Glass hi-rise

As much sculpture as structure, Chicago’s newest jewel in its breathtaking skyline is the Aqua tower, located on the 200 block of North Columbus Drive. A mixed-use skyscraper that boasts 215 hotel rooms, 475 rental units and 263 condos and penthouses, the 82-story building was designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects and developed by Magellan Development. Despite its prime location, Aqua was not built for the super-wealthy; and in spite of its great height, it is not an iconic attention-grabber. With almost 750 residential units and nearly 2 million square feet, the challenge of Aqua was to house a large number of people at a reasonable cost, while enhancing its environment with an elegant design, according to architect Gang.... More