This past week, I had the fortunate opportunity to get a bird’s-eye-view of Chicago from the windy city’s newest sky scraper: Aqua Tower. Although Chicago’s behemoth Willis and John Hancock buildings dwarf the 82-story Aqua Tower, Aqua’s finesse and organic façade call attention to itself. Aqua advances skyward in the grandest of optical illusions; it appears as though water trickles down the exterior causing slow erosion.

Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune interviews and tours the Aqua Tower with the project architect Jeanne Gang.

Finished just a few months ago, Aqua Tower stands as the tallest building designed by a woman-led firm. Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects associates the undulating texture of the building to the “limestone outcropping and geological forces that shaped the great lakes region.”  Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune toured Aqua Tower with the architect and writes, “Gang speaks of the balconies as an ‘inhabited facade,’ conjuring visions of urban cliff dwellers enjoying a communal outdoor space on the side of a skyscraper.” The conventional volumetric box that lies at the building’s core dissolves in the waves of concrete balconies that protrude, sometimes up to twelve feet, from the surface. Moreover, they provide a different viewing experience from all angles. Whether you gaze up from street level or perch on a balcony, Aqua Tower is very photogenic.

Gracefully pushing aside the international style of planarity, the Aqua Tower redefines the urban tall-building facade. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.

posted by whitney.