The Chicago Riverfront development culminates to the south at Franklin Point, a series of high-rise multi-use residential and commercial towers behind low-rise townhomes.

The overall design of Franklin Point directly responds to the surrounding urban fabric. The orthogonal alignment of its towers responds to the urban grid to the east, north, and south. To the west it opens to capture views of the riverfront and create a sense of enclosed community. This enclosed area is set off from the more intense surrounding activity, and it is conducive to shopping, outdoor dining, pleasant walking, and the relaxed enjoyment of the riverfront. A sense of place is created through the architectural massing, which buffers the development from the adjacent roads, as well as through architectural design, streetscaping and landscaping.

Townhomes directly enfront the river. There are four townhome buildings, each containing eight individual townhome units. The townhomes have direct access parking and boat slips. These townhomes decrease the scale of their riverwalk setting and are in keeping with shopping and pedestrian activity in this area. They also provide a gradual massing away from the river towards the condominium midrises. This allows the condominium units located to the east of them to see over them to the river.

The townhome buildings have wide separations that are highlighted with open plazas, fountains, tensile fabric awnings, architectural cast stone and terra cotta accents, and generous landscaping. These plazas allow views to the river from all points of the development.

To the east, Franklin Point is comprised of 6 high-rise condominium buildings. Paired high-rises share a parking and retail base, with each tower pair sharing entries to its condominium units. These entries, each with their own guard stations, establish security and a sense of place for the condominium towers.

The retail base provides a personal, human scale to the streetfront, and it is enlivened with glass and canvas awning structures. In the evening these canvas awning structures are indirectly illuminated, providing soft, even lighting for the pedestrian and retail activity below. These awnings have a high solar reflectance index and therefore reduce solar gain.

By dividing the overall unit count of the condominiums into six towers, the scale of the individual towers is reduced. This allows lower density towers with more corner units. The towers are arranged to maximize favorable views towards surrounding areas, including the city to the north and south, the riverfront to the west, and the lakefront to the east where possible.

Through its design, the project addresses Mayor Daley’s goal to make Chicago the “greenest city in the country.” The condominium tower tops feature wind turbines to help generate electricity for condominium usage. Above the tower top pool and recreational centers, tall plenums clad with photovoltaic skins provide supplemental electricity, while the heat this skin creates through electricity production draws air up through the plenum, to create a natural cooling effect for the common areas of the condominium towers below.

Generous landscaping is providing throughout the project, at the riverwalk and streetfront levels, on the parking structures, and at rooftops and roof offsets. This is provided as a public amenity, and to lessen the urban heat sink effect. The river itself will be used as a heat sink for geothermal heat pumps.

The architectural design for Franklin Point is firmly in the Chicago tradition of form derived from function and structural expression. The clearly expressed structure of the towers and townhomes is muscular and energetic. The resulting design is not only a natural extension of Chicago’s architectural tradition, such as the un-built Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1924 National Insurance Company Building, but is also deeply rooted in the Chicago Experience...the City’s history, character, and aspirations for the future.

The architecture fully embraces its Chicago River location. City waterfronts are a scarce resource in the urban landscape. More than providing recreational outlet for boat owners, the body of water will make Franklin Point an oasis from the stress of life for residents and visitors. The river provides a sense of calm, well being, and renewal. The majority of the residents will have unobstructed views of the water as well as the surrounding urban landscape.

As Arthur Cotton Moore notes, “waterfront is a significant resource and a challenging opportunity for a city; a chance to be an escape valve from the pressure cooker of crowded city life, a chance to be a bright breathing edge of city living.” In other words Franklin Point is an opportunity to provide an oasis from the urban landscape for residents who seek a sense of calm and community while embracing the basic human need to socialize, congregate, to see and be seen. As urban observer William Whyte writes, “What attracts people most, in sum, is other people.”

Quality of life is an important component in the development of residential and retail properties. It is reinforced by the cohesiveness of the architectural style with the surrounding environment. The floor plans and design organization will vitalize the people living in each home.

Whether it’s a condominium or a townhome, the design should convey an appreciation for the values of a lifestyle. It should be pleasing. It should meet the physical, emotional, and economic desires of each client. Integrating client expectations is the key to the success with every home designed as celebration of living.

A sense of place, attention to detail, and respect for the community are essential components of Cordogan Clark & Associates’ design philosophy.