The Chicago Spire was a supertall skyscraper project in Chicago, Illinois,
which was abandoned in 2008 with only its foundation work completed.
The construction was halted after several years of on-going financing
challenges, including the global recession that began in 2008.Anglo Irish Bank Corp. filed a US$77 million foreclosure lawsuit against The Spire's Irish developer Garrett Kelleher,
claiming that loans made to Kelleher’s development company had been in
default for a year. The bank was expected to take possession of the site
where the Spire was to have been built.
Usage
The building was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and was being developed by St Patrick's Athletic owner Garrett Kelleher of Shelbourne Development Group, Inc At 2,000 feet (610 m) and with 150 floors, it would have been among the world's tallest buildings and freestanding structures, after the Burj Khalifa, and the tallest building in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, surpassing the CN Tower. Originally proposed by Christopher T. Carley of the Fordham Company in 2005, the project was supported by many Chicagoans and city officials
Architecture
Design
As with many of his designs, Calatrava was inspired by themes and designs in nature for the tall, twisting skyscraper. He likened the structure to an imaginary smoke spiral coming from a campfire near the Chicago River lit by Native Americans indigenous to the area, and also related the building's newly designed pinnacle to the "graceful" and "rotating forms" of a snail shell.
Technical Data
Construction
Following the city approval, it was announced that construction of the Chicago Spire was to begin in summer 2007, with caisson work scheduled to begin as early as June 2007.DuSable Park was designated as a staging area for the construction of the tower. The sales center for the Chicago Spire opened on January 14, 2008.
On September 19, 2008, a spokeswoman for the developer announced that
construction was continuing on the building, but that the pace of
construction would be slowed until the financial markets recovered from
the subprime mortgage crisis. Kelleher promised that he still had financial backing, although analysts questioned the ability of the project to survive the current economic decline. A contractor to build the building's superstructure had not yet been named.The October 1, 2008 edition of The Wall Street Journal said that the building foundation was complete and the above ground construction would not continue until the markets recover.
Construction image
Structure in general
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