Hasta La Ideas

After catching a lot of flak after speaking poorly of LEED certification and the greening of buildings in general, Frank Gehry is back in Chicago (at least in spirit), making something of a move toward redemption (or, rather, he already made the move three years ago, it’s just starting to take effect now). The Architect’s Newspaper reports that the city’s Inland Steel Building, which was purchased back in 2007 by a group that Gehry was involved with, has begun the process of restoring and upgrading the late-1950s building to LEED standards. At the forefront of the project is the mega (and local) firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who actually designed the original. After spending the last few years preparing and drawing up plans, SOM is finally ready to start making the structure’s transition toward being more earth-friendly. So maybe it’s not the perfect mea culpa for Gehry, who probably isn’t interested in offering one to begin with, it’ll have to do for now. Here’s a bit about some of the upcoming changes:

…In an extreme version of the Seagram Building’s enforced ceiling condition at the perimeter, SOM developed a modular office system of movable floors, ceilings, and walls that can be adjusted to fit the needs of shifting populations.

The idea, which the firm calls “office hotel,” is that companies who take up residence here will not be looking to conduct their own interior fit-out, but will be happy to adopt the branding built into the architecture. The strategy also has a sustainability component, as every time someone new moves, there will be no waste created by interior demolition. The modular systems in place will simply be reconfigured for a new set of needs.

For further reading, more info is available on the building’s site.

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