Aqua Tower – the tower that Jeanne Gang built | Jonathan Glancey | Art and design | The Guardian Architecture Aqua Tower – the tower that Jeanne Gang built With its rippling facade and vast green roof, Chicago's Aqua Tower is a revelation. It's also the tallest building in the world to be designed by a woman Swaggeringly high ... Jeanne Gang's Aqua building. Photograph: Steve Hall/Studio Gang Tuesday 20 October 2009 16.35 EDT First published on Tuesday 20 October 2009 16.35 EDT Share on Messenger Close Jeanne Gang spent her childhood holidays out on the road with her family, looking at the bold new bridges and roads springing up across America. Her father, a civil engineer, also took her to natural wonders like the Grand Canyon and the towering rock formations of the Great Lakes in Michigan. Gang grew up to be an architect with her own practice, Studio Gang, and now elements of what she saw on those road trips have come together in her first skyscraper, the Aqua Tower, a $308m (£188m) addition to downtown Chicago's architectural splendours.

The Aqua Tower, rising up in a dance of ever-changing concrete forms, is very different from its neighbours. Seen from the sidewalk, it really does have the look of a multi-layered Lake Michigan rock formation, albeit one that towers above the city. This is a Chicago landmark that has broken out of the city-wide straitjacket of right angles and smooth surfaces – as if Gaudi had taken up skyscraper design, or a spinning ballerina had morphed into a building. It all began three years ago at a dinner following a Frank Gehry lecture in Chicago. Gang found herself sitting with architect and developer James R Loewenberg, who asked her to take a preliminary design for his Aqua Tower and make it sing. She jumped at the chance. After all, at 819ft, the Aqua Tower would be the world's biggest skyscraper designed by a woman (or, to be more precise, the tallest building in the world designed by a female-run architectural practice). Skyscrapers are traditionally seen as an expression of overbearing male libido, a sort of mine's-taller-than-yours competition. So, even today, it is a surprise to find a woman building so swaggeringly high.

(Zaha Hadid currently has skyscraper projects in five cities, but none completed). Gang politely dismisses such hackneyed assumptions. She is, after all, part of a team. "Our working method is very collaborative. Having said that, at least half, maybe more, of the staff here are women. I just think it's natural. I've always wanted to build. I was encouraged to make and repair things by my parents. But OK, I can't hide the fact that it's great to have done a skyscraper, even if I never do one again." Gang, who wanted to be an engineer before she decided on architecture, grew up in a small town near Chicago. She says she thinks of the city as a mountain range rising up from the flat Illinois plains that flank Lake Michigan. "When we got the commission, we were partly thinking of building a mountain. But, being steeped in engineering, I also saw the project as a work of urban infrastructure. The tower is a machine plugged into the city – working for people – as well as being a kind of peak, or rock formation." Behind its weaving balconies, this 82-storey residential and hotel tower is a largely conventional building.

Conventional in plan, that is, but unexpected in terms of form, and laced through with amenities and luxuries. Although it opens in the middle of the worst recession to hit the US since the 1930s, most of its 740 flats have been sold. From its waltzing balconies, the tower offers fabulous views of the city and its other skyscrapers, of the recently completed Millennium Park, and, of course, of Lake Michigan. It also boasts a swimming pool, sky gardens, a library and a billiard room. Meanwhile, an eight-floor terrace projecting over the entrance offers a running track and open-air hot tubs. The tower's garden roof is Chicago's most extensive. Yet, despite this rippling tower's presence and sparkle, and the fact that it will bring Studio Gang international attention, it is not really the building this young Chicago practice wishes to be judged by. In fact, nearly every other project in its 35-strong office is low-key by comparison. Most are for public clients, none of them underpinned by skyscraper budgets. "I like different types of work," says Gang.

"I don't want to be pigeonholed." After training at the University of Illinois, then in Zurich, then at Harvard, Gang worked for Rem Koolhaas – an architect for whom the extraordinary is commonplace – on several key commissions, including the exquisite Maison à Bordeaux, a three-storey house for a wheelchair-user, crowning a hill that overlooks Bordeaux. Gang set up on her own in Chicago in 1997, when she was in her early 30s. The fledgling studio's first project was putting a roof over the 1,100-seat bowl-shaped theatre of Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois. Inspired by nature and her knowledge of engineering, Gang came up with a six-piece steel roof that opens, in 40-ft triangular sections, like a giant flower in fine weather. A tower that's bird-friendly In Chicago's impoverished south side, her practice has built a much-admired community centre for foster children, and is working on an environmental centre, which rises in a happy weave of recycled materials from a site – part industrial wasteland, part natural wilderness – close to a Ford assembly plant. Gang likes working within an astute economy of means and materials.

