Aqua 01

Aqua 01

Piece description from the artist

Aqua (aka Aqua Tower) is an 87-story mixed-use building featuring America's first Radisson Blu hotel and over 700 residences in Chicago's Lakeshore East neighborhood bordering The Loop and Lake Michigan. It was designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, and upon its completion in 2009 was the tallest building in the world to be designed by a woman and earned the distinction of Skyscraper of the Year by Emporis, a Chicago Distinguished Building Award from AIA, and an American Architecture Award among many others. Each individual balcony is unique in size, shape and protrusion, allowing residents to chat with neighbors above or below. The balconies also help to break up wind vortices, minimize wind shear, shade neighboring apartments and prevent birds from colliding with windows. Each balcony is part of a greater floor slab. Contractors used GPS coordinates to precisely pour each of the 82 designs. Building Aqua was a feat of engineering-the curving white concrete balconies and colored glass create the impression of water cascading down the building's sides, which was inspired by nearby Lake Michigan. Paying homage to the Midwest’s natural beauty is Gang’s decision to make the Aqua Tower planet-friendly, through rainwater collection systems, heat resistant and fritted glass, and energy-efficient lighting, and it features one of the largest Green Roofs in Chicago. It was also featured in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Other works by Ashland Thomas

About Ashland Thomas

Chicago, IL

Ashland grew up in Southeast Virginia surrounded by lush rural landscapes, great protected swamp lands, national & state parks, the Chesapeake Bay, the Eastern Shore, the breathtaking Skyline Drive & Blue Ridge Mountains, and the inlets & oceans of Virginia & North Carolina.

It was this constant variation in natural beauty that first drew his eye to the camera; that, and the constant joy of capturing life's candid moments on film. Although no particular subject is banned from the lens of Ashland's camera, it is landscapes, cityscapes, wildlife, and nature that truly captures his heart.

"There's always more to see, more to learn, more to be wowed about-I just hope you enjoy what I see in the world."

A constant staple on the likes of Instagram, Flickr, and Facebook, Ashland currently resides in Chicago, Illinois, and looks forward to many more years of development, collaboration, creativity, world travel, and art.

www.ashlandthomas.com
www.facebook.com/ashlandthomasphotography
www.instagram.com/ashlandgram

See Ashland's portfolio here
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