Take a quick look at the Sterling, American Invsco's new construction condo tower in River North, and you might assume the building began with an architectural vision for its exterior.
The thoroughly modern design of concrete and glass is as much sculpture as highrise, with some "corners" gracefully curved and others squared off. Horizontal bands of concrete define the vertical span of glass at regular intervals until the pattern is playfully and artistically broken near the top with a pure span of glass that gives the eye somewhere to rest.
From the dramatic 30-foot glass curtain wall lobby to the simple elegance of its concrete cap, the Sterling, at least from the outside, has the look of a building designed by an architect concerned mainly with aesthetics.
It's a surprise then, to hear architect John Lahey, president of Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates, say that the highrise evolved from the inside out.
"The building got its shape from the units inside and trying to make the most of them," Lahey says. "We worked on it to maximize the number of units with corner exposures, eight per floor. After we did that, we looked at possibilities for articulation of the form."
The Sterling's setbacks and curvilinear sections maximize views, Lahey says, in a location that offers sweeping vistas of the Chicago River and skyline. But he admits that the development also is intended to make a statement from its perch at 345 N LaSalle.
"The creation of gateway to the Loop, just across the river, was something that seemed important architecturally," Lahey says. "Putting a curve on one section and having others square, we knew, would have a nice impact on the units inside, and would welcome people to the Loop."
The Sterling, thesterlingcondos.com, also has been welcoming buyers, droves of them, to its sales center. Developer American Invsco recently closed on 185 condos in the building during a four-day period, according to Project Manager Chuck Brahos. "I am still recovering," Brahos says, joking about the frenetic pace.