Calatrava embellishes Chicago with a new sculpture

July 2020

The Zurich architect Santiago Calatrava, who comes from Valencia, Spain, designed an idiosyncratic sculpture for the park in front of the River Point building in Chicago. It is a 8.8 meter high red leaf formation. "The outwardly extending spiral made of overlapping, leaf-like elements winds in a spiral from very large at the base to very small to the outer edge of the sculpture," says the media release .

River Point is a 52-story building that contains offices, but also a convention center and the shopping malls often found in American skyscrapers. It stands in the park of the same name on the banks of the Chicago River and belongs to the companies Ivanhoé Cambridge, Hines and Levy Family Partners. The huge work of art will be installed in the coming weeks.

“I feel honored that my work was chosen to be integrated into the cityscape of Chicago, a city that looks back on an impressive tradition of urban art and architecture,” Calatrava is quoted as saying, and photos can be seen on his website . The international architect, whose company Santiago Calatrava GmbH is based in Zurich, is known for many unique buildings and structures, such as the Milwaukee Museum of Art, the so-called Oculus Station of the Century in New York City and the Peace Bridge in Calgary, Canada.

"This downright spectacular new addition to the fascinating and renowned public works of art at River Point Park is another example of how unbelievably special this office building really is with its first-class furnishings and extensive offerings for the city, its residents and our tenants," says Jonathan Pearce, Vice President of Ivanhoé Cambridge.

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