300 North LaSalle, Chicago, in black and white
300 North LaSalle, 2009.
"Because the new 60-story office building called 300 North LaSalle is very glassy and doesn’t flaunt a wild, attention-getting shape, many passersby are likely to dismiss it as just another glass box. That would be dead wrong. While this riverfront skyscraper has significant shortcomings, it does enough things well to come off as a positive addition to the cityscape.
The architects believe in modernism, with its penchant for abstract shapes, industrial materials and form following function. Yet they also are influenced by the idea of contextualism, which argues that every building should be tailored to its site. These sometimes-clashing ideas have shaped 300 North LaSalle.
But 300 North LaSalle is not one of those earnest, visual bores that have spawned a backlash against the green movement. Instead, with the help of a concrete-and-steel “core-and-outrigger” structure that is comparable to a skier balancing on poles, Pickard and Markese have crafted a thin, handsomely proportioned slab that rises with self-assured dignity. The architects richly articulate the slab with projecting stainless steel fins and anodized aluminum cables that resemble a tartan weave. Evoking the Art Deco towers of the 1920s, setbacks on the building’s flanks provide a sense of upward drive while a crown of stainless steel fins seeks (left) to etch a profile against the sky.
Unfortunately, when seen from a distance, 300 North LaSalle comes off as more big than bold.
The fins on its top are far less robust than early renderings showed, and the building’s setbacks are not vigorous enough to create a sculptural presence comparable to such Art Deco masterworks as the Palmolive Building at 159 E. Walton St. Nor does the skyscraper possess the structurally expressive panache of the gleaming Inland Steel Building, a postwar modernist gem at 30 W. Monroe St.
It’s neither fish nor fowl, lacking the building-as-mountain massing of Art Deco and the bare-boned muscle of Chicago School modernism."
Modernism.
The lower building in front: 325 North Wells, or Helene Curtis Building, also Helene Curtis Industries Headquarters, also Chase and Sanborn Coffee Warehouse1914.
"One of the most prominent Chicago School examples left on the river, this building exhibits a classic if modest form. Columns and spandrels are without ornamentation. The structure's charm lies in its honest expression of the simple steel frame that supports it. Its simple arrangement of base, shaft, and capital is unprepossessing but gives the building added presence. The use of modern glass in the 1984 renovation, highlights the solidity of this enduring reminder of Chicago's past.".
Chicago School.
Chicago, 2017
300 North LaSalle, Chicago, in black and white
300 North LaSalle, 2009.
"Because the new 60-story office building called 300 North LaSalle is very glassy and doesn’t flaunt a wild, attention-getting shape, many passersby are likely to dismiss it as just another glass box. That would be dead wrong. While this riverfront skyscraper has significant shortcomings, it does enough things well to come off as a positive addition to the cityscape.
The architects believe in modernism, with its penchant for abstract shapes, industrial materials and form following function. Yet they also are influenced by the idea of contextualism, which argues that every building should be tailored to its site. These sometimes-clashing ideas have shaped 300 North LaSalle.
But 300 North LaSalle is not one of those earnest, visual bores that have spawned a backlash against the green movement. Instead, with the help of a concrete-and-steel “core-and-outrigger” structure that is comparable to a skier balancing on poles, Pickard and Markese have crafted a thin, handsomely proportioned slab that rises with self-assured dignity. The architects richly articulate the slab with projecting stainless steel fins and anodized aluminum cables that resemble a tartan weave. Evoking the Art Deco towers of the 1920s, setbacks on the building’s flanks provide a sense of upward drive while a crown of stainless steel fins seeks (left) to etch a profile against the sky.
Unfortunately, when seen from a distance, 300 North LaSalle comes off as more big than bold.
The fins on its top are far less robust than early renderings showed, and the building’s setbacks are not vigorous enough to create a sculptural presence comparable to such Art Deco masterworks as the Palmolive Building at 159 E. Walton St. Nor does the skyscraper possess the structurally expressive panache of the gleaming Inland Steel Building, a postwar modernist gem at 30 W. Monroe St.
It’s neither fish nor fowl, lacking the building-as-mountain massing of Art Deco and the bare-boned muscle of Chicago School modernism."
Modernism.
The lower building in front: 325 North Wells, or Helene Curtis Building, also Helene Curtis Industries Headquarters, also Chase and Sanborn Coffee Warehouse1914.
"One of the most prominent Chicago School examples left on the river, this building exhibits a classic if modest form. Columns and spandrels are without ornamentation. The structure's charm lies in its honest expression of the simple steel frame that supports it. Its simple arrangement of base, shaft, and capital is unprepossessing but gives the building added presence. The use of modern glass in the 1984 renovation, highlights the solidity of this enduring reminder of Chicago's past.".
Chicago School.
Chicago, 2017