Chicago. You beautiful city.
While London is my first love, and Paris my occasional mistress, Chicago, you might be the one that got away.
The wandering around town - something I'm very fond of anywhere - made all the better by random conversations with other tourists, genuine locals, helpful staff.
Awe inspiring grandeur, ornament of the sort that would have caused Adolf Loos to have a stroke. These heavily decorated pediments reaching up bravely to fight off the clouds, to investigate the heavens.
Art galleries for free. The Art Institute, (admittedly only in February) free! The Graham Foundation at the Madlener House, Free! Beer on the 96th floor of the Hancock $8 (instead of $25 for the observatory)
Underground train to the airport $2.25. Holler this from the rooftops $2.25 to the airport!
This must be something to do with the return to 1996 stock prices.
Among the meetings staffed by survivors, replacements and volunteers, between bathing in Impressionist Art and hanging out among the structural chains of Balmond's Tensegrity installations, there was the wonderful hosting of evilplatypus and make. Gentlemen of the mid-west. Your city is fine, and your manners are impeccable. If in London, holler, there are restaurants, bars, and ladies with loose morals awaiting your arrival.
How can you get a $5 million PR contract? What do you bill at? Why don't you use your own employees at $20 an hour?
The Daley administration has signed another $5 million public relations contract -- bringing the citywide total to 11 firms and $55 million -- to augment the highly controlled message coming out of City Hall.
Mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard insisted last fall that not a penny would be paid to outside spin doctors until Chicago's budget crisis is over.
Mayor Daley's administration has signed contracts with 11 public relations firms at $5 million apiece. His aide said the deals wouldn't be paid out while the city is in a budget crisis.
(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)
At the time, Heard argued that three new contracts awarded in early October had been finalized "prior to the decision to issue a moratorium on these kinds of contracts."
Although the budget crisis has only gotten worse since then, the Department of Environment signed yet another $5 million contract on Feb. 17 with Cultural Communications LLC.
Contacted Monday, Heard was surprised to learn that an 11th PR contract had been awarded, contrary to her public pronouncement. When she inquired further, she learned it was for "translation services."
"A lot of pamphlets and brochures we do are in English. Often, the information needs to be communicated [to neighborhoods] where English isn't the first language," she said.
But, Heard said, "No funds have been expended, and it's highly unlikely any will in this economic climate. Every department is aware of our financial constraints, and these types of services are not considered essential."
Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) called the latest contract "wrongheaded" at a time when declining revenues have poked a $50.5 million hole in Daley's 2009 budget, setting the stage for more layoffs and union concessions
A new mall? A NEw MALL! I didnt know they even built them anymore. The last one I recall going up was maybe Shamburg place? Maybe 1990? Its been a long time. Sorry no pics yet but Im sure it's going to be Rosemont's finest structure.
No thats the Muvico theater with some office buildings behind it - Note the dryvit Peguses over the brow - classy. I can only hope the mall can match Rosemont's standard for design excellence.
The mall is going accross from this treasure - its empty land along the tri state under the glidepath at O'Hare. Ive always wondered what would happen if one of the airplanes was short of the runway - should we put malls and stadiums at the end of runways? Seems like a bad idea.
holy cow i couldnt believe that was a real building............... well... its good to know... now, no matter how bad it gets at work, i will always know i could be doing way, way, way worse...
ohhhhh crap, that thing is a dryvit monstrosity. and what a waste of money on that canopy. unless you can extend the canopy over the entire parking lot -- which is how people will experience the entrance to this building -- it is a waste of time, for everyone except the pre-teens and handicapped people that will actually get dropped off.
After the initial reaction wore off, it should be a good sign if a major global company wants to make it their western Hemisphere headquarters. That is a story all by itself!
Agreed. Investment in the city is a good thing. I tend to get attached to the original names of things, but then again this isn't named after a historic figure or former Chicago mayor or anything like that, it is just another major corporation, so perhaps I should get off my high horse about it.
Interesting that architecture means the everday built reality for most everyone except architects to whom the term architecture is an ideal.
I still like the blog although it can get cheesy sometimes - like the topic of vanishing chocolate shops. I guess it just helps take the pulse of the everday urban dweller. I'll take it over BK's pomous rantings at skyline where he berates anyone disagreeing with him.
I came across this online while looking for something else, and I thought some people here might be interested. I have no idea if this is from an official press release or not.
New 5000-Series CTA railcars:
Pretty sharp, IMO... Given that the CTA has been using basically the same railcar design for almost 40 years, this is a big leap forward.
