Slice of Life: The Barge in Charge

At the confluence of the Chicago River and its North Branch three skyscrapers are  currently going up, transforming the skyline in this corner of the city.

One of those buildings is 150 North Riverside.  Designed by friends-of-the-blog Goettsch Partners, the building’s core is sunk into the earth between two railroad tracks. Those tracks will eventually be decked over with a park, and when the tower gets high enough above the park, the tower will flare out and take its final shape.

That flair is going to be accomplished through the use of two massive steel trusses.  The last part of the first truss was hoisted into place last week.  It was a 35-foot-tall, 30-foot-wide, 250,000 pound segment.  The completed truss is now four stories tall.

The second truss will be put together later this summer.  Together, they will help transfer the weight of the full-sized floors above onto the building’s narrow core.

Chicago Architecture Blog reader Nick Uliveri happened to cruise by the barges that hosted the crane that lifted the truss that will hold the building up, and took these pictures of the construction progress.

 

Location: 150 North Riverside Plaza, West Loop

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from The Chicago Architecture Blog http://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2015/07/13/slice-of-life-the-barge-in-charge/