The nations new tallest building will be in Chicago. This isn't new news, but the details are coming out and changes are being made. Here's a great Tribune article on the residential twisting tower being planned by Zurich-based architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava. The plan has been approved by the Chicago Plan Commission and it should be built by around 2010. I believe the pic at the right is the pre-approved version and it will be slightly different, but not too much.
The design for the $550 million tower, which was breathtaking but hardly flawless when it was introduced last July, has taken some important steps forward, both in the sky and along the ground. Now here's the trend part of the story: If this tower and Jeanne Gang's sensuous Aqua high-rise both get built, Chicago will be running a clinic in the new aesthetic possibilities offered by skyscrapers that are places to live rather than work.