Some of the CTA cars are 60+ years old the ones with the columns in the middle of the doors. The best subway cars I have been on are the new ones in the Roman Metro. Very nice.
Unfortunately I think the trains are only part of the problem.
The tracks and support structures need to be brought up to speed as well. The whole system should really be overhauled and consolidated to reduce excess costs on low ridership areas. The savings could then be funnelled into improving the most critical areas, like the loop. Trains should be flying through the loop, not in constant deadlock like they are now.
im in agreement that the whole system needs to be updated... ideally the elevated tracks would all be of orange line quality, but lets be realistic, thats virtually impossible. im not sure how the money would ever be made available for such a large scale project. i do however feel like the cta over the past year has improved its direction. especially in regards to the steady and predictable progress the red/brown line update has been. as well as the blue line slow zone reductions which have been an absolute god send compared to two summers ago.
good news is that in the omnibus package there is an additional 6mil just for the cta's circle line. its looking more and more like that project is imminent, with or without the Olympics.
personally i think its a must, and will significantly help the congestion in the loop... there are a lot of people transferring at clark and lake who would rather transfer further out...
in regards to those trains... im psyched... they are supposed to start showing up this year and will not only look much better, but accelerate, brake and in general ride much smoother...
no more having to keep an eye on unsavvy cta riders who dont know just how firmly they have to hold on...
ps... my favorite is when you see someone taking their time sitting down in those seats that run parallel with the direction of travel... juuuust about to sit down, mid crouch, when the train takes off. they inevitably end up in the lap of a neighbor... i always giggle...
Trust me, the AC propulsion system is a godsend... Here in NYC, there's a huge difference in ride quality between the newer generation of cars and the old cars with DC traction. Chicago is in for a treat.
I just hope the CTA rejoins the rest of the world and reintroduces air brakes on the new trains, instead of the horrible electric friction brakes they use now. The main reason CTA trains are so horribly loud is because of all the flat spots on the wheels caused by the brakes constantly locking up.
I'd also like to see the CTA invest more in the stations. I kind of have to slap my foreheard when I visit the newly rebuilt brown line stops and see that they still have wooden decking. Of course the stations look better than they did, but it seems like a wasted opportunity. They had a chance to make a real investment and bring them up to modern standards and use Concrete.
That rendering is from the December 2008 Customer Communications Report to the CTA board (page 19). Other than the end bonnet aesthetics, there is no difference. Several other headlight arrangements were presented in the January 2008 President's Report (pages 34 to 36). I'm guessing the design isn't final yet, but since the rendering above is the most recent one, that's probably the direction the design is headed.
Page 27 of the second link has a graph with some interesting ridership numbers in comparison to other cities' transit systems, and the rest of the document has plenty of other interesting info to chew on.
Anybody getting more work in Chicago these days? Or is it all still doom and gloom? It's doom and gloom from my perspective, with a sprinkling of far-off projects that may never materialize into billable hours...
Keeping the wooden decking in those stations was a nice touch, Syn, and doesn't perform any worse than the concrete. So why not keep it? I like it. Makes the platforms seem less massive, which is a good thing since they squat over the urban fabric.
I'm against the new trains b/c of the interior design... but I've ranted on here about that enough. Those 60yr old blue line trains with the center pole @ the door are AWFUL. They are so loud that even above ground I find myself covering my ears against the rattling. I have literally told myself "I will never live on the blue line if I have to commute on these every day".
My main project at the moment is a huge subway platform/mezzanine re-flooring project here in the NYC area, and my co-workers think I'm full of shit when I tell them Chicago has wooden platforms, even on the new stations. Here in NYC, it's almost always poured concrete on above-ground stations, and granite or porcelain tile in below-ground stations.
Slip resistance is the major criteria for platform flooring, followed closely by ease of cleaning and durability. I guess the major reason for using wood would be to cut down on weight so that the structure doesn't need to be as beefy, but considering the structure is already designed to support fully-loaded subway trains, I don't think the extra weight of a concrete platform would make a huge difference. I'd be curious to know the CTA's rationale for continued use of wood as a flooring material. It certainly looks better than concrete, but the CTA has never been known to make any big decisions purely on aesthetic merit.
Does the Blue Line terminal at O'Hare still have that rubber floor, or did they replace it with tile? I always thought the rubber looked pretty cool in that station, but they always had major problems with it becoming delaminated from the substrate.
