Urban Grafting

Equitable Building = 31 Levels [minus upper level dbl. height and raised lower level 3 Levels??] = 20 units wide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equitable_Building_%28Chicago%29 

401 North Michigan occupies a site with several aspects of historical significance, both on a local and national scale. The site was originally settled by du Sable around 1779, and operated as a personal residence and fur-trading post, forming the very beginnings of the city of Chicago.In 1849, Cyrus McCormick moved to Chicago to set up a factory for his invention, the horse-drawn reaper, and purchased several lots on the former du Sable/Kinzie property, eventually developing a large factory complex. After this factory burned in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, McCormick moved his factory to the West Side. Even as Michigan Avenue was slowly rebuilt into the city's premier street beginning in the 1920s, the site remained industrial in usage, and by 1961, it had become a parking lot. 

In 1961, the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States announced their intention to construct a new, modern office tower at the 401 North Michigan site, relocating their sizable Chicago offices from cramped space at 29 South LaSalle Street. The announcement described the proposed 800,000 ft² tower as a "glittering structure of metal, marble, and glass set amid a picturesque plaza".^[6] Construction began in 1963 and commenced in 1965.

In addition to Equitable, one of the largest tenants of the building - occupying 12 floors - was the International Harvester Company, the descendant of Cyrus McCormick's original reaper works, which intended to "return to its birthplace"

Pioneer Court, often mistakenly called "Pioneer Plaza", is largely the great civic space imagined at the time of its construction. Since it was built, it has hosted numerous art installations, performances, civic events, advertising events, and festivals. It has also been featured in several films and television advertisements. In 1992, Pioneer Court was redesigned and extended eastward around the office tower by Cooper, Robertson & Partners in a vaguely Postmodernist style, in conjunction with the massive Cityfront Centerdevelopment just to the east.

As in many office towers, a core containing stairs, elevators, and bathrooms lies at the center.



The most common characteristics of International Style buildings are said to be: 
1. rectilinear forms; 
2. light, taut plane surfaces that have been completely stripped of applied ornamentation and decoration; 
3. open interior spaces; 
4. a visually weightless quality engendered by the use of cantilever construction.

INSPIRATION:

Tree of 0 Fruits
http://www.sciencealert.com/news/20142107-25892.html

Dustin Yellin Glass Artist