Summer 2012 Road trip – Stop #4 CHICAGO, IL

Stop Four – Chicago, IL

96 Miles = 2 gallons of gas

Continuing westward to the windy city, Dave made his way to the Fairbanks Towers at 280 East Illinois.  The tower itself, designed by DeStefano & Partners, was a long-anticipated addition to the area–providing needed residential space, a grocery store and coffee shop.  The podium, accounting for the first five floors, was built first and the rest of the thirty-one stories followed in the form of a main tower.  The podium is clad in grey Terra5 panels.

The completed tower is in the shape of two convex curves with the residential space in between.  The upper facade is blue glass, which is a nice change for the western portion of this neighborhood–dominated by stone-clad towers.  It is a thrill to contribute to Chicago’s incredible modern architecture with Cladding Corp’s System5.