"Because of the nature of the sites and limited budgets, we're making the building out of what's available locally," she says. "We're like birds making nests." As it happens, Gang is immensely fond of birds. In the design of the Aqua Tower, she has paid careful attention to the way birds see – or don't see – sheer glass walls, helping them to avoid fatal collisions. (A building with a complex facade is much safer for them, as are irregular window bars; birds pick up on the irregularity.) In her office, Gang has a number of bird's nests lined up on a window sill; she says she admires their spare, essential beauty. Studio Gang is on to something here: a creative fusion of nature, found materials, inventive engineering, structural economy, and a matter-of-fact environmental awareness. And, of course, style. Even if the Aqua Tower, the glamorous, dancing skyscraper that will make Jeanne Gang an international name, is not typical of her studio's work, it is a mighty bird's nest of sorts, an urban rock face for people with a fondness for heights to nest in.

Infused with a big mid-western spirit, Gang's architecture promises to soar in the coming years, whether built close to the ground and down to a budget, or 82 storeys up into the skies above Chicago. Jeanne Gang explains design for Chicago's Vista skyscraper 12 comments In a newly released video, American architect Jeanne Gang explains how natural crystal formations inspired the shape of Vista Residences, a new skyscraper proposed for Chicago that will be the world's tallest building designed by a woman (+ movie). Along with the video, the developer has released new interior and exterior images of the 1,140-foot-tall (348 metre) tower by Studio Gang . Vista Residences will be the third tallest building in Chicago behind the Willis Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower. It is slated to be the tallest building in the world designed by a woman, according to the team behind the project. The design features a trio of glass towers arranged in a row, with heights of 47, 71, and 93 storeys. Renderings show wavy facades that overlook the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.

Gang said the massing was inspired by nature – specifically a type of crystal formation called "frustum," which resembles a pyramid without a pointy peak. "With Vista, we stumbled upon this naturally forming geometry in nature. It's called a 'frustum.' It's found in crystal formations – fluorite and sapphire, actually," said Gang. "By stacking those and turning them over, we get this undulation in and out, which creates really interesting views either toward the city or skyward." The towers are sheathed in varying colours of glass that take their cue from the water. "We're using a variety of lake blue colours, from the deeper to the lighter, to create a wave gradient across the overall height of the building," said Gang. The complex will contain more than 400 apartments and a hotel, with residential units averaging 2,500 square feet (232 square meters). The project also calls for a wine cellar, tasting room, and demonstration kitchen. Related story Studio Gang's riverside skyscraper could be Chicago's third tallest tower Completion is scheduled for 2020.

Assuming it receives all necessary approvals, the skyscraper will rise on the northern edge of the 11-hectare Lakeshore East development. The project is backed by Chinese developer Wanda Group and Chicago-based Magellan Development Group. The initial design was first unveiled in late 2014. "This will be a huge contributor to the Lakeshore East community, one of the most sought-after neighbourhoods to live in Chicago," said Magellan in a recent statement. Master planned by SOM , the Lakeshore East development was built on the site of a former rail yard. It already includes apartment blocks, shops, a school, and a hotel, all of which are arranged around a central park. Studio Gang designed another building there – the 261-metre-high (856-feet) Aqua tower, which was completed in 2011. "Magellan from the beginning saw the potential for that whole piece of property," said Gang in the new video. "They've been able to pull off a very cohesive community. They really have the same vision as I do for creating community. They understand what it means to do good architecture." Gang added that most of her firm's work is centred on the idea of community.

"We really think about people, and how people use space, and how people relate to each other within space," she said. Gang, one of the most world's most prominent female architects, started her Chicago-based practice in 1997. "Chicago is a city all about architecture. It's the most American city. It's really where modernism started taking off," said Gang in the recent video. "It's also my home, so it was a natural place to begin my practice." Other projects by Studio Gang include a 14-storey apartment building proposed for Miami , a social justice centre in Michigan , and a boathouse in Chicago . The firm is also providing urban design services for a new George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art along Chicago's waterfront, with MAD leading the architectural design. Chicago has been in the headlines lately, as the city gears up for its first Chicago Architectural Biennial . Opening 3 October, the international event will feature exhibitions, installations, and more than 300 programs. Read more Jeanne GANG - AQUA Tower - YouTube Jeanne GANG - AQUA Tower Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video?

Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jul 12, 2012 Join my PAGE on Facebook: Join my GROUP too: #!/groups/Di... The Aqua Tower is an 86-story mixed-use residential skyscraper located on the 200 block of North Columbus Drive, and is surrounded by high-rises. Designed by a team led by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, the building is the tallest in the world to have a woman as lead architect, at 859 ft (262 m). To capture views of nearby landmarks for Aqua's residents, Gang stretched its balconies outward by as much as 12 feet (3.7 meters). The result is a building composed of irregularly shaped concrete floor slabs which lend the facade an undulating, sculptural quality. Gang cites the striated limestone outcroppings that are a common topographic feature of the Great Lakes region as inspiration for these slabs.

The building will contain 55,000 square feet (5,100 square meters) of retail and office space, in addition to 215 hotel rooms (floors 1-18), 476 rental residential units (floors 19-52), and 263 condominium units & Penthouses (floors 53-81). Aqua will also be the first downtown building to combine condos, apartments and a hotel. Strategic Hotels & Resorts had agreed to acquire the first 15 floors of hotel space upon completion of the building, but terminated its $84 million contract for the space in August 2008, citing significant changes in the economic environment. On May 12, 2010, it was announced that Carlson Hotels Worldwide agreed to spend $125 million to open the first Radisson Blu hotel in the United States on 18 vacant floors of the highrise. The name 'Aqua' was assigned to the building by Magellan Development Group LLC.

It fits the nautical theme of the other buildings in the Lakeshore East development, and is derived from the wave-like forms of the balconies; the tower's proximity to nearby Lake Michigan also influenced the name. Sustainability was an important factor in Aqua's design. Gang and her team refined the terrace extensions to maximize solar shading, and other sustainable features will include rainwater collection systems and energy-efficient lighting. The green roof on top of the tower base will be the largest in Chicago. The tower will seek LEED certification. The Aqua was named the Emporis Skyscraper Award 2009 skyscraper of the year and was shortlisted in 2010 for the biannual International Highrise Award. . Top of the Morning: Aqua Tower | abc7chicago.com Top of the Morning: Aqua Tower Thursday, May 01, 2014 CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Aqua Tower, located in Chicago's new Lakeshore East neighborhood, showcases the city with its awe-inspiring design and unparalleled views. The 82-story Aqua Tower opened in January 2010 and is one of few high-rises in the world that creates a community on its faade.

Aqua is a mixed-use residential skyscraper in the Lakeshore East development in downtown Chicago Designed by a team led by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, the building is the tallest in the world to have a woman as lead architect. The building was awarded 2009 Skyscraper of the Year by Emporis. Borrowing from the characteristics of topography, Aqua was imagined as a vertical landscape made up of hills, valleys, and pools. The undulating appearance is achieved by slight variations in the shape of each cantilevered floor plate over the height of the tower. These dimensional variations create outdoor spaces for residents and additional functional and environmental benefits. Vista from the "hills" on the building's exterior reveal Chicago's landmarks from specific and unexpected orientations. The name 'Aqua' was assigned to the building by Magellan Development Group LLC. It fits the nautical theme of the other buildings in the Lakeshore East development, and is derived from the wave-like forms of the balconies; the tower's proximity to nearby Lake Michigan also influenced the name. Sustainability was an important factor in Aqua's design.

Gang and her team refined the terrace extensions to maximize solar shading, and other sustainable features will include rainwater collection systems and energy-efficient lighting. Aqua has even won an award from the animal-rights group PETA. Because of the way the balconies are designed, PETA says there are fewer bird-strikes than there would be ordinarily in a building of that size. Related Topics: Jeanne Gang-Designed Skyscraper Could Become Chicago’s Third Tallest Jeanne Gang-Designed Skyscraper Could Become Chicago’s Third Tallest by Ioana Neamt Development Apr172015 A public meeting was recently held at Chicago’s Aqua Tower to discuss a $900 million mixed-use supertall proposed by The Dalian Wanda Group and Magellan Development for Lakeshore East. By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor A recent public meeting at Chicago’s Aqua Tower discussed a $900 million mixed-use supertall skyscraper proposed by The Dalian Wanda Group and Magellan Development for Lakeshore East. Wanda Vista Hotel & Residences was announced in July 2014 and is slated for completion in 2019, pending approval.

According to Curbed Chicago , the current proposal includes 405 condominiums, 169 hotel rooms, 410 parking spaces, as well as a 5,400-square-foot ballroom. If approved, the 93-story skyscraper would become Chicago’s third tallest building, behind Willis Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower. The project brings together an all-star team of professionals: Studio Gang will act as lead architect; Gensler of San Francisco will design the hotel; bKL Architecture will serve as architect of record; Philadelphia-based OLIN will handle the landscape design; and Seattle-based Magnusson Klemencic Associates will be the structural engineer. Designed to achieve LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, Wanda Vista Hotel and Residences will incorporate more than 1.8 million square feet of space at 381-383 E. Wacker Drive, according to the Chicago Tribune . The development would also include a public plaza and a drop-off area for vehicles arriving at the hotel, and would improve traffic and circulation through Lakeshore East.