Interesting, I guess I'm the minority, but I think the wood looks worse than the concrete. To me it just screws old fashioned and rustic, and not in a good way. I want to think of mass transit systems as modern, sleek, silent etc. not creaky, load and rustic. Some other paver or classier system would be ideal for me, but I'll take the concrete over the wood.
Mantaray, I believe the trains are the most urban thing we have in our urban fabric, why do the trains need to be subdued? let them stand tall, not loud, but powerfully.
I don’t like wood platforms either but I do not want the CTA maintenance crews to have to become experts in ruining another material. CTA should be wood, glass, concrete, ceramic tile, brick, and painted metal and nothing else. All these things can be fixed in house quickly but rubber tiles or other unproven materials need to be carefully tested preferably on some other system in some other state. I’m all for a system wide restriction on materials but not design. A good designer can come up with some interesting things with the limited pallet listed above. I think wood platforms also waste the opportunity to incorporate de icing since the stupid 10-20 million dollar brown line stations failed to protect the entire platform from the elements. And I don’t think one firm should design every station with relatively the same design elements. Each station should be designed by different architects.
I agree about the wood platforms, although I can see the rationale for keeping them at restored historic stations such as Quincy/Wells and Milwaukee/Damen... For new construction, though, my ideal urban transit system is more along the lines of the Washington Metro and less along the lines of Ye Olde Time Elevated Railroad.
Most large transit systems do fairly extensive materials testing on their own, and many will have design standards that include an approved palette of materials and finishes. I have no idea if the CTA has anything like that or not.
Transit systems also look at each other for ideas, and most generally look to the NYC subway system as the ultimate proving ground for materials and technology. If only because of its sheer size compared to most other systems, the MTA often ends up setting the de facto standards for the rest of the country. If the MTA decides that a certain brand of porcelain tile is acceptable for their use, smaller systems like Cleveland or Pittsburgh can often be counted on to spec the same tile for themselves a short time later.
I'm pretty sure Chicago has a similar set of standards, the materials are consistent across stations.
PJN26
I don't have a problem with uniform stations, it seems more functional to have them consistent, otherwise it can be confusing, especially for people not accustomed to the CTA and mass transit systems. I can except keeping the specific historic stations, but I wouldn't go out of my way to commission altogether unique designs aesthetics and elements for each station. That being said, many of the stations are positioned in unique locations so the solutions wind having their own character anyways. Paying for completely unique design elements doesn't see like a worthwhile expense to me.
People getting lost is a failure of architectural and signage design, more signage than architectural. I like the way Zurich deals with their commuter rail systems, each station is more than a utilitarian conduit but a destination in of it’s self. Many opportunities exist for CTA stations to be something more than just platforms stairs and elevators. New stations should be imbedded into transit oriented urban development.
The stations could incorporate more features, such as retail, without having unique designs. Utility is a good thing, it means the system actually does something of use. I’m not asking for the system to be specifically devoid of color, curves and textures, just saying the idea of commissioning unique designs for each station seems more self serving than actually addressing real concerns for the system. It was you who pointed out the CTAs ongoing struggle to maintain and clean the current stations and materials, wouldn’t this problem be exacerbated by introducing unique designs for every station?
I’d like to see some of the prominent stations in the loop start interacting with the city around them. Specifically it would be nice if they incorporated retail spaces into the stations and reworked their entrances and exists so that the subway stations could also function as underground sidewalks during the winter season. I imagine If you could increase the foot traffic down to and passed the stations it would help alleviate some of the cleanliness problems by eliminating the hidden corners and spaces that people use to relieve themselves in etc. It would become more like the busy public sidewalks which generate enough traffic and attention to keep people in line. It would also encourage people to ride if there were either a subway walking path or elevated path that would leave them at their buildings door, or even better, inside their building.
I like the wood platforms. Treated wood can last 20 years or more at a fraction of the cost of hard surfaces and saves millions of dollars in cleaning and mantainance costs. You get the tactile surface as well as the deck material all in one. Wood is actually the most logical choice.
I think wood is ok but only where the platform is covered. There have been many times I nearly slipped on black ice which forms on wood decking first. And the treated lumber is a nonstarter for me since the chemicals used are very toxic or very expensive. I also disagree with the notion that wood decking is more slip resistant when wet than concrete.
Ice forms just as easily on concrete pj - plus the wood absorbs some of the moisture and has gaps so you dont get as much ponding. Its just a simple basic common sense material. Just because its old doesnt mean its a bad choice. Some of the realy old Northern Michigan doug fir is still found all around the city as structural lintels in masonry buildings!
