest
Re: First it was Tokyo's new 'CN Tower'. Now it's Chicago's
Why is it none of these articles mention Burj Dubai, currently under construction. No final height has been released, but the current thinking is over 700m.
Why is it none of these articles mention Burj Dubai, currently under construction. No final height has been released, but the current thinking is over 700m.
T
tudararms
Guest
Re: First it was Tokyo's new 'CN Tower'. Now it's Chicago's
Wow, this is amazing for Chicago. The skyline's going to be pretty impressive there!
Wow, this is amazing for Chicago. The skyline's going to be pretty impressive there!
I
interchange42
Guest
Re: First it was Tokyo's new 'CN Tower'. Now it's Chicago's
Because Chicago's current skyline is a disappointment? Tudararms: get yourself over to the Windy City stat.
42
Because Chicago's current skyline is a disappointment? Tudararms: get yourself over to the Windy City stat.
42
S
samsonyuen
Guest
Re: First it was Tokyo's new 'CN Tower'. Now it's Chicago's
From: www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs...&t=TS_Home
________________________________
Chicago re-enters tall tower race
Twisting glass spiral on waterfront
CN Tower gets more competition
Mar. 17, 2006. 01:00 AM
NICOLAAS VAN RIJN
STAFF REPORTER
A global epidemic of tower envy is spreading to North America.
First, a consortium of Japanese broadcasters announced plans earlier this week to build a 600-metre-tall tower in Tokyo, leaving Toronto's 553-metre CN Tower sulking deep in its global shadow.
Now Chicago city council's planning commission has given the nod to the Fordham Spire, a 610-metre (2,001-ft) corkscrewing colossus that will create a new exclamation mark in the skyline of the city where the skyscraper was born.
Billed by its developers, the Fordham Co., as "Chicago's first major skyline statement of the 21st century," the slender twisting spire will take form on a weed-infested patch of gravel, grass and trees on the Chicago River near where it empties into Lake Michigan.
"This building will be not only a landmark, but an icon in the skyline of Chicago," Fordham's chairman, Chris Carley, told a Chicago news conference yesterday.
Despite Chicago's nickname as "the windy city," the Fordham Spire is more than just a lot of hot air. In the planning stages since last year, the project is expected to get approval from the full city council at its next meeting March 29.
But not everyone is jumping for joy.
New York developer Donald Trump, who is stickhandling plans for his own — smaller — Chicago tower, thinks the post-9/11 climate has made super-tall buildings chancy.
"In this climate I would not want to build that building," Trump said last year when the project was first announced. "Nor would I want to live in that building.
"Any bank that would put up money to build a building like that would be insane," he added.
But Fordham's Carley wasn't impressed, noting Trump's planned tower, at 415 metres, is itself no wilting lily.
"I wonder where the insanity limit is," Carley wondered last summer, adding "It must be just over" 415 metres.
When built, the Fordham Spire will easily top Chicago's other tall building — the 442-metre Sears Tower.
Billed as North America's tallest building when it's completed by 2010, the Fordham Spire will also dwarf the proposed Freedom Tower in New York, designed to top out at an iconic 1,776 feet, or 541 metres.
Still, there is the United Arab Emirates' Burj Dubai Tower, begun in 2004 and scheduled for completion in 2009.
Its builders claim that tower will top out at 705 metres — closer to 800, actually, including its broadcast mast, which isn't counted in these tall tales.
From: www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs...&t=TS_Home
________________________________
Chicago re-enters tall tower race
Twisting glass spiral on waterfront
CN Tower gets more competition
Mar. 17, 2006. 01:00 AM
NICOLAAS VAN RIJN
STAFF REPORTER
A global epidemic of tower envy is spreading to North America.
First, a consortium of Japanese broadcasters announced plans earlier this week to build a 600-metre-tall tower in Tokyo, leaving Toronto's 553-metre CN Tower sulking deep in its global shadow.
Now Chicago city council's planning commission has given the nod to the Fordham Spire, a 610-metre (2,001-ft) corkscrewing colossus that will create a new exclamation mark in the skyline of the city where the skyscraper was born.
Billed by its developers, the Fordham Co., as "Chicago's first major skyline statement of the 21st century," the slender twisting spire will take form on a weed-infested patch of gravel, grass and trees on the Chicago River near where it empties into Lake Michigan.
"This building will be not only a landmark, but an icon in the skyline of Chicago," Fordham's chairman, Chris Carley, told a Chicago news conference yesterday.
Despite Chicago's nickname as "the windy city," the Fordham Spire is more than just a lot of hot air. In the planning stages since last year, the project is expected to get approval from the full city council at its next meeting March 29.
But not everyone is jumping for joy.
New York developer Donald Trump, who is stickhandling plans for his own — smaller — Chicago tower, thinks the post-9/11 climate has made super-tall buildings chancy.
"In this climate I would not want to build that building," Trump said last year when the project was first announced. "Nor would I want to live in that building.
"Any bank that would put up money to build a building like that would be insane," he added.
But Fordham's Carley wasn't impressed, noting Trump's planned tower, at 415 metres, is itself no wilting lily.
"I wonder where the insanity limit is," Carley wondered last summer, adding "It must be just over" 415 metres.
When built, the Fordham Spire will easily top Chicago's other tall building — the 442-metre Sears Tower.
Billed as North America's tallest building when it's completed by 2010, the Fordham Spire will also dwarf the proposed Freedom Tower in New York, designed to top out at an iconic 1,776 feet, or 541 metres.
Still, there is the United Arab Emirates' Burj Dubai Tower, begun in 2004 and scheduled for completion in 2009.
Its builders claim that tower will top out at 705 metres — closer to 800, actually, including its broadcast mast, which isn't counted in these tall tales.