Friday, April 7, 2006

HUB 116

Earlier this year I wrote about some low-rise projects in Chicago's River North area. One of those projects was the tripartite goofiness of HUB 116, an office/gallery/retail project at, yep, 116 West Hubbard.

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Well, walking by it the other day on the way to work, I noticed that the goofiness has increased from the rendering above to the soon-to-be-final product below.

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What was initially a very flat building has gained some depth via applied awnings at each window. These awnings, like the rest of the building, angle themselves in relation to the exterior wall. I like to think that there's some practical reason for this decision, beyond mere aesthetics, like shielding the office spaces from the late afternoon sun. But who knows.

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Also, the ground floor retail has a more substantial frame, which I think is better than the rendering, even though there still exists some discontinuity between the base and middle portion.

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What the awnings accomplish more than anything is to elevate the presence of the building from down the street. This view looks west from where it makes the most impact, as the floor plan angles back from west to east. It kinda reminds me of Frank Gehry's Fred & Ginger building in Prague. Additionally, these angled awnings make the flat exterior wall appear to ripple, an illusion that was probably unexpected.

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