The Eastern White Pine has the distinction of being the tallest tree in eastern North America. White pine forests originally covered much of northeastern North America, though only one percent of the original trees remain untouched by extensive logging operations in the 1700s and 1800s. In natural pre-colonial stands it is reported to have grown to as tall as 70 meters (230 ft) tall, at least on rare occasions. Even greater heights have been attributed to the species referenced in popular accounts such as Robert Pike's "Tall Trees, Tough Men", but the accounts are unverifiable. The current tallest pines as measured by the Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) reach to between 50 and 57.54 meters (160-188.8 ft). Within the Northeast, currently, 8 sites located in 4 states have been confirmed by ENTS to have trees over 48 m (160 ft) in height. The southern Appalachians have even more locations and the tallest pines growing today. Three locations in the Southeast and one site in the Northeast have been identified with white pines to 55 meters (180 ft) tall. One survivor is a specimen known as the "Boogerman Pine" in the Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At 57.54 m (188.54 ft) tall, it is the tallest accurately measured tree in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. It has been climbed and measured by tape drop by the Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS). Before it lost its top in Hurricane Opal in October 1995, the Boogerman Pine was 63 m (207 ft) tall as determined by Will Blozan and Robert Leverett using ground-based measurement methods. The current height champion white pine of the Northeast is the Longfellow Pine in Cook Forest State Park, PA. It also has been climbed and measured by tape drop. Its current height is 55.96 m (183.6 ft). Within New England, a tree in the Mohawk Trail State Forest known as the Jake Swamp Tree is 51.54 m (169.1 ft) tall as of August 2008. The Jake Swamp Pine is the tallest accurately measured tree of any species in New England. It was climbed and tape drop-measured in November 1998 and again in October 2001. It is scheduled to be climbed and measured a third time in November 2008. Precise measurements are maintained on this tree by ENTS.
Diameters of the larger pines range from 1.0-1.6 m (3-5 ft). However, singled-trunk white pines in both the Northeast and Southeast with diameters over 1.45 m (4.75 ft) are exceedingly rare. Notable big pine sites of 40 ha (100 acres) or less will often have no more than 2 or 3 trees in the 1.2 to 1.4 m (4-4.5 ft) diameter class. A typical large white pine will be in the 3.0 to 3.7 m (10-12 ft) circumference range. Undocumented reports from colonial America reported diameters of virgin white pines of up to 8 feet in diameter (Ling, 2003).
Eastern White Pine in Arrowhead Provincial Park along Big East River
Total trunk volumes of the largest white pines are around 28 cubic meters (1,000 cubic feet) with some past giants reaching a possible 37 or 40 m³ (1,300 or 1,400 cu ft). Photographic analysis of giant pines suggests volumes closer to 34 m³ (1,200 cu ft). Outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, other areas with known remaining virgin stands as confirmed by the Eastern Native Tree Society include Algonquin Provincial Park, Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario; Algoma Highlands, Ontario; Huron Mountains, Michigan (Upper Peninsula); Estivant Pines in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula; Hartwick Pines State Park; Menomonie Indian Reservation, northeastern Wisconsin; Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota; the Lost 40 Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) near Blackduck, Minnesota; and White Pines State Park, Illinois, Cook Forest State Park, Hearts Conent Natural Area, and Anders Run, all in Pennsylvania; Linville Gorge, North Carolina.
Aggregate Chicago
Chicago. You beautiful city.
While London is my first love, and Paris my occasional mistress, Chicago, you might be the one that got away.
The wandering around town - something I'm very fond of anywhere - made all the better by random conversations with other tourists, genuine locals, helpful staff.
Awe inspiring grandeur, ornament of the sort that would have caused Adolf Loos to have a stroke. These heavily decorated pediments reaching up bravely to fight off the clouds, to investigate the heavens.
Art galleries for free. The Art Institute, (admittedly only in February) free! The Graham Foundation at the Madlener House, Free! Beer on the 96th floor of the Hancock $8 (instead of $25 for the observatory)
Underground train to the airport $2.25. Holler this from the rooftops $2.25 to the airport!
This must be something to do with the return to 1996 stock prices.
Among the meetings staffed by survivors, replacements and volunteers, between bathing in Impressionist Art and hanging out among the structural chains of Balmond's Tensegrity installations, there was the wonderful hosting of evilplatypus and make. Gentlemen of the mid-west. Your city is fine, and your manners are impeccable. If in London, holler, there are restaurants, bars, and ladies with loose morals awaiting your arrival.
