Aqua, by Jeanne Gang

As I was flipping through the December issue of Esquire magazine to find the interview with cover man Christian Bale, I came across a sort of "Best of the Year" list. I'm not a regular reader or subscriber so I don't know if they always have an architeture category but there was one in 2010. The picture below was the featured building, designed by architect Jeanne Bang.

I think this is absolutely gorgeous. I love that it looks fluid, like the surface of the building is rippling in reaction to the gusts for which the Windy City is famous. It is a symbiosis of form and function in that each balcony is a unique shape and directs winds in a way that won't endanger the structural integrity of the building. I'm fuzzy on the physics but I trust that the architects involved know how the wind will (or won't) affect the building.

From The New Yorker:

A lot of attention--in Chicago, at least-- has been given to the fact that Aqua is the tallest building in the world designed by a woman. That's nice for Gang, but beside the point, and dwelling on it leads too easily to predictable interpretations of skyscrapers as symbols of male identity. Gang's achievement has more to do with freeing us from such silliness. Her building is most compelling as an example of architecture that is practical and affordable enough to please real-estate developement and stirring enough to please critics. Not many buildings like that get made at any height, or by architects of either gender.

I couldn't find the whole Esquire article online, hence the excerpt from The New Yorker. I may start reading Esquire on a regular basis if I keep finding little treasures like this. So what if I'm not a member of the target demographic.

image source