Zephyr
Active Member
While there were several lead designers involved with this building, all within SOM, Trump International Hotel & Tower - Chicago was last touched by Adrian D. Smith, a Chicago-born and still based architect, who also designed Jin Min Tower in Shanghai, and the next tallest building in the world, the Burj Dubai.
You'll never meet a more modest man than Smith. I met him only once at University. He was so unassuming as to appear to be just an observer, when he was in fact, on that day, the main event.
He rescued this Chicago building after it had gone through a reportedly 50 plus model changes. The public only saw a few of them, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that most of them were horrified at what they saw, before Smith got involved.
If you look at a few of his buildings in Chicago, the setback for him is common, while it is not so typical of SOM - Chicago. His detailing is impeccable, but the execution here has been criticised by many, including Toronto's own - you guessed it - Christopher Hume.
In the final analysis, this is not cutting-edge design, as is Calatrava's Chicago Spire up the River at the lake, and Smith readily admits that. We are told that Trump was livid when Smith said on a local TV show that he too was a fan of Calatrava - but that is a story for another day and another place.
You'll never meet a more modest man than Smith. I met him only once at University. He was so unassuming as to appear to be just an observer, when he was in fact, on that day, the main event.
He rescued this Chicago building after it had gone through a reportedly 50 plus model changes. The public only saw a few of them, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that most of them were horrified at what they saw, before Smith got involved.
If you look at a few of his buildings in Chicago, the setback for him is common, while it is not so typical of SOM - Chicago. His detailing is impeccable, but the execution here has been criticised by many, including Toronto's own - you guessed it - Christopher Hume.
In the final analysis, this is not cutting-edge design, as is Calatrava's Chicago Spire up the River at the lake, and Smith readily admits that. We are told that Trump was livid when Smith said on a local TV show that he too was a fan of Calatrava - but that is a story for another day and another place.