It was a good time, I'll shoot you an email. Let's do it again!
This is why our taxes are so high:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/1457381,CST-NWS-pr03.article
How can you get a $5 million PR contract? What do you bill at? Why don't you use your own employees at $20 an hour?
The Daley administration has signed another $5 million public relations contract -- bringing the citywide total to 11 firms and $55 million -- to augment the highly controlled message coming out of City Hall.
Mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard insisted last fall that not a penny would be paid to outside spin doctors until Chicago's budget crisis is over.
Mayor Daley's administration has signed contracts with 11 public relations firms at $5 million apiece. His aide said the deals wouldn't be paid out while the city is in a budget crisis.
(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)
At the time, Heard argued that three new contracts awarded in early October had been finalized "prior to the decision to issue a moratorium on these kinds of contracts."
Although the budget crisis has only gotten worse since then, the Department of Environment signed yet another $5 million contract on Feb. 17 with Cultural Communications LLC.
Contacted Monday, Heard was surprised to learn that an 11th PR contract had been awarded, contrary to her public pronouncement. When she inquired further, she learned it was for "translation services."
"A lot of pamphlets and brochures we do are in English. Often, the information needs to be communicated [to neighborhoods] where English isn't the first language," she said.
But, Heard said, "No funds have been expended, and it's highly unlikely any will in this economic climate. Every department is aware of our financial constraints, and these types of services are not considered essential."
Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) called the latest contract "wrongheaded" at a time when declining revenues have poked a $50.5 million hole in Daley's 2009 budget, setting the stage for more layoffs and union concessions
A new mall? A NEw MALL! I didnt know they even built them anymore. The last one I recall going up was maybe Shamburg place? Maybe 1990? Its been a long time. Sorry no pics yet but Im sure it's going to be Rosemont's finest structure.
[url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu-rosemont-mall-05mar05,0,467056.story
]lcrib[/url]
How could one make this cityscape any more appealing?
is that a rendering?
No thats the Muvico theater with some office buildings behind it - Note the dryvit Peguses over the brow - classy. I can only hope the mall can match Rosemont's standard for design excellence.
The mall is going accross from this treasure - its empty land along the tri state under the glidepath at O'Hare. Ive always wondered what would happen if one of the airplanes was short of the runway - should we put malls and stadiums at the end of runways? Seems like a bad idea.
holy cow i couldnt believe that was a real building............... well... its good to know... now, no matter how bad it gets at work, i will always know i could be doing way, way, way worse...
ohhhhh crap, that thing is a dryvit monstrosity. and what a waste of money on that canopy. unless you can extend the canopy over the entire parking lot -- which is how people will experience the entrance to this building -- it is a waste of time, for everyone except the pre-teens and handicapped people that will actually get dropped off.
I guess the Dryvit is a blessing in disguise... At least it will all be rotting away in five years.
possible sears tower name change
After the initial reaction wore off, it should be a good sign if a major global company wants to make it their western Hemisphere headquarters. That is a story all by itself!
Agreed. Investment in the city is a good thing. I tend to get attached to the original names of things, but then again this isn't named after a historic figure or former Chicago mayor or anything like that, it is just another major corporation, so perhaps I should get off my high horse about it.
That's an "architecture blog"?
The writer says of 190 S Lasalle: "[a]skyscraper that epitomizes the 90's aesthetic."
It was finished in 1986 and is one of Johnson's better PoMo jobs. It has little to do with the 90s.
It's an aggregation of mainly articles on retail. The person shows no knowledge of architecture.
Ha! take that unknown blogger, writing for nothing but your own personal interest! how dare thee!
Syn,
Don't call it an Architecture Blog, that's all.
Im basicaly the only commenter on that blog -
Interesting that architecture means the everday built reality for most everyone except architects to whom the term architecture is an ideal.
I still like the blog although it can get cheesy sometimes - like the topic of vanishing chocolate shops. I guess it just helps take the pulse of the everday urban dweller. I'll take it over BK's pomous rantings at skyline where he berates anyone disagreeing with him.
where's that new Willis Tower at? I hear it's really tall.
I don't entirely disagree with you, Evil.
FYI the modernist cupcake shop was open this afternoon and the interior is really interesting! More later...
Just drank with some Irishmen from Galway which sucks cause my family's from Mayo - cunts the all of them
I came across this online while looking for something else, and I thought some people here might be interested. I have no idea if this is from an official press release or not.
