JeffReuben
Art Deco Revival at K Station
This apartment building, Echelon at K Station, was completed in 2008 as the first building in a master planned community in Chicago located west of the Chicago River "Y" and is variously described as being in the West Loop, River North, and "Kinzie Station." (K Station is an abbreviated form of this name.) The 9-acre master plan community takes its name from a former railroad station called Kinzie Station.
The building was designed by Chicago architects Pappageorge Haymes Partners. The 39-story building is 363 feet tall and includes 350 dwelling units.
Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin wrote about the building in 2008 when it was newly completed: "And over on the Near West Side is Echelon at K Station, a better-than-average apartment high-rise that draws inspiration from the Art Deco skyscrapers of the 1920s." ("A High-rise Trio in Chicago Raises the Skyline's Standards," Chicago Tribune, 23 November 2008)
Kamin wrote approvingly of the Echelon at K Station and two other then new buildings designed by Pappageorge Haymes, which is notable because he was not as complimentary of the firm's previous work. Comparing the work of lesser known architects to the well done work of "starchitects", he noted that Chicago had received "a vast array of architectural junk by less talented practitioners. Pappageorge/Haymes has produced its share of the mess."
Concerning this building, Kamin was measured in his praise, but praiseworthy nevertheless:
"The architects have done solid work at Echelon at K Station, a 39-story rental high-rise at 353 North Des Plaines St. backed by Fifield Development Co. Rental buildings have even tighter budgets than do condos, so squeezing any architecture out of them is a huge challenge. This project was even more difficult because of its odd site, which adjoins a viaduct and had to incorporate a belowground, future high-speed rail connection to O'Hare International Airport.
"Somehow, the architects made it work, shaping an exercise in budget Art Deco that extracts pleasing vertical proportions from an inexpensive structure of exposed concrete. Glass notches at the corners open apartments to views of Sears Tower and other downtown landmarks. While this version of Deco lacks the refined setbacks and exquisite details of the real thing, it is nonetheless a welcome change from the dutiful but dull contextualism of Pappageorge/Haymes' Kinzie Station, a squat brown condo high-rise next door.
"It's not great architecture, but it's not terrible either. And a new city neighborhood is growing up around it, complete with a grocery and cleaners across the street. City Hall planners didn't fight the project's height, as they might have in the past. They encouraged it."
Art Deco Revival at K Station
This apartment building, Echelon at K Station, was completed in 2008 as the first building in a master planned community in Chicago located west of the Chicago River "Y" and is variously described as being in the West Loop, River North, and "Kinzie Station." (K Station is an abbreviated form of this name.) The 9-acre master plan community takes its name from a former railroad station called Kinzie Station.
The building was designed by Chicago architects Pappageorge Haymes Partners. The 39-story building is 363 feet tall and includes 350 dwelling units.
Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin wrote about the building in 2008 when it was newly completed: "And over on the Near West Side is Echelon at K Station, a better-than-average apartment high-rise that draws inspiration from the Art Deco skyscrapers of the 1920s." ("A High-rise Trio in Chicago Raises the Skyline's Standards," Chicago Tribune, 23 November 2008)
Kamin wrote approvingly of the Echelon at K Station and two other then new buildings designed by Pappageorge Haymes, which is notable because he was not as complimentary of the firm's previous work. Comparing the work of lesser known architects to the well done work of "starchitects", he noted that Chicago had received "a vast array of architectural junk by less talented practitioners. Pappageorge/Haymes has produced its share of the mess."
Concerning this building, Kamin was measured in his praise, but praiseworthy nevertheless:
"The architects have done solid work at Echelon at K Station, a 39-story rental high-rise at 353 North Des Plaines St. backed by Fifield Development Co. Rental buildings have even tighter budgets than do condos, so squeezing any architecture out of them is a huge challenge. This project was even more difficult because of its odd site, which adjoins a viaduct and had to incorporate a belowground, future high-speed rail connection to O'Hare International Airport.
"Somehow, the architects made it work, shaping an exercise in budget Art Deco that extracts pleasing vertical proportions from an inexpensive structure of exposed concrete. Glass notches at the corners open apartments to views of Sears Tower and other downtown landmarks. While this version of Deco lacks the refined setbacks and exquisite details of the real thing, it is nonetheless a welcome change from the dutiful but dull contextualism of Pappageorge/Haymes' Kinzie Station, a squat brown condo high-rise next door.
"It's not great architecture, but it's not terrible either. And a new city neighborhood is growing up around it, complete with a grocery and cleaners across the street. City Hall planners didn't fight the project's height, as they might have in the past. They encouraged it."