Virginia Tech Chicago Studio

Fall 2018 Final Book

CONNOR ENNIST

CHICAGO STUDIO | FALL 2018

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4 | WEST LOOP ANALYSIS 5 | SITE ANALYSIS 6 | PRECEDENTS 7 | CONCEPTS 8 | PROGRAM AND MASSING 9 | SITE PLAN 10-11 | FLOOR PLANS 12-13 | ELEVATIONS 14 | BUILDING SECTIONS 15-16 | CONNECTION DETAIL AND MATERIAL SPECS 17 | ENVIRONMENTAL/ENERGY 18-19 | EXPERIENTIAL 21 | PHOTOS 22-26 | TRAVEL SKETCHES 27 | STRUCTURE 28 | EGRESS 29 | LIFE SAFETY 30 | MEP 31 | ZONING & CODE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 | PROJECT OVERVIEW

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The intention of this project was to create an experience for the typical Equinox client that is manifested from how we perceive their lifestyles. Equinox markets for professionals who live a strenuous and high energy lifestyle. These clients pride themselves in their success, both in its intensity at the gym and the long hours of work they endure. The long hours and costly membership fees and hotel stays were seen as absurd. The constant chaos of meetings, travel, morning workouts and trying to get enough sleep is enough for anyone to shake their heads in disagreement. This opinion led us to create two towers leaning away from one another, symbolizing the constant tension we saw in the client’s lives. Having the rooms of both the hotel and residential side face each other across the ‘void’, pushed our concept into creating a comical effect where there is no time for true relaxation.

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PROJECT OVERVIEW

WEST LOOP ANALYSIS

Known as restaurant row, the West Loop neighborhood is teeming with restaurants and bars. In addition it is home to McDonald’s headquarters as recently welcomed Google to its growing number of businesses. In addition, the Kennedy Expressway runs north and south of the West Loop, making it a prime location for commuters/tourists.

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SITE ANALYSIS

Given the wind rose and sun diagram, the orientation of our building allows for it cut through the wind and achieve strong daylighting to rooms. In addition, the proximity to downtown Chicago and that it is at the West Loop gate led us to striving for a unique and iconic design that would reflect the growth the West Loop has been going through

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SITE ANALYSIS

PRECEDENTS

Willis Tower

Kluczynski Federal Building

Reflective glass makes the Willis tower read a one large volume and for a time this was of interest in our design approach

Symmetry, heavy steel and the expression of the grid were an early focus in our design approach before we broke away

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PRECEDENTS

Hancock Tower The expression of structure was the main take away of this iconic Chicago high-rise. Our elevations express the angled columns and the thinning of the structural walls as you reach the top

CONCEPTS

The progression of these massing models above, illustrates how our concept began to evolve. What started off as the concept of intersection as a volume led us to defining it as tension, as we saw the lives of Equinox clients as stress inducing. In our final weeks, the concept shifted to a more specific topic, how our experience and perception of an object can change, and allowed for further creative exploration on what this means.

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PROGRAM & MASSING

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PROGRAM AND MASSING

SITE PLAN

Located on the corner of Randolph and Halsted, the building sits at the entrance of the West Loop. The looming towers cast their presence across the historic meat packing district, the tension between the two captured in their shadows.

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SITE PLAN

FLOOR PLANS

Oriented to draw you in, the lobbys of each tower face inward as well as the bar at the ground floor. Valet services are located at each space where they will take customer vehicles and store them in an automated parking deck at the rear of the site. To enter the gym from either tower, you must exit the building to take the tapered walkway in. This act was intentional, creating a processional effect when it comes to going into the gym for your workout. Upon entering the gym, not only are you forced to endure the elements, you are walking underneath the moment of near collision between the towers.

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FLOOR PLANS

FLOOR PLANS

Taking the floor plane at the bottom, middle and top of each tower illustrates the change in each floor plate as both towers began to cantilever. As you travel up the tower, fewer units make up each floor plate due to the cut being taken at the inner corner. Units that face the corner will look across the ‘void’ at the opposing tower.

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ELEVATIONS

The process of drawing our elevations took many iterations and constant questioning. Does the building want to be heavy? What is in the foreground and background? What are we expressing? These questions led us to expressing the structure and cantilever of the towers through the application of metal plates, while the glass would have a tint that drew the focus away from it

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ELEVATIONS

NORTH ELEVATION

Our concept of how perception and experience can differ led us to choosing corten as the metal platelletes that expressed our structure and cantilever. Keeping the glass a soft grey, we wanted corten to catch your eye as you travel towards the West Loop. In addition, as the corten begins to oxidize the metal will ‘bleed’ once again changing how we perceive and experience the towers

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SECTION

Cutting away at the inner corner of the residential tower led to two elevators dropping and serving up to mid level while the remaining two service all floors

Sharing a glass curtain wall, guests at the restaurant are able to see cycling classes and avid gym-goers sweat it out. This connection allowed for our concept to reinforce the intentions of the structure

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SECTIONS

CONNECTION DETAIL

Glass panes are securely placed within silicone channels of connection points located on the edge of each concrete slab.

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Polished concrete on interior walls and floors, especially for the fitness club, as it is resilient towards heavy foot traffic and is resistant to many types of spills.

High performance glass provides thermal insulation and reduces ultraviolet rays and infrared light from entering without compromising visibile light transparency

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CONNECTION DETAIL & MATERIAL SPECIFICATIONS

Corten panels (12’ x 8’) applied to the facade of each tower. Given the cantiliever of each, the corten will weather and bleed in a unique style that builds on our concept of challenging what is your perception and what is your experience

ENVIRONMENTAL & ENERGY

Taking advantage of the tower’s occupancy, an anaerobic digester can be used to filter waste to convert to methane gas and electricity for everday use. In addition, rain water and water used daily will be recycled through a grey water system. This allows for reuse in landscaping, laundry and waste system management. The parking deck at the rear of the site is housed with solar panels on its roof to gather solar energy and distribute as needed.

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ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY

EXPERIENTIAL

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EXPERIENTIAL

EXPERIENTIAL

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APPENDIX

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PHOTOS

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PHOTOS

TRAVEL SKETCHES

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NORTH CHRISTIAN CHURCH - COLUMBUS, IN

TRAVEL SKETCHES

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FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH - COLUMBUS, IN

TRAVEL SKETCHES

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CITY HALL - COLUMBUS, IN

TRAVEL SKETCHES

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UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI - CINCINATTI, OH

TRAVEL SKETCHES

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CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER - ZAHA HADID

STRUCTURE

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STRUCTURE

EGRESS

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EGRESS

LIFE SAFETY

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LIFE SAFETY

MEP PLANS

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MEP

CODE & ZONING

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