The project, Wanda’s first in the U.S., is expected to create over 2,000 construction jobs and more than 500 permanent jobs. If finalized, the tower would also become the world’s tallest building designed by a female-led architecture firm. Jeanne Gang is best known for designing the undulating Aqua Tower, also in Chicago’s Lakeshore East neighborhood. Rendering courtesy of Studio Gang Architects. Obtain more data on Chicago’s multifamily market. Share 1000+ images about Aqua Building, Chicago, Illinois USA on Pinterest | Studios, Architecture and Ea Aqua Building, Chicago, Illinois USA Aqua Building - Chicago, Illinois Architect: Jeanne Gang. Her firm, Studio Gang, Inc. 17 Pins98 Followers Featured Articles about Jeanne Gang - Page 4 - tribunedigital-chicagotribune Two events put yoga center stage in Chicago By Nancy Maes Special to Tribune Newspapers | May 25, 2014 Two offerings next weekend will give yoga veterans and newbies alike a chance to convene with their inner selves - in dramatically different settings.

Peaceful posturing: Yoga classes return to the Nature Boardwalk at South Pond at Lincoln Park Zoo, beneath a pavilion designed by architect Jeanne Gang. Beginning and intermediate yoga practitioners will do postures, breathing exercises and mindful techniques in the serene setting. (Parent-toddler mini-yoga experiences for ages 2 to 4 also will be offered.) Advertisement Architect displayed high style in previous projects By Blair Kamin | November 8, 2009 With the 82-story Aqua, a mixed-use residential tower that is the tallest building designed by a woman-owned firm, Chicago architect Jeanne Gang has made a great leap forward in scale. But her innovative use of materials and technology is evident in smaller projects previously completed in and around Chicago. Here are three examples: The Bengt Sjostrom Starlight Theatre, Rockford: This community outdoor theater has a movable roof that folds and unfolds like origami, allowing the theater to perform whatever the weather. NEWS Gang envisions folding stadium By Blair Kamin, Tribune architecture critic | July 4, 2004 Imagine a sports stadium that accommodates thousands of fans for an event, then folds up and disappears. Impossible? Perhaps.

But it's one of the visions that will appear in the upcoming Venice Architecture Biennale, and it comes from Chicago's Jeanne Gang and Studio Gang Architects, the same firm that designed the new Kam Liu Building in Chicago's Chinatown. Studio Gang, a small shop with a rising profile, is one of six American firms chosen to appear in the U.S. pavilion at the prestigious Biennale, which will open Sept. FEATURES 21 reasons to leave the house By Amalie Drury | December 10, 2013 It's 2 degrees outside, and just the thought of wrestling into 17 layers of wool -- plus parka -- saps your will to live. But you've seen every episode of "Boardwalk Empire"(twice), your rations of last week's chili are depleted and restless leg syndrome has begun to set in. Here are our favorite reasons to rejoin the world: 1. Because there are actually decent sledding hills in this pancake-flat city. Our picks: Mount Trashmore at Robert E. James Park on Mulford Street, Evanston; Soldier Field Sled Hill Prairie at 1801 S.

Museum Campus Drive; or just hit Lincoln Park. NEWS Chicago Forward: Future of art in Chicago By James Janega | March 14, 2013 The conversation crackled after Wednesday night's Chicago Forward program on the future of the arts in Chicago. “I thought this was an especially auspicious panel with views you don't often hear,” Tribune arts critic and co-moderator Chris Jones told me just after the onstage discussion with Rick Bayless, Michelle Boone, Tony Fitzpatrick, Jeanne Gang, and our Tribune colleague Bruce Dold. Just as auspicious were the knots of conversation audience members had with our panelists and one another during the hourlong reception that followed at the Chase Auditorium, 10 S. Dearborn St. ComEd is sponsoring the series. NEWS As a living museum, architecture needs no special exhibit By Blair Kamin, Tribune architecture critic | April 22, 2007 Architecture is the art that most visibly and viscerally expresses Chicago, so it's natural to dream of a special architecture exhibit accompanying the 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago, right? Chill.

