Marina City..
Completed: 1964
Architect: Bertrand GoldBerg, a student of Mies van der Rohe ..
Marina City is a mixed-use building complex.. combining residential with commercial use. It occupies an entire city block on State Street in Chicago, Illinois. It lies on the north bank of the Chicago River, directly across from Chicago's Loop district. The complex consists of two corncob-shaped 65-story, including 5-story elevator & physical plant penthouse ...
Marina City is a complex of two towers.. The two towers contain identical floor plans.. Its shape was in contrast with the contemporary architectural concepts of straight lines and cubical apartment buildings. The cylindrical shape was used to have less wind pressure. The architect chose reinforced concrete instead of steel as this was the only material in which he could create the petal shapes of the apartments.
The parking facility at Marina City.. The bottom 19 floors form an spiral parking ramp with 896 parking spaces per building. Thse are operated by valet. The 20th floor of each contains a laundry room with panoramic views of the Loop. Upwards from21 through 60 floors contain apartments [450 per tower]. A 360-degree open-air roof deck lies on the 61st and top story.
At the base of the famous of Marina City buildings, the House of Blues opened in 1996. It is host to a mix of blues, jazz, funk, rap and world musicians who perform here. And is also a popular dining spot.
Bertrand Goldberg [1913-1997]..was born in Chicago..
Perhaps his best-known commission, Marina City in Chicago which completed in 1964.. After this he received many large commissions for hospitals, schools, and other public institutional buildings like
- Prentice Women's Hospital for Northwestern University..
- Science and medical complexes for SUNY Stony Brook..
- River City in Chicago.
River City in south Loop..complted in 1987. It bears a distinct resemblance to the Marina Towers .. Marina City is the first building of its kind.. Before Goldberg, there was nothing like it. Now a lot of architects, look upon him for inspiration..
1 comment:
Thanks for this post. I'll never forget these buildings.
Post a Comment