Sears Tower To Be Renamed

London-based Willis Insurance Group Holdings is consolidating five of its local offices and more than 500 employees into more than 140,000 square feet in the 110-story Sears building at 233 S. Wacker Drive. The insurance broker announced Thursday morning that this move will also entail renaming what we have always known as the Sears Tower (without having to pay extra for the naming rights) to the Willis Tower.

Willis is the largest new tenant to move into Sears Tower since the 2001 terrorist attacks. In recent years, the building has suffered several big tenant losses, including its largest tenant, by rental revenue, Ernst & Young U.S. LLP, which is moving in 2012 to an almost-complete skyscraper at 155 N. Wacker Drive.

“Having our name associated with Chicago’s most iconic structure underscores our commitment to this great city, and recognizes Chicago’s importance as a major financial hub and international business center,” Joseph J. Plumeri, chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings, said in a release. “We are delighted to be making this bold move and firmly establishing our leading presence in one of the nation’s biggest insurance markets, and it will be wonderful for all our associates to work under one roof.”

I really don't have much to say except that I am not really pleased that such an iconic building will be losing its name. The "Willis Tower" just doesn't sound right at all. And how is it that they can rename the tower without having to pay for the naming rights?




Image obtained from: images.google.com
For more information, check: www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-sears-tower-name-change-willis-march12,0,7014962.story

Skyscrapers For Seniors

The Clare, developed and operated by the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago Service Corp and designed by Ralph Johnson, a principal at the Chicago office of Perkins+Will, is a 54 story building that seeks to cater to the baby boomers and retired urban dwellers and give them a new home in which to grow old.

The building located on 55 E. Pearson St nestles into the cityscape as its overall building mass was designed to be as slim as possible with an entire floor plate just under 12,000 square feet to fit in with the least amount of site disturbance and provide residents with a community fostered environment. Though the building is practically self-sufficient, many outside amenities are within walking distance.

The Clare has been designed differently from most new senior mid to highrise communities as the attempt was to create "stacked suburban homes" with environments as similar to suburban communities the residents just left. Hence they don't feel like they are in a "senior home" but more like they are just simply at "home." The design also combines individual apartments and common spaces such as workout rooms and dining areas. While most of its 334 apartments are for independent, able-bodied seniors, the rest offer assisted living and skilled nursing similar to hospital care.

The design of the interior seeks to take advantage of the views and allows residents to have unique views from almost each unit. One of the most impressive features occurs at the building’s northeast corner, where you discover that the vertical slot cut into the curving exterior is not just for looks. It opens the corridors of the independent living units to natural light and lake views, helping residents orient themselves.

Equally impressive are "high-ceilinged," light-filled communal spaces, notably a hotel-like, three-story atrium that extends from the 17th to the 19th floors, and a 53rd floor gathering space with spectacular lake views. Anything that cuts down on the sameness of endlessly repeating floors is welcome and both Johnson and the Franciscan Sisters are very pleased with the outcome though there aren't enough residents in the building just yet to be able to accurately judge the its success.

For the city that brought us the highrise, this is indeed a welcome addition and I am always in support of new senior living designs that make for places to "enjoy life and grow old" rather than places to "go be depressed and finally die!"

Still, I think that Ralph Johnson could have managed the orientation of the building a little better as the western facade practically blocks views to the John Hancock for those who live in River North and has drawn criticism from many neighbors and Chicago residents in general. Other than this, I think that the building was designed well and for those that feel that it is too monolithic, I would say that it does at least try to not be a site intervention, and be too different from its surroundings. Also, until we are sure just how well seniors interact within highrise dwellings, we shouldn't try to create any overly flamboyant forms for senior living.




Images obtained from featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com and graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/03/29

Mandarin Oriental Groundbreaking Yet to Occur

The $550,000,000 Mandarin Oriental Tower is a 74 story proposed mixed use project targeted to be the 9th tallest building in Chicago (assuming the Trump and Waterview Towers, both under construction get completed first). The tower is being built by the Hong Kong based Mandarin hotel group, currently operating over 30 hotel groups around the world and are partnering with Solomon Cordwell Buenz as their design consultants.

The proposed design is to be 1.2million sq feet and will include 300 condos and 250 hotel-condo units with the unit mix concept defining these hotel-condos as rooms sold as condominiums to private buyers who now allow the hotel to rent out these units when the owners are not using them.

Despite the initial excitement over the addition this building would make to the design infrastructure of the city of Chicago, a Dec 2, 07 article in Crains Chicago Business stated that various parties involved with this project are facing financial issues and construction loans have not been forthcoming. This is in part due to the current real estate slump in the Country and some inside sources have expressed their apprehension that this project might never be built as the groundbreaking initially set for January 08 is still yet to occur.

Unfortunately, this is the same for numerous other projects around the country; the building industry is slowing down and if the situation does not improve soon, many of us in the field of architecture and other related disciplines might not have much work to do.

Image obtained from condohotelcenter.com