With its drop-dead collection of skyscrapers and other buildings by the likes of Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Burnham, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Helmut Jahn and too many other top-drawer architects to cite, the cityscape of Chicago is the exhibit. Who needs a museum show or a university-sponsored architectural gabfest when the real masterpieces are right there for all to see? SITE Details of EXPO Chicago announced By Lauren Viera, Chicago Tribune reporter | November 15, 2011 Details of EXPO Chicago, the International Exposition of Contemporary/Modern Art and Design, were revealed at a media reception Monday evening at Navy Pier, which will host the inaugural fair next September. Formally announced last June, the new visual arts fair will be produced under the leadership of president and director Tony Karman, former vice president and director of Art Chicago, who was hired by Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. in 2006 to usher Art Chicago under the MMPI umbrella.

ENTERTAINMENT Columbia gala honors John Bryan By Candace Jordan and Special to Tribune Newspapers | December 16, 2012 Columbia College's Open Doors Gala brought out more than 300 of our town's notables for a black-tie event at the college's Jeanne Gang-designed Media Production Center on Dec. 7. The sold-out evening honored John H. Bryan with the Chicago Legacy Award. Linda Johnson Rice (last year's honoree) presented this award to Bryan in memory of her father, John H. Johnson, saying, "I am happy to bestow this honor on a family friend, a friend of my father's and a true Renaissance man. " The award is presented to individuals who have made an impact in the community and have helped open doors for future generations. NEWS Chicago year in review By James Janega | December 25, 2009 The year held epic highs and shocking lows, high hopes, crushing frustrations and lasting memories. On the political front in 2009, Barack Obama became the first Chicagoan and first African-American to assume the presidency, filling many Illinoisans with pride. But the state's residents watched and winced with embarrassment as Gov.

Rod Blagojevich was removed from office -- and moved on to colorful and sometimes bizarre TV appearances. Chicago's architectural reputation grew richer with the Art Institute's light-filled Modern Wing, Jeanne Gang's undulating Aqua skyscraper and the soaring glass-faced Trump Tower. ENTERTAINMENT Eye-catching designs to be found in Hyde Park By Bob Gendron and Special to the Tribune | October 13, 2011 Not so much an Open House Chicago hub as a collection of interesting sites, the Hyde Park leg of the two-day architectural walking tour features more than theUniversity of Chicago. Here are a few highlights. Del Prado, 5307 S. Hyde Park Blvd. Undergoing a gut rehab overseen by Studio Gang Architects (the same team, led by Jeanne Gang, that designed the award-winning Aqua Tower), this former apartment hotel boasts American Indian motifs and stellar park and lake views. In the 1920s, when Hyde Park served as a posh oasis from inner-city bustle, Del Prado accommodated celebrities such as Babe Ruth and Amelia Earhart.

What the Studio Gang-Designed Wanda Vista Supertall Means for Chicago - Curbed Chicago What the Studio Gang-Designed Wanda Vista Supertall Means for Chicago Rec Rendering by Studio Gang Architects Last night, over 500 people packed a ballroom at the Radisson Blu hotel in the Studio Gang-designed Aqua tower to get a first glimpse and learn more about a new supertall tower also designed by Studio Gang for the Lakeshore East neighborhood. The project's public debut started off on a somewhat mysterious note , with news about the tower coming from China last July, and much speculation about Jeanne Gang's involvement in the project. Any remaining shrouds of mystery regarding the condo and hotel tower were dispelled last night as a panel of stakeholders described the project at length to a packed ballroom. Standing at a height of roughly 1,200 feet with an estimated cost of nearly $1 billion, the proposed Wanda Vista is poised to become a very important and pivotal development for Chicago. Developed by Chicago-based Magellan Development and the Dalian Wanda Group from China, the project is certainly no lightweight at 93 stories tall.

The current proposal calls for a mix a condominiums and hotel rooms with a grand total of 405 residences, 169 keys, 410 parking spaces and a 5,400 square foot ballroom. The project does not include any room for retail. While the size, scale and cost of the project are impressive, the developers have also assembled an all-star design team for Wanda Vista. Studio Gang will act as the lead architect, Gensler will handle the hotel design, bKL Architects will act as the architect of record and landscape architecture outfit OLIN will design the project's outdoor spaces. In describing the lineup for the project, Megellan's Sean Linnane stated that the developers had "pulled together the best of the best." It's true. The last time the city witnessed a team this good was twenty years ago when Phil Jackson assembled the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls. So, beyond the numbers and size of the project, what does this tower really mean for Chicago? As proposed, the tower would become the city's third tallest, standing behind the Willis (aka Sears) Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

It's also the first US project from Wanda Group, further indicating that foreign investment no longer views Illinois as a flyover state. It'll bring a number of infrastructure improvements to both Upper and Lower Wacker Drive and improve pedestrian circulation through Lakeshore East. It'll handily trump Aqua in becoming the world's tallest building designed by a female-led architecture firm. It sets a very high bar for developer Related Midwest, who now controls the site of the failed Chicago Spire development . And finally, according to the developers and Alderman Brendan Reilly, the project will become a point of pride for Chicago. The condo boom and bust of the aughts left a bad taste in the mouths of many Chicagoans (and a deep hole in the ground ), but now that the economy and real estate market are recovering, it appears that the Windy City is finally getting an exciting supertall project that feels like it's actually going to happen. However, the process is just really getting started and the project may still change in the coming months.

