Andrew Hertzberg
There is a boom of construction cranes and new buildings going up in Chicago.
Videos by Rare
One of the most exciting recent projects is the Jeanne Gang-designed Vista Tower at 375 E Wacker Drive.
RELATED: Slow things down, and check out this awesome video of lightning striking Willis Tower
But with an innovative building, like the soon-to-be third tallest building in the city’s skyline, come a windy set of problems, especially a concern for live-in occupants residing beyond working hours subject to the effects of swaying professional engineering and architectural teams compare to that of a cruise ship on a choppy ocean.
Vista’s solution?:
The 83rd floor of the 98-story building will now be a “blow-through floor,” much like a high rise breezeway to reduce the wind resistance and somewhat stabilize the structure.
Made up of three thin towers, wind tunnel tests left engineers unsatisfied the swaying of the building could potentially make residents and guests fear for their safety or become ill.
So, instead of the proposed penthouse, the floor will be completely open so as to allow wind to blow through and ideally limit the amount of sway high-powered winds might create.
A first in Chicago to feature a blow-through floor, Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin wrote at length about the ingenuity and complex process of such a design, pointing to past concerns in buildings without this blow-through floor, including the John Hancock Center, as well as contemporary designs in other cities, such as 432 Park Avenue in New York, also constructed with this design.
Kamin writes “it was hard to reconcile that architectural poetry with engineering prose,” referring to the redesign of Vista Tower, but, known for their stunning work and energy efficiency, Jeanne Gang and her architecture firm were up for the challenge and later satisfied with the updated renderings.
Surpassing the nearby Aqua Tower, also designed by Gang, Vista Tower will soon be the tallest structure in the world designed by a woman.
RELATED: Skyscraper climbing daredevil takes insanity to new heights
Construction broke ground last September, and, despite the redesign requirements, the mixed condo-hotel building is set to be complete in 2020.
