Heath's Random Thoughts

The Fordham Spire

So, one of the great things about living in Chicago is all the cool architecture, but lately there have been a lot of bland looking condo buildings going up in the downtown area that are kind of screwing up the city skyline. Its too bad that this "cookie-cutter" buildings are getting in the way of some of the more unique looking and historical buildings that make up this world class city skyline. There is one exception on the horizon. I have been keeping my eye on the progress of the new Fordham Spire. This building looks awesome. It is designed by Santiago Calatrava and is estimated to cost 1.2 billion dollars to build. The twisting design is inspired by local native american history in Chicago. It is intended to look like a plume of smoke, spiralling into the sky from a Native American campfire at the mouth of the Chicago River on Lake Michigan. Once completed it would be the tallest building in North America. Currently, they are still working through some local and government hang-ups before then can begin building. Many of the current residents in Streeterville, the neighborhood where the tower would be built are concerned about traffice congestion among other things. I really hope they are able to move forward with this building. It would definitely add to an already spectacular skyline!

posted by Heath @ 9:45 PM