New 5000-Series CTA railcars:
Pretty sharp, IMO... Given that the CTA has been using basically the same railcar design for almost 40 years, this is a big leap forward.
Some of the CTA cars are 60+ years old the ones with the columns in the middle of the doors. The best subway cars I have been on are the new ones in the Roman Metro. Very nice.
Unfortunately I think the trains are only part of the problem.
The tracks and support structures need to be brought up to speed as well. The whole system should really be overhauled and consolidated to reduce excess costs on low ridership areas. The savings could then be funnelled into improving the most critical areas, like the loop. Trains should be flying through the loop, not in constant deadlock like they are now.
im in agreement that the whole system needs to be updated... ideally the elevated tracks would all be of orange line quality, but lets be realistic, thats virtually impossible. im not sure how the money would ever be made available for such a large scale project. i do however feel like the cta over the past year has improved its direction. especially in regards to the steady and predictable progress the red/brown line update has been. as well as the blue line slow zone reductions which have been an absolute god send compared to two summers ago.
good news is that in the omnibus package there is an additional 6mil just for the cta's circle line. its looking more and more like that project is imminent, with or without the Olympics.
personally i think its a must, and will significantly help the congestion in the loop... there are a lot of people transferring at clark and lake who would rather transfer further out...
in regards to those trains... im psyched... they are supposed to start showing up this year and will not only look much better, but accelerate, brake and in general ride much smoother...
no more having to keep an eye on unsavvy cta riders who dont know just how firmly they have to hold on...
ps... my favorite is when you see someone taking their time sitting down in those seats that run parallel with the direction of travel... juuuust about to sit down, mid crouch, when the train takes off. they inevitably end up in the lap of a neighbor... i always giggle...
also im gonna have to keep track...
i want to break the 2000 comment barrier on my baby here...
good ole' aggregate chicago...
Trust me, the AC propulsion system is a godsend... Here in NYC, there's a huge difference in ride quality between the newer generation of cars and the old cars with DC traction. Chicago is in for a treat.
I just hope the CTA rejoins the rest of the world and reintroduces air brakes on the new trains, instead of the horrible electric friction brakes they use now. The main reason CTA trains are so horribly loud is because of all the flat spots on the wheels caused by the brakes constantly locking up.
Nice input LIG. I'll look out for out.
I'd also like to see the CTA invest more in the stations. I kind of have to slap my foreheard when I visit the newly rebuilt brown line stops and see that they still have wooden decking. Of course the stations look better than they did, but it seems like a wasted opportunity. They had a chance to make a real investment and bring them up to modern standards and use Concrete.
I'll even look out for IT! too. :)
a little more chicago in washington
As a follow-up to the CTA rendering above:
That rendering is from the December 2008 Customer Communications Report to the CTA board (page 19). Other than the end bonnet aesthetics, there is no difference. Several other headlight arrangements were presented in the January 2008 President's Report (pages 34 to 36). I'm guessing the design isn't final yet, but since the rendering above is the most recent one, that's probably the direction the design is headed.
Page 27 of the second link has a graph with some interesting ridership numbers in comparison to other cities' transit systems, and the rest of the document has plenty of other interesting info to chew on.
Anybody getting more work in Chicago these days? Or is it all still doom and gloom? It's doom and gloom from my perspective, with a sprinkling of far-off projects that may never materialize into billable hours...
Keeping the wooden decking in those stations was a nice touch, Syn, and doesn't perform any worse than the concrete. So why not keep it? I like it. Makes the platforms seem less massive, which is a good thing since they squat over the urban fabric.
I'm against the new trains b/c of the interior design... but I've ranted on here about that enough. Those 60yr old blue line trains with the center pole @ the door are AWFUL. They are so loud that even above ground I find myself covering my ears against the rattling. I have literally told myself "I will never live on the blue line if I have to commute on these every day".
I'm all for extra tactility in the urban environment. Our feet hit hard pavement enough -- three cheers for wooden platforms!
My main project at the moment is a huge subway platform/mezzanine re-flooring project here in the NYC area, and my co-workers think I'm full of shit when I tell them Chicago has wooden platforms, even on the new stations. Here in NYC, it's almost always poured concrete on above-ground stations, and granite or porcelain tile in below-ground stations.
