Two cores compete for attention at Wanda Vista Tower

Wanda Vista tower two cores

It’s East Crane vs. West Crane in the Battle of the Cores at Vista Tower.

It’s time for another installment of Vista Tower Photo Gallery. What’s new in the New East Side? There are two cores competing for sunshine, the way trees do in a crowded forest. It would make a good reality show, if it wasn’t McHugh Construction responsible for building both segments. There’s no reason they crews at each core should compete against each other. Unless a passing photographer started some trash talk about how much faster West seems than East. But no one would do that. Right?

 

 

 

Yep, I got more from Wanda Vista Tower for ya

There’s still a lot going on, so why wouldn’t construction and skyscraper nerds take more photos? Really, it’s out of our control. So here ya go, another slew of action shots from this week at the ever-changing Vista Tower site.

Wanda Vista Tower starts going 3-dimensional

Wanda Vista Tower

Those kinds of heights are right about at my level. And you want me on that wall. You *need* me on that wall. 

Tired of Wanda Vista Tower photos yet? Don’t be. Because before you know it, all the fun construction will be hundreds of feet in the air, and much harder to watch. So let’s enjoy Vista Theater being presented by McHugh Construction while it lasts.

With the gigantic mat pour done (the junior mat at the east end of the site has been poured too), the tower has started going vertical. I was especially happy to see guys hanging on a wall, four feet off the ground. I could do that; anything over six feet high would have to be someone else’s job, though.

 

New Wanda Vista Tower means an Extension for Upper Wacker Drive

Wanda Vista Tower isn’t the only construction happening along East Upper Wacker Drive. The roadway itself is getting an upgrade too, as crews extend the dead-end portion of the elevated street that will front the new tower. This is the reason you have to turn around and go back west a tad earlier than you used to. What, you thought you could get to Lake Shore Drive from up here?

Upper Wacker Extension

 

The word of the day is… CONCRETE. At least at Wanda Vista Tower

Wanda Vista Tower mat pour

The big pour is underway at Wanda Vista Tower.

It’s happening. The gigantic mat pour everyone’s been talking about is going on now at Wanda Vista Tower. All manner of concrete distribution is being utilized, the coolest being a line of troughs at the west end of the mat, sending concrete flowing directly from the trucks into the mass of rebar below.

Missed the fun? No you didn’t. They’ll be at it for awhile. You’ve got time to get over there.

 

Rebar galore as Wanda Vista Tower prepares for its humongous concrete pour

The Wanda Vista Tower site is no ordinary construction yard. It is a sea of rebar. It’s a seabar.

And very very soon, it’ll be a see of concrete. Charge your camera batteries, tighten up the tripods, and set your time-lapse mode. This will be spectacular to watch. It may take hours and hours and hours for McHugh Construction to accomplish the feet, but it’s February in Chicago. Who wouldn’t want to be outside for this?

 

Why won’t the Wanda Vista tower cranes joust? Because they’re luffers, not fighters

Wanda Vista Tower two cranes

The two tower cranes of Wanda Vista Tower.

Wow. You clicked on this story, even after reading that headline? I owe you a drink or something.

Wanda Vista Tower has its two tower cranes up and running. Both are luffing cranes, with jibs that angle toward the sky, rather than staying parallel to the ground at all times.

Down at ground level, there’s enough rebar being installed in the foundation mat. If you feel the earth tilt a little extra in the coming days, it’ll be from all the concrete being poured into that thing.

Return to New York City: Central Park Tower

Central Park Tower

Central Park Tower, left, and 220 Central Park South, right, face off on a chilly October night.

You remember the post from last month about 220 Central Park South right? Well, you may have noticed another skyscraper rising adjacent to that tower. That “other” development will only be New York City’s tallest residential tower, at over 1,500 feet, when completed in 2019.

Meet Central Park Tower. At its official address of 217 West 57th Street, Central Park Tower will stand back-to-back with 220 Central Park South, in essence sharing 58th Street as a high-profile alley. A project of Extell Development Company, the 131-story monster was designed by Chicago’s own Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Archecture, and will include a 7-level Nordstrom flagship store. Lendlease has the tall task of general contractor on this one.

Want to know more about Central Park Tower? (Yes, you do. You have to!) Please check out these sights, in addition to the links above:

New York YIMBY

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)

Vista Tower Crane Update: East Crane is planted as West Crane blooms

Wanda Vista cranes

Even when they’re on the ground, tower cranes are cool.

West Crane will always be able to sneer at East Crane with a knowing, I-Was-Born-First smirk. But only by a couple of days. No sooner had construction crews rooted the first crane into the ground, the second one found a rebar bed of its own.

As one does when it’s about 10 degrees outside, dedicated skyscraper nerds (skyscraperds?) hung around Thursday afternoon to watch West Tower reach sky-cab status. Meanwhile, Eastie’s resting comfortably in place, waiting for concrete to be poured into its foundation.

There’s also the matter of the large hole in the middle of the site, that everyone but me seemed to be allowed to climb into. Unfair.