DPD approves Lagrange's "dancing" condo towers for South Loop
Posted 8/22/2006 by Barry Pearce
The city's Department of Planning and Development has approved plans for two new high-rises proposed by Kargil Development Partners with a design by Lucien Lagrange that proves the talented architect should stay the hell away from the Gold Coast. Lagrange's designs for that and other tony Near North neighborhoods have been dull, vintage-looking schmaltz. With edgier projects such as Erie on the Park and Kingsbury on the Park, Lagrange proved he was capable of something original and artistic, and the new towers will hammer that point home.
Plans for the unfortunately named X/0 (is the builder going for the tic tac toe market, trying to foster a warm huggy-kissy feeling?) call for two towers, a 44-story north tower with 289 condos along 17th Street and a 34-story south tower with 216 units that will stand behind a row of 10 townhouses along Prairie Avenue. The floor plates expand and contract as the eye travels up the towers, so that the high-rises slope gently, with curves too subtle and willowy to be called voluptuous.
Lagrange has compared the buildings to figures dancing, and in this case, the metaphor isn't architectural pretension. The towers work not as a single unit, but as a beautifully matched pair, straining toward each other and away in a compelling frozen dance. Their lower halves pull together sensually (sure that sounds weird, but take a look at the rendering), while on the upper stories the high-rises move out to a more seemly arm's length. They are complementary and bend in tandem, but like dancers, they are not symmetrical or perfectly matched. The shapes and heights of the buildings vary, as do the skillfully designed balconies, whose patterns echo each other without mirroring.
The $250 million development has the support of the Near South Planning Board and the Greater South Loop Association, according to a news release from Frankel & Giles, the marketing agents, and that makes sense given the bland, unimaginative towers that have dominated the neighborhood. The South Loop was still a largely blank slate in the early '90s, before the high-rises started to proliferate, and think what a showcase it might have been if we'd insisted on buildings with this sort of ambitious design. The probability that buildings like these and the latest from Museum Park will set a new tone in the South Loop is probably low, but it's nice to hope.
The development will have three green roofs and a long list of amenities - swimming pool, deck, etc. centered in a 13,000-square-foot "lifestyle center," where residents can take classes and get massages. A model is scheduled to open in November on site. Condos in the first-phase north tower will range from the $200s to more than $1 million.
Comments
8/22/06
Hayley said:
X/O… perhaps Lagrange is an Elliott Smith fan? I'm sure our favorite late indie rocker would have been honored.
Sam said:
I am more optimistic that a new tone is being set in the South Loop. Sure there are still and unfortunately will always be total duds - afterall, there are a lot of lousy developers and architects around. But I think of current proposals, the percentage of high quality, innovative designs is much higher than at any time, at least in the last few decades. There are several projects, both condo and rental, in the works that will definitely raise the bar…
Devyn said:
I agree Sam, I feel we are finally making progress with regard to developers being willing to build something other than bland historically referrenced crap.
I can only hope the market can survive the influx of so many units.
>D
the urban politician said:
^ What I was thinking too, Devyn. Just when architecture in Chicago starts to sizzle, the market begins to fizzle.
Lets hope staying power allows some nice buildings to spring up in the nick of time
Anon said:
Nice buildings, but what's on top of those townhomes? Reminds me of all those little slits in the Metropolitan Correction Center.
john j said:
HOrrendous name for a rather nice looking two tower project. Can 't we ever just getit right for once!!! how about a beautiful peice of architecutre with a class name! Take note " The beautiful "Park Michigan" proposed for 830 south michigan "should" be the ideal example for everyone! NOW THAT CLASS!!!!
Anon said:
Who cares what the name is? As long as it gets built, I don't care what they call it, as I'm sure the name could change 50 years from now. It's not like you're going to jump into a cab and say, "Take me to X/O Condominium Towers" and they're going to know what that is.
8/23/06
Nina said:
Gulp…am I the only one who got creeped out at the sight of these proposed "twin towers" that bear just a little too much resemblance to certain other Twin Towers?
Mike Doyle said:
Speaking as a former New Yorker who now lives in a set of twin towers in Chicago (Marina City), I have two things to add:
1.) X/O looks nothing like the World Trade Center trade. Have you never taken a look at the Aon center? If any building design should creep you out after 9/11, that one should; and
2.) Get over it!!!! Why Chicagoans always seem to want to, kind of, make 9/11 their own, is beyond me. Trust me, speaking as someone who was in Manhattan that day, you're lucky it didn't happen here. And, please, we're Chicago, not NYC, that's why it didn't happen here. Can we all please just move on?
Stephen said:
I agree with Mike, move on. If every development with "twin towers"
is compared to "a certain other" development, we'll all be hiding
under our sheets like a certain other poster apparently is.
I'm not a big fan of Lucien Lagrange but this holds certain promise
for the South Loop which, like River North has been deluged with
uninspired architecture in the last few years. What will be equally
important is how these twin towers meet the street. Will they be
aloof ala much of River East or actually present a pedestrian scaled,
friendly face with stores and useful outdoor spaces.
9/22/06
New Chicago Condos said:
The picture posted does does give the impression of the former twin towers in new york…the design is great.
10/5/06
Aliens Have Landed … No, Just the XO Condominiums at ChitownLiving said:
[…] You can also find some great commentary on the project at Yo and the Chicagoist. […]