In response to a resident during the Q&A, Alderman Reilly indicated that the meeting was a simply a first look and "not the evening that we approve the project." Continuing on that note, Reilly added, "Not a single downtown project has been approved without substantial changes. I'm proud of the process that engages neighbors and various stakeholders and at the end of the day, everyone is given an opportunity to weigh in." Do you remember how excited you were when Chicago pulled off two three-peat championships in the '90s? Well, the city is about to do it again with the Obama Library , Lucas Museum and Wanda Vista. And while, Chicago didn't win its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics , this exciting trio of projects will arguably be more important for the city's development. [Alderman Brendan Reilly kicking off last night's meeting] [The project's all-star cast of characters] [Jeanne Gang discussing the design of the tower trio] The Tallest Tower In The U.S. Is Being Built By A Woman | Co.Design | business + design The Tallest Tower In The U.S.

Is Being Built By A Woman As technical director of 1 World Trade Center, SOM’s Nicole Dosso is the most famous architect you’ve never heard of. 01 /13 Forget about the starchitects--Daniel Libeskind and David Childs--who dueled incessantly over 1 World Trade Center’s formal qualities and its poetic language. The architect who finally got the damned thing built is someone you’ve probably never heard of: Nicole Dosso , a technical director at the New York office of Skidmore Owings & Merrill. 02 /13 From the end of 2006 until the tower’s completion, probably by year’s end, Dosso has been, as she puts it, “the single senior technical coordinator representing SOM on the day-to-day execution of the job.” In other words, North America’s tallest tower--which could easily have been the world’s tallest--is being built by a woman. 03 /13 Dosso is not the kind of architect you’ll find spouting metaphors. She is not likely to get up on stage and compare a superstructure to a child releasing a dove , as Santiago Calatrava did when he presented the design for his WTC Transit Hub.

04 /13 The day I met Dosso at SOM’s offices on Wall Street, the 40-year-old, who runs marathons in her spare time, was effortlessly chic--more Paris than New York--in a brightly patterned Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress, steeply pitched white patent leather heels and a string of silvery pearls. 05 /13 With a degree in architecture from Syracuse University, Dosso joined SOM in 1998. “I started my career here as a junior architect and I got thrown into the construction administration side of the project at a very, very young age.” 06 /13 The daughter of a contractor, Dosso has spent much of her career on construction sites, making sure buildings are built as the architects specify. “I knew from my very first project that that was the side of architecture I was most fascinated with," she says. "I really enjoy the craft, working with fabrication, really understanding materials.” 07 /13 It took about three years for 1WTC to rise from the excavation to ground level.

08 /13 Dosso, when asked what she loves about 1WTC, a building with fabulous views from almost every floor, a building she knows intimately from top to bottom, enthuses about the escalator ride to the basement: “The view from the 1 WTC coming down to the B2 lobby--coming down that escalator, you’ll approach the [Calatrava-designed] Transportation Hub concourse, and that’s spectacular." 09 /13 Dosso takes great pride in 1 World Trade Center. She tells me a story about attending a special event at the 9/11 Memorial Museum before it opened in May, pausing on the Memorial plaza on her way out and gazing up at 1WTC from that angle for the first time: “I had to stop in my tracks for a second.

I was very moved.” 10 /13 While Dosso doesn’t claim ownership of the project as a whole --the way a design architect, the person generally credited for how a building looks, might–-she enjoys talking about the craftwork that went into it, about going to the quarry in Carrara, Italy, to get the lobby’s Larissa marble cut to specification or running steel components through the fabrication equipment repeatedly to get just the right finish. 11 /13 This attention to detail is what makes her a great technical director, but technical directors don’t win Pritzkers or Gold Medals. Architectural prizes are predicated on the romantic notion that buildings are works of art by lone visionaries. Anyone who knows the first thing about architecture understands that today’s buildings are always collaborative efforts. 12 /13 Given her understated approach, her quiet competence, it seems unlikely that Dosso will soon be acknowledged as architect of a world’s tallest building, or even the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

