MARCH 21, 2019|JENNIFER WATERS
Architect's Chicago Challenge: Create a Graceful, Enduring Behemoth Globally Acclaimed Rafael Viñoly Took Cues From Surroundings in Designing City’s Tallest Rental Building
NEMA Chicago architect Rafael Viñoly took cues from other iconic buildings in the city core to design the 76-story apartment tower.
Architect Rafael Viñoly, the internationally known designer of NEMA Chicago, slated to be the city’s tallest rental apartment skyscraper, said his challenge to create a visually striking behemoth in the "birthplace of American architecture" was daunting.
In a recently released video, with new images of the 76-story downtown high-rise that developer Crescent Heights expects to be completed this year, Viñoly speaks of the charge of designing a building to complement what’s around it while embracing the architectural integrity of the city.
The Uruguay-born architect’s project is raising the profile of the South Loop neighborhood, where three of the four largest residential construction projects in Chicago are set to be completed in the first half of this year, bringing a combined 1,750 new units to market within a radius of only a few blocks, according to CoStar data.
Developer Crescent Heights has filled the luxury apartment tower NEMA Chicago with 70,000 square feet of amenities that include this rooftop pool and lounging spot. Illustration: Rafael Viñoly Architects"Building in Chicago is such a sense of responsibility for any architect that has a sense of American architecture," Viñoly said in the video. "It has a tradition of quality and forward-looking proposals and also urbanistically there is a presence of giant, neoclassical gestures."
He was referring to an exemplar such as Willis Tower, which stands blocks away from the NEMA site at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road. At 110 stories and 1,450 feet, Willis – once the tallest building in the world when it was called the Sears Tower – holds an imposing presence in the skyline.
Viñoly took cues for NEMA from Willis’ stepped-back, stacked-box design, as well as influences from two prominent architects who long ago left indelible marks on the city, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. NEMA’s oversized podium – Viñoly has segmented the stacked tower into three structural units – sits only steps from Grant Park, which has a sprawling green space and grand Buckingham Fountain overlooking Lake Michigan that have endeared residents who consider it Chicago’s front yard. The sections that form the 76-story, 896-foot tower start with the podium at the base of the building, which includes some residential space but is mostly designed for pedestrian and vehicle movement. The middle, with a unique tail form running along Indiana Avenue with exposure to all four directions, carries the bulk of the residences. The top tier’s stair-stepped rooftop terraces offer renters the largest floor plans and private outdoor space.
The high-rise will have 800 units and 70,000 square feet of luxury amenities.“NEMA Chicago summarizes more than just a brilliant planning philosophy,” Viñoly said. “It defines an attitude toward realizing the American idea that anything is possible as long as you believe in it. “This belief is embedded in every part of Grant Park and is reinforced by the architecture that frames it,” he added.
Vista Tower, a luxury condominium and hotel project also under construction downtown, is poised to become Chicago's third-tallest building after Willis and Trump Tower.
Architect Rafael Viñoly, the internationally known designer of NEMA Chicago, slated to be the city’s tallest rental apartment skyscraper, said his challenge to create a visually striking behemoth in the "birthplace of American architecture" was daunting.
In a recently released video, with new images of the 76-story downtown high-rise that developer Crescent Heights expects to be completed this year, Viñoly speaks of the charge of designing a building to complement what’s around it while embracing the architectural integrity of the city.
The Uruguay-born architect’s project is raising the profile of the South Loop neighborhood, where three of the four largest residential construction projects in Chicago are set to be completed in the first half of this year, bringing a combined 1,750 new units to market within a radius of only a few blocks, according to CoStar data.
Developer Crescent Heights has filled the luxury apartment tower NEMA Chicago with 70,000 square feet of amenities that include this rooftop pool and lounging spot. Illustration: Rafael Viñoly Architects"Building in Chicago is such a sense of responsibility for any architect that has a sense of American architecture," Viñoly said in the video. "It has a tradition of quality and forward-looking proposals and also urbanistically there is a presence of giant, neoclassical gestures."
He was referring to an exemplar such as Willis Tower, which stands blocks away from the NEMA site at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Roosevelt Road. At 110 stories and 1,450 feet, Willis – once the tallest building in the world when it was called the Sears Tower – holds an imposing presence in the skyline.
Viñoly took cues for NEMA from Willis’ stepped-back, stacked-box design, as well as influences from two prominent architects who long ago left indelible marks on the city, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. NEMA’s oversized podium – Viñoly has segmented the stacked tower into three structural units – sits only steps from Grant Park, which has a sprawling green space and grand Buckingham Fountain overlooking Lake Michigan that have endeared residents who consider it Chicago’s front yard. The sections that form the 76-story, 896-foot tower start with the podium at the base of the building, which includes some residential space but is mostly designed for pedestrian and vehicle movement. The middle, with a unique tail form running along Indiana Avenue with exposure to all four directions, carries the bulk of the residences. The top tier’s stair-stepped rooftop terraces offer renters the largest floor plans and private outdoor space.
The high-rise will have 800 units and 70,000 square feet of luxury amenities.“NEMA Chicago summarizes more than just a brilliant planning philosophy,” Viñoly said. “It defines an attitude toward realizing the American idea that anything is possible as long as you believe in it. “This belief is embedded in every part of Grant Park and is reinforced by the architecture that frames it,” he added.
Vista Tower, a luxury condominium and hotel project also under construction downtown, is poised to become Chicago's third-tallest building after Willis and Trump Tower.