If you wanted a piece of the new Lakeshore East residential development nestled between the lake and the river on the New East Side, but mercurial investors beat you to the punch, you have another opportunity, and what a beautiful opportunity it is.
The new Aqua is a remarkably graceful 83-story tower distinguished by the unique rippling effect in its glass curtain facade. The ripples were achieved by staggering the units’ balconies at different angles across the building.
The staggered balconies are intended to mirror the waves and movement of Lake Michigan, but also serve another purpose. Their unique angling means that a large number of units will have views of the lake. As more and more high-rises jostle for poll position on the shorefront, lake views are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve in that area.
We’ve requested a rendering of the building, but for whatever reason, the developer Magellan Development Group, is holding back on giving us one, even though you can see a copyrighted image at the Web site for the architect, Jeanne Gang of Studio/Gang/Architects fame. That image doesn’t do the building justice. It looks a little like a building that was mangled in the toaster in Salvador Dali’s kitchen. We hope to bring you a good rendering of the planned development soon.