13 /13 But it’s exciting to realize that there are women, like Dosso, whose names you rarely hear, who know more about how to grow a supertall tower from sub-basement to spire than the famous guys who collect the prizes . Slide Show: 13 images The Hidden Inequality Of America's Street Design This Urban Canopy Could Help Cool Super-Hot Cities How WeWork Capitalizes On Aging Architecture Coming Soon To NYC: Street Furniture That Helps Fight Pollution And Save Lives Karrie Jacobs 09.29.14 7:30 AM This is the second in a two-part series about the design and construction of 1 World Trade Center. Read the first part here .—Eds Forget about the starchitects—Daniel Libeskind and David Childs—who dueled incessantly over 1 World Trade Center’s formal qualities and its poetic language. The architect who finally got the damned thing built is someone you’ve probably never heard of: Nicole Dosso , a technical director at the New York office of Skidmore Owings & Merrill.

From the end of 2006 until the tower’s completion, probably by year’s end, Dosso has been, as she puts it, "the single senior technical coordinator representing SOM on the day-to-day execution of the job." In other words, North America’s tallest tower—which could easily have been the world’s tallest—is being built by a woman. That’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? Think back to last year when a group of Harvard students petitioned the Pritzker Prize jury to retroactively include architect Denise Scott Brown in the 1991 Pritzker that had been awarded to her professional partner and husband, Robert Venturi . That effort was unsuccessful. Shortly thereafter, the AIA gave its Gold Medal to a woman for the first time ever. The recipient was California architect Julia Morgan , best known for the Hearst Castle. Very nice, except she’d been dead for over 50 years. In the wake of these events, lots of people made arguments that women in architecture should win more prizes . My thought on this was: fuck medals. Wouldn’t it be so much cooler to have a world’s tallest building designed by a woman?

The current record for a woman is the 82-story Aqua , a residential tower/hotel in Chicago, designed by Jeanne Gang . Celine Grouard for Fast Company It could have happened at Ground Zero. As originally conceived by Libeskind back in 2002, 1 WTC’s blatantly patriotic 1,776-foot-tall height would have been enough to break records . But because it went up so slowly, 1 WTC missed its moment. It is now merely number four , 1,000 feet shorter than the reigning Burj Khalifa in Dubai, completed in 2010, and marketed as "the tallest building in the western hemisphere." (Note that it wouldn’t even hold the hemispheric record without counting the antenna as building height. The roof of the tower is at 1,335 feet, making it shorter than the Willis Tower and the Trump International Hotel and Tower , both in Chicago.) Lots of people make arguments that women in architecture should win more prizes. My thought: fuck medals. Dosso, you understand, is not the kind of architect you’ll find spouting metaphors.

She is not likely to get up on stage and compare a superstructure to a child releasing a dove , as Santiago Calatrava did when he presented the design for his WTC Transit Hub. She does not wear severe glasses or talk iterations. The day I met her at SOM’s offices on Wall Street, the 40-year-old Dosso, who runs marathons in her spare time, was effortlessly chic—more Paris than New York—in a brightly patterned Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress, steeply pitched white patent leather heels, and a string of silvery pearls. With a degree in architecture from Syracuse University, Dosso joined SOM in 1998. "I started my career here as a junior architect and I got thrown into the construction administration side of the project at a very, very young age." The daughter of a contractor, she has spent much of her career on construction sites, making sure buildings are built as the architects specify. "I knew from my very first project that that was the side of architecture I was most fascinated with.

I really enjoy the craft, working with fabrication, really understanding materials." Dosso had worked on a number of projects for SOM prior to September 11, including a major rehab of the 1950s office tower by Emery Roth & Sons at 2 Broadway . But within months of September 11, she was assigned to the team working on 7 World Trade Center (where Fast Company is headquartered, incidentally). The original 7 WTC collapsed late in the day on September 11 and had to be rebuilt immediately because it housed an important Con Edison power substation. Because it sits north of Vesey Street from the World Trade Center proper, the 52-story replacement was designed and built without interference from the various stakeholders who were still tussling over exactly what to do south of Vesey. SOM designed 7 WTC as an homage to Lever House , with unusually clear low-iron glass and a slender form . It was completed in 2006. Dosso is not the kind of architect you’ll find spouting metaphors. Dosso describes the experience of building 7 WTC as the best of her working life: "That building holds a very precious place in my professional career.