Slip resistance is the major criteria for platform flooring, followed closely by ease of cleaning and durability. I guess the major reason for using wood would be to cut down on weight so that the structure doesn't need to be as beefy, but considering the structure is already designed to support fully-loaded subway trains, I don't think the extra weight of a concrete platform would make a huge difference. I'd be curious to know the CTA's rationale for continued use of wood as a flooring material. It certainly looks better than concrete, but the CTA has never been known to make any big decisions purely on aesthetic merit.
Does the Blue Line terminal at O'Hare still have that rubber floor, or did they replace it with tile? I always thought the rubber looked pretty cool in that station, but they always had major problems with it becoming delaminated from the substrate.
Interesting, I guess I'm the minority, but I think the wood looks worse than the concrete. To me it just screws old fashioned and rustic, and not in a good way. I want to think of mass transit systems as modern, sleek, silent etc. not creaky, load and rustic. Some other paver or classier system would be ideal for me, but I'll take the concrete over the wood.
Mantaray, I believe the trains are the most urban thing we have in our urban fabric, why do the trains need to be subdued? let them stand tall, not loud, but powerfully.
wow, i really can't type.
that should have read "To me it just screams old fashioned and rustic, and not in a good way"
now don't go getting all Freudian on me...
I don’t like wood platforms either but I do not want the CTA maintenance crews to have to become experts in ruining another material. CTA should be wood, glass, concrete, ceramic tile, brick, and painted metal and nothing else. All these things can be fixed in house quickly but rubber tiles or other unproven materials need to be carefully tested preferably on some other system in some other state. I’m all for a system wide restriction on materials but not design. A good designer can come up with some interesting things with the limited pallet listed above. I think wood platforms also waste the opportunity to incorporate de icing since the stupid 10-20 million dollar brown line stations failed to protect the entire platform from the elements. And I don’t think one firm should design every station with relatively the same design elements. Each station should be designed by different architects.
I agree about the wood platforms, although I can see the rationale for keeping them at restored historic stations such as Quincy/Wells and Milwaukee/Damen... For new construction, though, my ideal urban transit system is more along the lines of the Washington Metro and less along the lines of Ye Olde Time Elevated Railroad.
(cross-posted with PJN26)
Most large transit systems do fairly extensive materials testing on their own, and many will have design standards that include an approved palette of materials and finishes. I have no idea if the CTA has anything like that or not.
Transit systems also look at each other for ideas, and most generally look to the NYC subway system as the ultimate proving ground for materials and technology. If only because of its sheer size compared to most other systems, the MTA often ends up setting the de facto standards for the rest of the country. If the MTA decides that a certain brand of porcelain tile is acceptable for their use, smaller systems like Cleveland or Pittsburgh can often be counted on to spec the same tile for themselves a short time later.
I'm pretty sure Chicago has a similar set of standards, the materials are consistent across stations.
PJN26
I don't have a problem with uniform stations, it seems more functional to have them consistent, otherwise it can be confusing, especially for people not accustomed to the CTA and mass transit systems. I can except keeping the specific historic stations, but I wouldn't go out of my way to commission altogether unique designs aesthetics and elements for each station. That being said, many of the stations are positioned in unique locations so the solutions wind having their own character anyways. Paying for completely unique design elements doesn't see like a worthwhile expense to me.
People getting lost is a failure of architectural and signage design, more signage than architectural. I like the way Zurich deals with their commuter rail systems, each station is more than a utilitarian conduit but a destination in of it’s self. Many opportunities exist for CTA stations to be something more than just platforms stairs and elevators. New stations should be imbedded into transit oriented urban development.
The stations could incorporate more features, such as retail, without having unique designs. Utility is a good thing, it means the system actually does something of use. I’m not asking for the system to be specifically devoid of color, curves and textures, just saying the idea of commissioning unique designs for each station seems more self serving than actually addressing real concerns for the system. It was you who pointed out the CTAs ongoing struggle to maintain and clean the current stations and materials, wouldn’t this problem be exacerbated by introducing unique designs for every station?
I’d like to see some of the prominent stations in the loop start interacting with the city around them. Specifically it would be nice if they incorporated retail spaces into the stations and reworked their entrances and exists so that the subway stations could also function as underground sidewalks during the winter season. I imagine If you could increase the foot traffic down to and passed the stations it would help alleviate some of the cleanliness problems by eliminating the hidden corners and spaces that people use to relieve themselves in etc. It would become more like the busy public sidewalks which generate enough traffic and attention to keep people in line. It would also encourage people to ride if there were either a subway walking path or elevated path that would leave them at their buildings door, or even better, inside their building.
