Global firm Gensler has proposed an alternative skyscraper concept for the waterfront site in Chicago where a spiralling, supertall condominium tower by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava was slated to rise. The new supertall skyscraper will be called Gateway Tower. The building will house a mixed-use program, with condos, rental apartments, two hotels and tourist attractions.
The designers at the architectural firm Gensler have imagined the high-profile waterfront location as an iconic, mixed-use, mega-tall attraction. Retaining the same 2,000-foot height as the original Spire design, the Gensler concept trades the twisting whimsicality of Calatrava’s narwhal tusk for more of a Chicago-style aesthetic expressed through structural X-bracing.
The aim of the design was not just to pen a very tall tower, but to explore the untapped mixed-use possibilities of the prominent site. The solution was to create an anti-tower, one that was not designed purely as an object to look at but rather one that is engaging at different scales to the entire city, one that would welcome newcomers as it simultaneously embraces locals.
Status: Unbuilt
Location: Chicago, IL, US
Firm Role: Visualization, Photography
Additional Credits: Gensler, Tomorrow AB
