week seventy-two — trump
The design of the building incorporates three setback features designed to provide visual continuity with the surrounding skyline, each reflecting the height of a nearby building. The first setback, on the east side of the building, aligns with the cornice line of the Wrigley Building to the east; the second, on the west side, aligns with River Plaza to the north and with the Marina City Towers to the west. The third setback, on the east side, relates to 330 North Wabash building (formerly known as IBM Plaza). … The setbacks and rounded edges of the building combat vortex formation which may occur in the “Windy City”
one thing i regret about my time in chicago is that i never really got into architecture. it’s been on my list of hobbies/interests to take up for quite a while now, but i just never got around to it… i feel like i’m doing the city a bit of a disservice by admiring all these buildings without a deeper understanding of what went into their design and creation. i try to combat this to some extent by reading the wikipedia articles of the buildings i take pictures of. when i did this for the trump, the quote above really stuck out to me. one of the things about the chicago skyline that seems so unique is that all of the buildings seem to work together to create a complete narrative. i’ve never really had any facts to corroborate that impression, but that wikipedia excerpt lends a little credence to the theory and provides a little insight into the minds of the geniuses that built this wonderful city.
kyle wurtz 