ARCH_500-600 Comprehensive Options Studio: ‘Rethinking Sustainability: Towers at Chicago’s Lakeshore East’

One of the newest developments in Chicago in recent years includes an approximately 163,000-square-foot site, Site I, J, K/L of East Lakeshore. It offers excellent views of Lake Michigan, the coast, and the city, which should influence design. The site served as the test bed for analysis, proof of concept, and experiments with design interests, motives, and techniques that challenge the traditional cultural and environmental methods of the supertall residential tower design.

The building is envisioned as an all-residential supertall tower with 1,000 rental apartments and 650 condominiums, residential amenities, and a ground floor with a flexible program. The brief called for an innovative ground floor that serves both the building’s residents and the community.

Students studied the unit mix, using efficiency targets from precedent cases and residential guidelines as specific program guidance and developed three complementary projects: a site-specific and innovative design program for Site I, J. K/L addressing its current and future needs from social, regional, and sustainable development perspectives; a schematic design of a supertall residential tower with an in-depth understanding of urban and community intervention for innovative urban living; and a comprehensive illustration of environmental sustainability techniques, such as material, structure, and energy technology appropriate for the supertall design and the site. The three projects made a cohesive whole.

The studio included five trips to Chicago to visit SOM’s office, the site, and surrounding high-rise residential towers to help students fully understand the site and access SOM experts. SOM professionals in urban planning, architecture, and structural and mechanical engineering taught students the fundamentals of supertall tower design, assisted them in understanding the site and urban issues, simplified the design parameters by focusing on specific topics related to high-rise design, and oriented them to the goal of general design issues.

Several SOM individuals provided course lectures on issues related to high-rise design and participated in midterm and final reviews. Many thanks to Scott Duncan, Design Partner; Jonathan Stein, Managing Partner; Yue Zhu, Technical Director; Luke Leung, Director of Sustainable Engineering; Sean Kinzie, Associate Director; and Aaron Mazeika, Associate Director.