This particular Yo-deler has always wondered how long it takes for an architect, or a team of architects, to design a high-rise. My uneducated guess was six months. I’m talking about the length of time it takes to draft the whole kit and caboodle, from the details in the front lobby to the layout of the last bathroom. No doubt it’s a complex process, nay, art, to design a high-rise. Architects have to balance all manner of things, from the practicalities of the site in question to the commercial needs of the developer, from the needs of the future residents to the calling of the architect’s own inner voice.
All of this is done long before the engineers are called in or the marketing plan has begun. So how long does the full design process take? I asked architect Steve Rezabek of Pappageorge / Haymes, who designed Emerald, a two-tower high-rise planned for a site at 123 S. Green St., in the West Loop.
His reply? On average, it takes one month. Then the engineers are called in to make sure everything works, but usually only minor adjustments are made at that stage, he says.
When I look at some buildings in Chicago, I can totally believe that they were designed in the space of one month. In fact, I suspect some of them were designed on the el on the way to a meeting with the developer. But when I look at others, like the upcoming Emerald, I’m surprised, and a bit impressed. More on Emerald later.