150-story skyscraper could become tallest in U.S.

[onehandle]

Source: CNN/AP

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- The city's planning board has endorsed a proposal for a twisting lakefront tower that would become the nation's tallest building.

With Thursday's approval from the Chicago Plan Commission, the design and site plan for the 2,000-foot Chicago Spire goes to the city zoning committee next week.

"This is a wonderful project, and everyone is very enthused," said Constance Buscemi, spokeswoman for the city's planning department.

The 150-story tower, which would feature 1,200 residences, would unseat Chicago's 1,451-foot Sears Tower as the tallest U.S. building. It would also top New York's 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, under construction at the former World Trade Center site.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/20/tallest.building.ap/index.html

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. good. elevator unions need more work.

Hopefully, they can improve on the mazes that make Sears tower a pain in the arse to navigate.

[Up2Late]

2. Check out the Quick poll there...

Would you like to live in the nation's tallest building?
Yes 16% 11781 votes

No 84% 62827 votes

Total: 74608 votes

The "Chicago Drill Bit" is going to be very empty for a long time, and it won't even be the Worlds tallest. EVER.

Here's the website of the "Burj Dubai." It's already up to 120 Floors and it's just a little more than half done!

<http://www.burjdubai.com/>

[onehandle]

3. Dubai is nothing but empty space. No reason to build this there.

Except for sheer excess and decadence.

[Up2Late]

4. True, but there could be a second reason which some here will label as a tin hat theory,

And it might be, but it's something to think about when you consider the other massive construction projects that are being built there too.

This building is just one of several Massive construction projects. They are also building Three (3) man-made Palm Islands which could (and I think will) have very controlled access, and another project of dozens of Man-made Private Islands, just off the Dubai coast.

What I think this is all leading up to it a very private and well guarded Tax Haven and/or just a place for all these newly created uber-wealthy world wide Petroleum criminals.

It might sound a little crazy, until you check out the websites for these massive construction projects. The sites below are Real Estate sites, but you can easily see these projects from space now too. Several sites have satellite pictures of them.

<http://www.thepalm.ae/>

<http://guide.theemiratesnetwork.com/living/dubai/the_palm_islands.php>









Large versions of these photos at the link above.





<http://realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/developments/dubai/world_islands.php>

[The Stranger]

27. Not much tin hat to their realization they need an economy based on something other than oil,

which is running out. They want to become a "destination" and a hub marketplace.

[Up2Late]

28. Yep, they probably realized a while ago that when their oil runs out...

...those who still have most of it will need a place to "invest" all the Billions they are making from that dwindling resource.

Any word on how well all this new real-estate is selling?

[The Stranger]

30. Good question.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't know where to check.

[InternalDialogue]

31. With regards to sales

The New Yorker did a piece on this last year. I haven't checked yet to see if it's available online. They mentioned that the "palm" developments were selling pretty quickly, and that they were flying in international celebrities to the "world" development. Without my passing judgment on the developments themselves, I believe there are people willing to pay for them, and those developments are indeed attracting residents.

I'll see if I can track down a link for you.

Edit: I can't find the print article online, but the following gives a quick, odd, entertaining overview of what's going down (up?) in Dubai:
An audio slideshow with Ian Parker, the author of the articles: http://www.newyorker.com/online/multimedia/051017_parkerdubai

[Ignacio Upton]

29. Dubai, if they're sucessful, will weather "Peak Oil"

They're smart in trying to turn their city into a financial/tourist hub.

[Blue_Tires]

33. i read about Dubai in National Geographic

great piece...

you might be closer to the truth than you think...

[okoboji]

6. Burj Dubai

Burj Dubai will be know by many names. But only a privileged group of people will call it home.....

Michael Jackson????

[Up2Late]

11. Nah, I bet he gets first dibs on one of the private islands...

...in "The World" development (see my post above).

[Cobalt-60]

5. it looks like a drill bit. Yuck!

