THE AQUA BUILDING. The Aqua Building is a new Chicago skyscraper, designed by Jeanne Gang, which has won a number of awards. I think its beauty is shown in the photographs here. Each floor of the building has a different plan. The overall effect has been compared to sculpture, and the waves of the balconies are thought fitting for a city on Lake Michigan. Nevertheless, as this New Yorker article by Paul Goldberger, points out, the design solves a couple practical problems. The balcony overhangs shield the balconies below from the sun. More importantly, there is no clear path for the wind so that the effects of wind are dissipated. Unlike other skyscrapers, the building does not need a giant damper at the top to stabilize it against sway created by wind. And because there is less wind, balconies can be used all the way up to the top of the building. Goldberger says: “Chicago is where architects like Louis Sullivan, John Wellborn Root, Mies van der Rohe, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill elevated pragmatic solutions to structural problems to the level of art. And that is precisely what Gang has done.”
Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/skyline/2010/02/01/100201crsk_skyline_goldberger#ixzz0i6qH8zx4