Two Slashes

One of Chicago’s many iconic structures could be getting a makeover, and it isn’t the bean.  If you were thinking of the Hancock or Aon Centers or Prudential Plaza, you might also want to be think taller.  You’ve got the Sears Tower on the mind?  Excellent – and keep it there.

I was going through my unread items in Google Reader and came across a blurb from Gizmodo (who got it from the Chicago Sun-Times) that the Sears Tower might be “going green” by, err…going silver.  That’s right – the Sears Tower might be getting a new coat to match the bean sitting in Millenium Park.

(Mockup stolen from Gizmodo, who stole it from the Chicago Sun-Times. Hey, there's no honor among thieves. Usually.)

It’s cool that the owners are trying to decrease the impact of the building on the environment, though they seem to believe that the only environment worth preserving is the natural environment.  What about the living and working environment of Chicago residents?  Doesn’t that count for something?  I don’t know for sure, but something tells me I wouldn’t be able to stand living around a giant metallic obelisk for too long.

If they were to go through with this plan, I wonder just how much it would backfire.  Depending upon how reflective the building ends up, I could see it as a potential nuisance for other buildings and/or the traffic below because of all the light bouncing around.  Sure, some of the other buildings are reflective, but they’re also tinted and don’t glow like they’re a more powerful source of light than the sun.  (If it were really painted to match the bean, I could definitely see this as happening depending upon the weather and time of day.)

And let’s not even get into the economic impact of having to pay for the repainting.  According to the Sun-Times article, one of the (main) reasons for the futuristic styling is to attract new tenants.  With this economy?  Good luck. Instead of stuffing away the money to repaint the building, why not put it towards the tenants’ rent so they can actually afford to take up office space?  Perhaps some interior renovations (again, something other than silver paint) are in order?

I feel as though this plan brings Chicago one step closer to becoming the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz (metaphorically speaking, of course).  It’s already a mythical wonderland of entertainment, playful rivalries, and industry, and it’s a common setting for movies as-is.  The black color is recognizable (though I’m sure the silver would probably take over as the “most distinctive feature” everyone describes it by) enough.