Aqua is an 82- story mixed-use

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

Lakeshore East Lakeshore East is a master-planned mixed use urban development being built by the Magellan Development Group in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the northeastern part of the Loop, w ...

downtown Chicago ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

. Designed by a team led by

Jeanne Gang Jeanne Gang (born March 19, 1964) is an American architect and the founder and leader of Studio Gang (established in 1997), an architecture and urban design practice with offices in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Gang was first widely r ...

of Studio Gang Architects, with James Loewenberg of Loewenberg & Associates as the Architect of Record, it includes five levels of parking below ground. The building's eighty-story, base is topped by a terrace with gardens, gazebos, pools, hot tubs, a walking/running track and a fire pit. Each floor covers approximately . Aqua was awarded the

Emporis Skyscraper Award The Emporis Skyscraper Award was an award for architectural excellence regarding the design of buildings and their functionality. The award was presented annually by Emporis, a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany ...

as 2009 skyscraper of the year, and was shortlisted in 2010 for the biennial

International Highrise Award The International Highrise Award (german: Internationaler Hochhaus Preis) is an international award in architectural design. The award is bestowed to "a structure that combines exemplary sustainability, external shape and internal spatial quality, n ...

. In celebration of the 2018 Illinois Bicentennial, Aqua was selected as one of the Illinois 200 Great Places by the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...

Illinois component (AIA Illinois) and was recognized by ''USA Today Travel'' magazine as one of AIA Illinois' selections for Illinois 25 Must See Places. It has been compared to

8 Spruce Street 8 Spruce Street, previously known as the Beekman Tower and New York by Gehry, is a 76-story skyscraper designed by architect Frank Gehry on Spruce Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. 8 Spruce Street is one of the tal ...

in New York City. When it was completed, the skyscraper was the world's tallest building designed by a woman. It was surpassed in 2020 by the nearby St. Regis, also located in Chicago and designed by Studio Gang Architects.

Architect

Aqua was designed by Studio Gang Architects, led by firm principal and founder,

, and it was the firm's first skyscraper project. The project was the largest ever awarded to an American firm headed by a woman. Loewenberg & Associates are the architects of record, led by James Loewenberg.

Design

The Aqua Tower is located at 225 North Columbus Drive, and is surrounded by high-rises. To capture views of nearby landmarks for Aqua's residents, Gang stretched its balconies outward by as much as . The result is a building composed of irregularly shaped concrete floor slabs which lend the facade an undulating, sculptural quality. Gang cites the striated

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

outcroppings that are a common topographic feature of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

region as inspiration for these slabs. The building contains of retail and office space, in addition to 215 hotel rooms (floors 1-18), 476 rental residential units (floors 19-52), and 263

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

units & penthouses (floors 53-81). Aqua is the first downtown building to combine condos, apartments and a hotel. Strategic Hotels & Resorts had agreed to acquire the first 15 floors of hotel space upon completion of the building, but terminated its $84 million contract for the space in August 2008, citing significant changes in the economic environment. Carlson announced May 12, 2010, that it agreed to spend $125 million to open the first

Radisson Blu Radisson Blu is an international chain of hotels operated by Radisson Hotels. With roots dating back to the 1960s, the Radisson Blu brand name came into existence in 2009 with a rebranding from Radisson SAS. Its hotels are found in major cities, ...

hotel in the United States ( Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel) on 18 vacant floors of the highrise. The 334-room hotel opened on November 1, 2011. The building was designed by the lead architect of Studio Gang Architects, Jeanne Gang. The name 'Aqua' was assigned to the building by Magellan Development Group LLC. It fits the nautical theme of the other buildings in the Lake Shore East development, and is derived from the wave-like forms of the balconies; the tower's proximity to nearby

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

also influenced the name. Concrete Superintendent Paul Treacy, was nominated as one of

Engineering News-Record ''Engineering News-Record'' (widely known as ''ENR'') is an American weekly magazine that provides news, analysis, data and opinion for the construction industry worldwide. It is widely regarded as one of the construction industry's most authorita ...

's (ENR) top 25 news makers of 2008 for the design and implementation of the exterior formwork to mold the undulating façade of the Aqua.

Sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

was an important factor in Aqua's design. Gang and her team refined the terrace extensions to maximize solar shading, and other sustainable features include a water-efficient irrigation system and energy-efficient lighting. The green roof on top of the tower base is one of the largest in Chicago. The tower is certified

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

-NC. Despite its effort to be sustainable, its monolithic concrete slab design without an insulation break transfers heat very efficiently from the inside to outside (winter) and from the outside to inside (summer) due to thermal bridging. Infra-red images of this building illustrates this concept.

Gallery

File:AquaTower2009 02 08 image2.jpg, The facade departs dramatically from the surrounding modernist high-rises File:2020-01-01_4904x7356_chicago_aqua.jpg, From the southeast File:20220525 Lakeshore East from Cascade.jpg, From the east File:AquaChicago071209.JPG, Aqua's southern facade

References

External links

Official Aqua Information website

Official Studio Gang Architects website

"Nicole Flores: The Art of Nesting," ''Metropolis Magazine''

"Gang's Turf is Secure," ''Chicago Tribune''
* http://enr.construction.com/people/awards/2009/0107-PaulTreacy.asp
Illinois Great Places

Aqua TowerSociety of Architectural Historians ARCHIPEDIA entry on Aqua
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aqua (Skyscraper) Residential buildings completed in 2009 Residential skyscrapers in Chicago Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago Residential condominiums in Chicago Apartment buildings in Chicago Condo hotels in the United States Studio Gang Architects buildings New Eastside Lakeshore East 2009 establishments in Illinois

Architect

Design

Gallery

See also

References

External links