I like the wood platforms. Treated wood can last 20 years or more at a fraction of the cost of hard surfaces and saves millions of dollars in cleaning and mantainance costs. You get the tactile surface as well as the deck material all in one. Wood is actually the most logical choice.
I think wood is ok but only where the platform is covered. There have been many times I nearly slipped on black ice which forms on wood decking first. And the treated lumber is a nonstarter for me since the chemicals used are very toxic or very expensive. I also disagree with the notion that wood decking is more slip resistant when wet than concrete.
Ice forms just as easily on concrete pj - plus the wood absorbs some of the moisture and has gaps so you dont get as much ponding. Its just a simple basic common sense material. Just because its old doesnt mean its a bad choice. Some of the realy old Northern Michigan doug fir is still found all around the city as structural lintels in masonry buildings!
Evil,
It's white pine. (If it was from Michigan.)
The Eastern White Pine has the distinction of being the tallest tree in eastern North America. White pine forests originally covered much of northeastern North America, though only one percent of the original trees remain untouched by extensive logging operations in the 1700s and 1800s. In natural pre-colonial stands it is reported to have grown to as tall as 70 meters (230 ft) tall, at least on rare occasions. Even greater heights have been attributed to the species referenced in popular accounts such as Robert Pike's "Tall Trees, Tough Men", but the accounts are unverifiable. The current tallest pines as measured by the Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) reach to between 50 and 57.54 meters (160-188.8 ft). Within the Northeast, currently, 8 sites located in 4 states have been confirmed by ENTS to have trees over 48 m (160 ft) in height. The southern Appalachians have even more locations and the tallest pines growing today. Three locations in the Southeast and one site in the Northeast have been identified with white pines to 55 meters (180 ft) tall. One survivor is a specimen known as the "Boogerman Pine" in the Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. At 57.54 m (188.54 ft) tall, it is the tallest accurately measured tree in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. It has been climbed and measured by tape drop by the Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS). Before it lost its top in Hurricane Opal in October 1995, the Boogerman Pine was 63 m (207 ft) tall as determined by Will Blozan and Robert Leverett using ground-based measurement methods. The current height champion white pine of the Northeast is the Longfellow Pine in Cook Forest State Park, PA. It also has been climbed and measured by tape drop. Its current height is 55.96 m (183.6 ft). Within New England, a tree in the Mohawk Trail State Forest known as the Jake Swamp Tree is 51.54 m (169.1 ft) tall as of August 2008. The Jake Swamp Pine is the tallest accurately measured tree of any species in New England. It was climbed and tape drop-measured in November 1998 and again in October 2001. It is scheduled to be climbed and measured a third time in November 2008. Precise measurements are maintained on this tree by ENTS.
Diameters of the larger pines range from 1.0-1.6 m (3-5 ft). However, singled-trunk white pines in both the Northeast and Southeast with diameters over 1.45 m (4.75 ft) are exceedingly rare. Notable big pine sites of 40 ha (100 acres) or less will often have no more than 2 or 3 trees in the 1.2 to 1.4 m (4-4.5 ft) diameter class. A typical large white pine will be in the 3.0 to 3.7 m (10-12 ft) circumference range. Undocumented reports from colonial America reported diameters of virgin white pines of up to 8 feet in diameter (Ling, 2003).
Eastern White Pine in Arrowhead Provincial Park along Big East River
Total trunk volumes of the largest white pines are around 28 cubic meters (1,000 cubic feet) with some past giants reaching a possible 37 or 40 m³ (1,300 or 1,400 cu ft). Photographic analysis of giant pines suggests volumes closer to 34 m³ (1,200 cu ft). Outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, other areas with known remaining virgin stands as confirmed by the Eastern Native Tree Society include Algonquin Provincial Park, Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario; Algoma Highlands, Ontario; Huron Mountains, Michigan (Upper Peninsula); Estivant Pines in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula; Hartwick Pines State Park; Menomonie Indian Reservation, northeastern Wisconsin; Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota; the Lost 40 Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) near Blackduck, Minnesota; and White Pines State Park, Illinois, Cook Forest State Park, Hearts Conent Natural Area, and Anders Run, all in Pennsylvania; Linville Gorge, North Carolina.
Thats nice but doug fir grew there too. Half this city is built with fir - its the orange wood you see in all the lofts
Doug Fir didn't grow in Michigan until the 19th century when it was planted for Christmas trees.
Hey now guys, this is the aggregate chicago thread, not Michigan tree talk, take it outside. :)
;-)
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