B12 Solipsism

I bet the Aqua doesn’t delay too long, it has gotten so much publicity¹

The ongoing credit crisis is putting the brakes on a significant Chicago building project.

Chicago-based Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. said it is scrapping plans to purchase the hotel development at the Aqua Building, currently under construction and adjacent to the company’s Fairmont Chicago Hotel.

“Despite the opportunities this property presents, the financial markets and economic operating environment have changed significantly since we first entered into the agreement to purchase the space in 2006,” said Laurence Geller, president and chief executive of Strategic. “We remain committed to our thoughtful and disciplined business approach which, given the higher cost of capital, escalating total project costs and our dedication to maintaining sufficient liquidity for all market conditions, makes it imprudent for the company to proceed at this time.”

[From Financial crisis fallout: Strategic Hotels pulls out of Aqua project -- chicagotribune.com]

A couple of photographs of Aqua I took earlier this year²

[other versions of these same photos found here]

1. due mostly to its out of the ordinary design [↩]
2. July 5th, 2008, apparently [↩]

Stairway to a Two Bedroom, originally uploaded by swanksalot.

R+D 659 is overpriced, really

still working on our RFP¹that never ends. 2 o’clock today might get some relief²

1. Request For Proposal(s) [↩]
2. well, actually 3, after the call [↩]

Alderman Brendan Reilly emails:

664 N. Michigan Avenue-Farwell Building

Emergency repair work at the Farwell Building has necessitated closure of adjoining sidewalks on Michigan Avenue and Erie Street. The sidewalks will be closed on the west side of Michigan Avenue between Erie and Huron and on the north side of Erie between Michigan Avenue and Rush Street. The duration of the closure has yet to be determined.

What the heck is that all about?

The 11-story Farwell Building represents one of the few remaining buildings left on Michigan Avenue from the 1920’s, the period that transformed sleepy residential Pine Street into “The Magnificent Mile.” This French inspired design, highlighted with both Art Deco and Classical Revival details, exemplified the work of architect Philip Maher. Clad in limestone, the building features ornamental cast stone panels and a slate mansard roof. Its delicate scale elegantly anchors the prominent corner of Erie Street and Michigan Avenue. In addition, Maher designed 5 other buildings on the boulevard including the Women’s Athletic Club, which is also a city landmark. These remaining buildings reflect the aesthetic of the 1909 Burnham Plan, which was an attempt to turn our gritty industrial town into the “Paris by the Lake”.

and I wonder if the emergency construction is related to this:

A line in the sand has been drawn between preservationists and developers. That line is represented by the historic Farwell Building, located in the heart of the Magnificient Mile, where the Prism Development Company plans to skin the building’s historic façade, demolish the entire building, and then reapply it to a parking garage.

Finally. I truly hope Jerry Mickelson does restore the building, I’ve always had a certain fondness for it.

[Click image for full view]

Without any drama, a venture led by concert promoter Jam Productions Ltd. bought the historic Uptown Theatre on Tuesday for $3.2 million in a court-ordered foreclosure sale.

Jam principal Jerry Mickelson was the high bidder for the long-vacant theater at 4816 N. Broadway. The sale price was essentially a “credit bid” that covers repayment of about $1.8 million owed on a first mortgage and $1.4 million owed on a second mortgage that’s held by Mr. Mickelson’s group.

The only other bid came from the holder of the first mortgage.

Mr. Mickelson, who has said he plans to restore the Uptown, declined comment on the sale.

[From Chicago Business News, Analysis & Articles | Jam buys Uptown for $3.2M | Crain's ]

I’m not even sure if I’ve ever been inside, I just like vintage theater buildings.

Jam competitors Live Nation Inc. and Madison Square Garden Entertainment both looked into buying the 1925 building, which was originally constructed as a movie palace. Jam in 2006 bought the Riviera Theatre down the street and also owns the Park West in Lincoln Park and the Vic Theatre in Lakeview, all music venues.

We’ve been intrigued by Dr. Dickson Despommier’s hydroponic urban utopia ever since he made an appearance on the Stephen Colbert show a few weeks ago. Such a richly imaginative and evocative idea: much better than another parking garage or condo building.

Dr. Dickson Despommier, a professor of public health at Columbia University, hopes to make these zucchini-in-the-sky visions a reality. Despommier’s pet project is the “vertical farm,” a concept he created in 1999 with graduate students in his class on medical ecology, the study of how the environment and human health interact.