They'll never be a prettier American Style high rise than the Hancock Building.
Behold the horns of power!
(antennae, actually. But how often can I apply a 13th Warrior line to architecture?)

[aaronbees]

9. I'm still pretty partial to the Sears Tower

Having grown up in Chicago, I'd hate to see something eclipse it. Hard to tell by the design of this new one what it really looks like, but from what I see I say butt ugly.

[Up2Late]

17. Check out this one they are going to put up near the Loop! Aqua!

<http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail.php?ID=913>

[Cobalt-60]

25. someone spilled coffee on the drawings

And they apparently just went with it

[papau]

7. At 1451 feet the Sears tower sways a couple of feet in "normal" wind -so at 2000ft? n/t

n/t

[Skink]

8. At 2000 feet they charge tickets.

[papau]

21. At 1815 feet the CN tower in Toronto is just plan scary - I don't need a 2000 ft tower for thrills!

n/t

[Up2Late]

10. That's what I'm wondering, and will this cork-screw design help or make it worse?

I just don't see the benefit of the cork-screw deal, other than a larger varieties of views.

[JawJaw]

12. God help....

...the window cleaners..

[nealmhughes]

13. I'm partial to the Bell South tower in Nashville, the "Bat Building".

http://a5.vox.com/6a00c2251e7a348e1d00c22529e24df219-120si

It's fantastic coming into town on I-65 at night.

[Up2Late]

15. That is pretty cool, looks like it pretty popular with the Architecture enthusiasts too...

...at this site I found recently called "Glass, Steel and Stone"

<http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/595.php>

[Up2Late]

14. More images at this link

<http://www.thechicagospire.com/>

Nothing phallic about this building. :sarcasm:

I love the Drill bit fountain too. :eyes:

[truthisfreedom]

16. It's not a drill bit. It turns the wrong way, left-handed... it's an EZ-out. Pic...

[Up2Late]

18. I just noticed that the one in the fountain turns the opposite way of the tower.

(In pictures 2 and 4)

So I guess one of them is a drill bit.:shrug:

Just don't tell Chicago, you might set the project back by years as they redesign it to twist the other way.

[SayWhatYo]

23. lol

[jdadd]

22. I thought the same thing.....

It looks like the broken EZ-out thats been in the top drawer of my toolbox for the last four or so years...:rofl:

[okoboji]

19. almost the same language as the Burj Dubai.....

"Burj Dubai will be know by many names. But only a privileged group of people will call it home..."

"The Chicago Spire is a collection of extraordinary and individual residences that the fortunate few will be able to call home..."



skyscrapers for the uuber rich

[trof]

20. "The Big Screw"?

;-)

[northzax]

24. never going to happen

it is way too expensive for residential use in Chicago, at least. consider that construction costs will be at LEAST a billion dollars. so let's say a billion (which is bullshit low, but still) at 1200 units, they would have to average only $833,000 or so per unit to break even. Obviously they want to go above that, because they want 'real luxury' and $800 grand isn't luxurious in that market. so given the reality that this building will probably cost $1.5 billion, they need to hit 1.2 million a pop to break even. Average unit at, let's say, $1.5 or $1.6, means that top units are probably $15-20 million. Who the fuck wants to pay $20 million for an apartment in Chicago? there is a reason the really big buildings are commerical, not residential.

to give an example, this is what only $5.5 million will buy you in Chicago: http://realestate.nytimes.com/sales/View_Ulisting.asp what are they going to do to improve on this for another $5million?

[Beetwasher]

26. Who The Hell Could Live On The Uppermost Floors???

You wouldn't be able to keep your water in the toilets on a windy day. And in Chicago, there WILL be wind.

[Occulus]

32. I think this is a pic of it

It's a little gaudy, but I think it could work. However, I would prefer something more like what may be built in St. Petersburg, Russia:



300m tall, and will change color many times throughout the day as the color and quality of the light changes. Personally, I think the Russia one is just ridiculously beautiful, so much so that it almost transcends mere architecture.