0552 Exponential population growth and the rapid pace of technological progress call for new developments in architectural design. The populace builds taller skyscrapers, however, to accommodate more than city growth and technological advances. With this in mind, we propose a new vision for a high-rise habitat for the city of Chicago. Pinnacle, a 104-story, 1,400 foot tall skyscraper embodies the unique characteristics of Chicago’s architectural history and planning through structural expression, public green spaces, and sustainable endeavors. The concept of Pinnacle inspires the reinvigoration of the discourse on the city’s role in design evolution, once again making Chicago the avant-garde of 21st century contemporary architecture.
47%
Albuquerque
Vegetative Land Cover
New York
31%
Paved Surfaces
27%
Roof Surfaces
8.5%
Chicago’s land mass dedicated to park space
Chicago
Parkland sq. footage per person As Chicago’s urban fabric continues to expand, data has concluded that green parks have become somewhat of an afterthought. Current studies show that there are 182 square feet of green space per person in Chicago, only about onetenth of other U.S. cities.
8-10%
Chicago’s land mass dedicated to park space
The Emerald Necklace was conceived and implemented by Daniel Burnham and reflected in his master plan for the City of Chicago in the early 19th Century. 8.5% of Chicago’s land mass has been dedicated to miles of green boulevards and parks, its purpose to serve as a counter balance to Chicago’s expansive growth due to intense manufacturing and industrialization in the 19th and 20th century. Understanding that skyscrapers are no longer thought of as individual structures but micro communities; we took the rationalazation of Burnham’s Emerald Necklace and integrated it vertically into the program, dedicating a minimum 10% GSF to urban gardens for the building’s inhabitants.
0552
Rainwater Harvesting Facade Integration
Chicago Annual Precipitation
One problem in city design is the underutilization of natural resources, in this instance, rain water. Between 2007 – 2012, over 21 billion gallons of waste water and run-off have been dumped into Lake Michigan, polluting the largest body of fresh water in the world.
Precipitation (inches)
50
35
20 1890
1960
2020
This happens when severe storms encroach upon the Chicagoland area; only 2/3 of an inch of rain fall causes overflow into the water ways. These measures are predicted to increase by over 50% by the year 2030. Since fresh water is the world’s most valuable resource, we devised a rain harvesting system tied to the exposed structural diagrid system.
Chicago Summer Precipitation Precipitation (inches)
50
As rain falls and beads down the fenestration to the expressed structure, the water gets captured and harvested within the five levels of mechanical floors. It is then filtered into potable water for the occupants and distributed to support the ecosystems within the skyscraper.
35
20
1890
1960
2020
Storm Water Drainage Waste Water Treatment
Building Waste Lake Michigan Combined Sewage Overflow