The people I met during that project… Everybody was so mindful. Everybody’s heart was in the right place. " She remembers the construction of 7 WTC as "bringing about a positive energy in a midst of despair." She insists that her next project, the construction of 1 WTC was "equally inspiring," but the story she tells is one of daunting complexity. "My responsibility was representing SOM. There was a design, the one David Childs and SOM created. My responsibility was to insure that [the design] took place." Easier said than done. By Dosso’s account there were two issues that made her task unusually labyrinthine: the weirdly amorphous nature of the client or clients and the fact that the spot where the building was being erected was not a normal construction site. Generally, a construction project comes with a "clear owner and clear division of responsibility," Dosso explains. "There’s always a point of contact. If something’s not getting solved, or a consultant’s not correcting their issues, there’s typically a person in charge. They’re your client. "At 1 WTC," she continues, "there were so many people. There was the Port Authority. Within the Port Authority, you’re dealing with multiple entities.

On top of that, when I started on the project, the Silversteins were our clients. At some point it transitioned to the Port Authority. The Port Authority created 1 WTC, which was an entity basically to represent them. But that was another layer. And then Durst came into it ." Anyone who knows the first thing about architecture understands that today’s buildings are always collaborative efforts. The sometimes scrambled lines of responsibility were small potatoes compared to the condition of the site itself: "The below grade portion of the project is 500,000 square feet," Dosso points out. "Below ground we neighbored the [9/11] Memorial. We neighbored the fan plants [which vent the train tracks that run beneath the tower]. There were the trains. [PATH trains to New Jersey and subways.] We had retail included within our space. We had the Transportation Hub concourse, which we neighbored, that was a whole other group of architects and engineers. If you start to get caught up in all of that, you can become completely overwhelmed." And then there were the leftovers: "A decision was made very early on to leave these slabs, remnants of the existing WTC site.

So when we designed the new 1 WTC tower, we basically had to cantilever and design around existing conditions. There was also the existing slurry wall. To reinforce that wall we had to build a liner wall in front of it, a 30-inch concrete wall to help stabilize it . . . and to reinforce it." All told, it took about three years for 1 WTC to rise from the excavation to ground level. From there, the next challenge was to build the hardened lobby with 30-inch-thick cast concrete walls and additional blast walls set inside the lobby’s north and south entryways. Once the contractors got beyond 50 feet of lobby and 130 feet of mechanical space—holding the tower’s vital systems—the construction process got much simpler, Dosso says, just "typical office floors." From 186 feet to 1,335 feet was cake. Then came the 420-foot-tall, 720-ton spire that stands atop the building presented. It was delivered in pieces by barge from Quebec and the final section was dramatically hoisted by crane in May of last year.

Oddly, Dosso, when asked what she loves about 1 WTC, a building with fabulous views from almost every floor, a building she knows intimately from top to bottom, enthuses about the escalator ride to the basement: "The view from the 1 WTC coming down to the B2 lobby—coming down that escalator, you’ll approach the [Calatrava-designed] Transportation Hub concourse, and that’s spectacular." Dosso takes great pride in 1 World Trade Center. She tells me a story about attending a special event at the 9/11 Memorial Museum before it opened in May, pausing on the Memorial plaza on her way out and gazing up at 1 WTC from that angle for the first time: "I had to stop in my tracks for a second. I was very moved." "Did you look at it and think, 'That’s my building'?" I asked.

Dosso laughs and replies, "No." While Dosso doesn’t claim ownership of the project as a whole—the way a design architect, the person generally credited for how a building looks, might–-she enjoys talking about the craftwork that went into it, about going to the quarry in Carrara, Italy, to get the lobby’s Larissa marble cut to specification or running steel components through the fabrication equipment repeatedly to get just the right finish. This attention to detail is what makes her a great technical director, but technical directors don’t win Pritzkers or Gold Medals. Architectural prizes are predicated on the romantic notion that buildings are works of art by lone visionaries. Anyone who knows the first thing about architecture understands that today’s buildings are always collaborative efforts. Dosso has largely moved on to Manhattan West , a cluster of towers over the Westside railyards (just east of Hudson Yards ). Building over the tracks isn’t easy, but there’s only one client, "so the responsibilities are very clear. " Given her understated approach, her quiet competence, it seems unlikely that Dosso will soon be acknowledged as architect of a world’s tallest building, or even the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

But it’s exciting to realize that there are women, like Dosso, whose names you rarely hear, who know more about how to grow a supertall tower from sub-basement to spire than the famous guys who collect the prizes . Slideshow Credits: 01 / Celine Grouard for Fast Company; 10 / Celine Grouard for Fast Company; Never miss a story.

Question: The Aqua Tower, the first tallest building in the world designed by a team led by a woman, Jeanne Gang, is in which US city?
Answer: Chicago