The idea, which has captured the imagination of several architects in the United States and Europe in the past several years, just caught the eye of another big city dreamer: Scott Stringer, the Manhattan borough president in New York.

When Stringer heard about the concept in June, he said he immediately pictured a “food farm” addition to the New York City skyline. “Obviously we don’t have vast amounts of vacant land,” he said in a phone interview. “But the sky is the limit in Manhattan.” Stringer’s office is “sketching out what it would take to pilot a vertical farm,” and plans to pitch a feasibility study to the mayor’s office within the next couple of months, he said.

“I think we can really do this,” he added. “We could get the funding.”

[From Country, the city version: Farms in the sky gain new interest - International Herald Tribune]

There is a slide show of some possible designs for the building here, a permalink to the New York Times article here, and Dr. Despommier’s Vertical Farm website is found here.

Took a trek out to the very cool Chicago Center for Green Technology at 445 N. Sacramento Boulevard yesterday to inquire about green roofs and to solicit advice re: Neighbor Space parks.

Chicago Green Tech’s building was originally constructed in 1952. Since then a number of different companies have owned the building. When it came to the attention of the Chicago Department of Environment (DOE) in 1995, the building and its 17 acres were owned by Sacramento Crushing, a company which had a permit to collect limited construction and demolition debris. The Department of Environment became involved because Sacramento Crushing had gone far beyond the scope of its permit and had filled all 17-acres with illegally dumped debris. The site was littered with 70-foot high piles of rubble, one of which was so dense it sank 15 feet into the ground.

The Department of Environment successfully fought Sacramento Crushing in court and not only closed down their operation but also became the owner of the site itself. It was then DOE’s job to clean up this Brownfield. The clean up took 18 months to complete and cost about $9 million. In this process, the site was cleared of over 600,000 tons of concrete, which took 45,000 truck loads to remove. The city recouped some of the clean up cost by selling the concrete and other materials to recycling firms and to other city departments for use in their projects. For example, some of the crushed concrete was used by the Chicago Department of Transportation to lay the foundation of the parking garage at the new Millennium Park.

In 1999, DOE was the proud owner of a cleaned site and vacant building. Rather than simply renovating the building using traditional methods, DOE seized the opportunity to create an energy efficient building using the highest standards of green technology available. The Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment formed a design team for the project. This team of local architects, led by Farr Associates, designed the building using a set of guidelines established by the US Green Building Council called LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design).

[From Chicago Center for Green Technology - History]

Apparently, some of the mounds of debris were over 70 feet tall, and compressed the ground below another 15 feet. Anyway, the building is worth a visit if you are into such things. Plus they gave us each 2 LED light bulbs.

Vegetative Green Roof - Chicago Center for Green Technology. Wild chives, succulents, and clover, I believe.

Vegetative Green Roof closeup- Chicago Center for Green Technology

We didn’t get much help regarding Neighbor Space parks and City of Chicago plant and soil resources, but we learned a lot about green roofs. I’d love to be able to install a meadow on our roof like this one, but the roof would need to be able to support 40 lbs/sq. foot, which might not be easily accomplished. Maybe, though, so a next step would be to ask a structural engineer to investigate. There are also the smaller modular vegetative green roof options: a box about 12 inches by 12 inches, filled with a few inches of soil and covered with succulents. You would use as many as you needed, they weigh less, and are easier to remove if necessary. The meadow concept is more fun though - I’d be napping up there right now if I could.

Another thought would be to install a rain water cistern and drain system, so as to utilize the water to keep plants moist at the street level (where our Neighbor Space park allegedly will be located).

Solar Panels - Chicago Center for Green Technology

Solar panels would be cool, even if the technology isn’t advanced enough to supply all of our electric needs, we still could ameliorate some of our electric costs (and have backup power if ComEd has problems as they so often do).

Money to pay for it all? Ha, that’s what home equity loans are for. There are a few tax credits available (Federal, some state programs, even less at the City level) for installing solar and green roofs, but the national demand is much greater than the supply of money available, so one’s application has to be blessed with the support of somebody politically connected to get approval. Got to fund wars in the desert, don’t you know; we as a country don’t really want to encourage sustainable living. Unfortunately.

A Semblance of Peace, originally uploaded by swanksalot.

Still digging through my archives. Found this shot of an architectural detail I liked. I think the photo was taken on Wells Street because the next photo in sequence was of House of Glunz Wine Shop (Wells and Diversey).

All apologies to WB Yeats

(view large on black www.b12partners.net/photoblog/index.php?showimage=20 )

Even the USPS sorting office, apparently.