Architect Santiago Calatrava had big plans for Chicago. In 2007, construction started on the Spire, a twisting supertall skyscraper along the lakeshore and Chicago River. The 2,000-foot tower would have been right up there with Dubai’s Burj Khalifa as one of the tallest towers in the world.
Then the economy tanked, construction of the Chicago Spire was canceled, and the site was left vacant.
Curbed Chicago reports that Gensler is stepping in with its own supertall building. The Gateway Tower will be the same height as the Chicago Spire, only without the twisting shape. Gensler conceived a glass rectilinear structure with X-bracing. The tower bends at the base, and a supporting “leg” extends over Lake Shore Drive.
The tower will have space for condos, apartments, hotels, and tourist attractions. Access will be made available to the Riverwalk and water taxis. A skydeck will have a restaurant and sky garden. Vertical cable cars will carry passengers up to mid-level attractions.
Specific designs are still unknown for the 2.2-acre site, as it remains in only the conceptual stage. If built, the Gateway Tower will be the tallest building in Chicago, considerably higher than the 1,450-foot Willis Tower.
Click to enlarge.
Related Stories
| Sep 17, 2014
Arquitectonica's hairpin-shaped tower breaks ground in Miami
Rising above Biscayne Bay, the 305-meter tower will include three viewing decks, a restaurant, nightclub, and exhibition space.
| Sep 16, 2014
Ranked: Top hotel sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Tutor Perini, Gensler, and AECOM top BD+C's rankings of design and construction firms with the most revenue from hospitality sector projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 15, 2014
Argentina reveals plans for Latin America’s tallest structure
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announces the winning design by MRA+A Álvarez | Bernabó | Sabatini for the capital's new miexed use tower.
| Sep 5, 2014
First Look: Zaha Hadid's Grace on Coronation towers in Australia
Zaha Hadid's latest project in Australia is a complex of three, tapered residential high-rises that have expansive grounds to provide the surrounding community unobstructed views and access to the town's waterfront.
| Sep 2, 2014
Extreme conversion: 17-story industrial silo to be converted to high-rise housing
As part of Copenhagen's effort to turn an industrial seaport into a bustling neighborhood, Danish architecture firm COBE was invited to convert a grain silo into a residential tower.
| Sep 2, 2014
Melbourne's tallest residential tower will have 'optically transformative façade'
Plans for Melbourne's tallest residential tower have been released by Elenberg Fraser Architects. Using an optically transformative façade and botanical aesthetic, the project seeks to change the landscape of Australia's Victoria state.
| Aug 28, 2014
Stantec releases design for Edmonton's tallest tower
At 227 meters, Stantec Tower will be the tallest building in the city, dwarfing the two next-tallest: Epcor Tower and Manulife Tower.
| Aug 25, 2014
Tall wood buildings: Surveying the early innovators
Timber has been largely abandoned as a structural solution in taller buildings during the last century, in favor of concrete and steel. Perkins+Will's Rebecca Holt writes about the firm's work in surveying the burgeoning tall wood buildings sector.
| Aug 25, 2014
'Vanity space' makes up large percentage of world's tallest buildings [infographic]
Large portions of some skyscrapers are useless space used to artificially enhance their height, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Aug 25, 2014
Photographer creates time-lapse video of 1 WTC using 30,000 photos
Choosing from 30,000 photos he took from the day construction began in 2006 to the day when construction was finished in 2012, Brooklyn-based photographer Benjamin Rosamund compressed 1,100 photos to create the two-minute video.
