Jahn Builds in Streeterville

In this morning's Chicago Sun-Times, David Roeder reports on a residential development at 600 N. Fairbanks (on the northwest corner of Ohio and Fairbanks) in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood. Designed by Helmut Jahn, and developed by Geoffrey Ruttenberg of The Brixton Group, the 27-story high-rise would offer 197 residences, generous glazing, and a celebration of the automobile via a ramp to the parking garage visible at the base of the building. The garage itself would be built over an existing three-story building to the north, currently housing such local dining favorites as Timothy O'Toole's, West Egg, and the Indian Garden.





Image scanned from the Sun-Times



Streeterville is a neighborhood of high-rises, this site being almost on its "edge", close to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital that occupies the blocks to the north (right in the image above). Having been a parking lot recently and just a plain 'ol vacant lot before that, it is refreshing to see a proposal for the site's use. I don't foresee any local opposition to the development, since 27 stories in this area is not that big (though the article mentions the units will have ten-foot ceilings, pushing up the actual height of the building to a comparable 30-story structure).



Also the simple design is inoffensive, though I hope the romantic notion of putting the parking ramp on display is successful when built. The Contemporaine takes a similar risk at its base and pulls it off, though it doesn't strive for the level of transparency that Jahn's rendering indicates. Regardless, it appears that architects are (finally!) finding creative ways to deal with Chicago's required parking for residential structures, that is beyond the common "hide it behind the facade" solution. Not only does Jahn put it on display, he lifts it up and over another building, seemingly defying gravity in the process.



Now it remains to see if the project goes ahead, though according to the article, "buyers have shown a preference toward modern designs in most of the latest projects being marketed."