tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post6416107624460425760..comments2024-03-17T15:59:53.999-05:00Comments on ArchitectureChicago PLUS: Lipstick Glowing on the Off Ramp: Congress Parkway's New LightingLynn Beckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03759748613223711212noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-46704899915752238412013-05-10T19:31:34.993-05:002013-05-10T19:31:34.993-05:00The lighting design is very generic and banal. It ...The lighting design is very generic and banal. It is a huge missed opportunity. The U of C did a much better job on the Midway. I hope this is not indicative of the direction urban design is going under the Emanual administration. There is very little to show for $24 million.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-53575791302897036562013-05-08T13:20:35.666-05:002013-05-08T13:20:35.666-05:00I agree with Jack. U of C did a first rate job wit...I agree with Jack. U of C did a first rate job with their pedestrian crossings of the Midway. This work on Congress is an "almost" at best. <br /><br />I sometimes need to walk along Congress at night to access LaSalle St. station. The lighting at the underpass is <i>very</i> welcome. The addition of color to the streetscape makes it less bleak at night. The "trellises" would have been better if they didn't look so computer designed and used at least 3-4 different designs instead of being identical.<br /><br />I'd love to see trompe l'oeil murals on the stark building facades that make Congress so bleak. Something like <a href="http://goo.gl/maps/wghkf" rel="nofollow">the one at LaSalle and Division</a> would be lovely.Congress could be betternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-74244750743176122382013-05-08T10:02:45.340-05:002013-05-08T10:02:45.340-05:00Here's a video on the LA light. (They turn co...Here's a video on the LA light. (They turn colors, as well)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dOMP_g1V2sLynn Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03759748613223711212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-15579049089489156192013-05-08T09:48:34.044-05:002013-05-08T09:48:34.044-05:00When we lived in LA, they added clusters of the sa...When we lived in LA, they added clusters of the same looking lighted tubes to the grand, relandscaped entrance to LAX.<br />They're much larger, and make more of a statement.<br />Chicago's tubular version seems all out of whack.<br />The entire redo feels like it's missed the mark.<br />Lots of money spent for a very visually sloppy result.<br /><br />jim & mitchhttp://www.designslinger.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-58072735376649461042013-05-07T23:19:49.307-05:002013-05-07T23:19:49.307-05:00I agree with everything in this article and apprec...I agree with everything in this article and appreciate the additional research and perspective included.Rynohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05988010454197719434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-10130181403227914102013-05-07T17:17:13.186-05:002013-05-07T17:17:13.186-05:00you are being too kind, Lynn..
Compare this to th...you are being too kind, Lynn..<br /><br />Compare this to the sublime lighting recently installed along the midway at UofC... everything about the Congress design is amateur hour: from the mind-numbing monotony of the tomb-like "trellises" to the horrific detailing of the bases of the "pillars"(reminds me of highway light standard 1970's with the poles levitating above exposed bolts), to the lack of any thought given to their actual placement (has anyone noticed the variation in height and alignment? clearly no thought was given to either trying to align them or to any meaningful thought to how they vary), to the ridiculously over designed planter surrounds with varying heights of granite, fussy stainless rails (in 'prairie' style I suppose), to the use of both real and fake(!) (precast) rusticated granite, to precast planter boxes destined to hold nothing but trash...<br /><br />a fortune was spent on all that stainless and the result is an embarrassment for Chicago... looks like something maybe a city like Omaha would might be proud of...after some unpleasant gastro problem, Jacknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10923291.post-9415405144387858642013-05-06T11:06:30.032-05:002013-05-06T11:06:30.032-05:00An excellent article on a tough subject. Yes, I to...An excellent article on a tough subject. Yes, I too want to like what was done, but the worst part is the building-edge conditions that still exist, e.g. the south facade of the Manhattan Building, it is deplorable and has been for some forty years! This is all a good start, but only that as much still must be done.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12973756664937771746noreply@blogger.com