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The recession of the late 2000s that crippled the American economy and some of the nation's most promising development projects is now a thing of the past. The economy has rebounded, and the birthplace of the skyscraper is once again producing a myriad of residential, office, and hotel towers. Much of the latest development activity has been centred around the confluence of the Chicago River's three branches, where there are transformative architectural and engineering endeavours reshaping each side of the Y-shaped junction.
The view westward from the Franklin Street Bridge elicited a considerably more sparse cityscape in May 2014. In only two years, the area has undergone a dramatic urban surgery of sorts. The 53-storey office block at 150 North Riverside has brought a Goettsch Partners-designed tower to the west bank of the river. Despite the narrow building footprint, large floor plates are made possible via the tower's bulging form, which slopes upwards and outwards from the central core near the base. The result is an impactful skyscraper that plays off its pristine neighbour, River Point. Also a recent addition to the Chicago skyline, the 52-storey office tower by Pickard Chilton features curved cutouts at the bottom and top of the volume.
Though it's not nearly as tall as its neighbours, the first phase of the three-tower Wolf Point development makes a similar skyline-altering statement at the centre-right of the image above. Designed by bKL Architecture, the residential complex introduces over 500 contemporary units to the neighbourhood. At ground level and abutting the bridge, the expansion of the Chicago Riverwalk continues from Franklin to Lake Street, where it will terminate. The under-construction 'Boardwalk' phase allows access from Upper Wacker Drive to the Riverwalk area, creating a landscaped recreational amenity for the city.
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