A view looking vertically from the ground floor of Aqua Tower
Aqua Tower, located on the 200 block of North Columbus Drive in Chicago, is the first skyscraper project by renowned and innovative architect Jeanne Gang. It is, as of 2011, the tallest building in the world to have a woman as lead architect. While this itself makes Aqua Tower noteworthy, the forward thinking design also deserves praise and recognition.
Gang’s design emphasizes sustainability and aesthetic awareness of it’s surroundings, with rainwater collection systems, energy efficient lighting, and Chicago’s largest “green roof”. The balconies extend outward in undulating waves that recall both Lake Michigan and the striated limestone of the region, giving views of many neighborhoods. They also maximize solar shading. Read an interview with Gang in the New York Times. Read the Paul Goldberger review in The New Yorker. Watch the video of Gang at the National Building Museum/BWAF Women in Architecture series.
Jeanne Gang in front of Aqua Tower
Jeanne Gang is the principal of Studio Gang Architects, and was the 2009 speaker at Women of Architecture, a lecture series presented by Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation and the National Building Museum. Read about Gang’s presentation here. She was just awarded the 2011 MacArthur Fellowship based on her creativity, originality, and potential to make important contributions to the future built environment. She has been granted many awards and honors. Read more about Jeanne Gang in our Collection of Women of 20th-century Architecture here.
Photo Credits: BWAF Archives
