Aqua Tower | Studio Gang

Totaling over 1.9 million sf, Aqua Tower is an 82-story mixed-use high-rise that includes a hotel, apartments, condominiums, parking and offices. Unlike a tower in an open field, new towers in urban environments must negotiate small view corridors between existing buildings. In response to this, the Aqua Tower is designed to capture particular views that would otherwise be unattainable. Among the building’s notable features is the green roof terrace atop its plinth—which at 80,000 sf is one of Chicago’s largest—that contains an outdoor pool, running track, gardens, fire pits and yoga terrace.

A series of contours defined by outdoor terraces extends away from the face of the tower structure to provide views between neighboring buildings. These outdoor terraces, cantilevered up to twelve feet, differ in shape from floor to floor. The terraces inflect based on criteria such as the view, solar shading and size and type of dwelling. When viewed together, these unique terraces make the building appear to undulate, presenting a highly sculptural appearance that
is rooted in function. Aqua creates a strong identity through its architecture and has become a landmark addition to the Chicago skyline.

Early and close collaboration between architect and builder, as well as the use of contemporary digital tools, allowed the variation in the shape of the floor slabs to be achieved without increasing the building’s construction timetable. The result is a high-rise tower particular to its site that allows residents to inhabit the facade of the building and the city at the same time.
“Aqua Tower was shaped by an organic, site-specific design process. Rather than starting out with the goal of creating an icon, we let the climate and views shape the building, weaving it into its surroundings and treating the building and its environment as interconnected not separate.
Even though it may appear to be formally expressive, it is equal parts data and imagination.” – Jeanne Gang, Design Principal Architect

[IT]
Affacciata sul lago Michigan nonché sul Millenium Park recentemente ultimato, la torre firmata Gang Architects è un edificio a destinazione d’uso mista all’interno del quale trovano spazio un hotel, unità residenziali, un parcheggio e spazi per uffici. In cima la struttura ospita inoltre un tetto verde con piscina, pista da corsa e spazi per lo yoga.

Convenzionale in pianta, l’Aqua Tower sviluppa sinuose e inaspettate geometrie disegnate dalle terrazze all’esterno che percorrono l’intero perimetro dell’edificio su ciascun piano, offrendo una magnifica vista sulla città e fra i vicini edifici. A conferire alla struttura la sua geometria scultorea è un sistema verticale definito sulla base di riflessioni relative ad elementi quali la vista e l’ombreggiamento. Realizzate a sbalzo, le terrazze presentano infatti forme differenti da piano a piano. Forme che, osservate nell’insieme, offrono la sensazione di un edificio che si muove seguendo un percorso ondulatorio costante.

“Queste terrazze – spiegano dallo studio Gang Architects – offrono una forte relazione con l’esterno e consentono ai residenti di occupare la facciata dell’edificio e la città al tempo stesso. Ne risulta una architettura scultorea che ricorda gli affioramenti calcarei e le forme geologiche che contraddistinguono i grandi laghi della regione”.