Aug 25

Aug 25 Architecture That Speaks For Itself

Written By Craig Kaminer

When you walk the streets of downtown Chicago, or better yet, take an architectural boat tour, it’s hard to understand why St. Louis does not have more modern architecture like its Northeast rival. Chicago is a virtual architecture museum and, as is typical of cities which continue to produce breakthrough buildings, it has both the architectural talent and the patrons willing to fund the next new thing. In the last 20 years, St. Louis has commissioned a handful of buildings by great architects including Tadao Ando (Pulitzer Art Museum), Brad Cloepfil (Contemporary Art Museum), and Fumihiko Maki (Kemper Art Museum at Washington University), complementing the modern works of Eero Saarinen (Gateway Arch), Philip Johnson (700 Market Street), Frank Loyd Wright and William Bernoudy all working here in the 20th Century.

But now, one of the great contemporary Chicago architects, Jeanne Gang, has designed a masterpiece that St. Louis-based Clayco has been building at 100 Kingshighway in the heart of the Central West End. Called One Hundred Above the Park, it overlooks the northeast corner of Forest Park and is steps away from another iconic St. Louis building - The Chase Park Plaza.

With its artichoke-like facade, One Hundred is a modern landmark and an architectural gem. As Saarinen’s Gateway Arch defined the St. Louis downtown skyline, One Hundred will shape St. Louis’ new skyline to the west. Love it or hate it, One Hundred will stand as an icon for generations to come...and hopefully inspire a new wave of great architecture to grace our city.

One Hundred is international. With its visionary design, luxurious amenities, and Central West End location above Forest Park, residing at One Hundred will be the pinnacle of city living on par with the greatest cities of the world. And the world lives here – a community reflecting diverse backgrounds, interests, and talents from every corner of the globe. With its proximity to BJC, Washington University, SLU, downtown and Clayton, it’s the perfect place to live if you have ever dreamed of living on Fifth Avenue in New York.

One Hundred is an apartment building (not a condo) with unparalleled views. Rising 36 stories above the Central West End, One Hundred reveals never-before seen vistas of Forest Park. Floor-to-ceiling glass is precisely angled to maximize natural light and sweeping panoramic views.

Residents will see the first lights of a waking city and the setting sun over the forest below, not to mention wildlife scurrying across the open fields and throughout the zoo, concerts and sledders in front of the Saint Louis Art Museum, fireworks at the Arch, and street festivals throughout the Central West End.

One Hundred is a sustainable building with Green Globe certification. Units feature nine-foot ceilings, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, and full-size washer/dryers. A seventh-floor amenity area will include a fitness center and party room as well as an outdoor pool and sundeck with barbecue grills. The building’s lobby on Kingshighway will have attendants on duty 24 hours a day. Units range in size from studios to three bedrooms. The lower floors are available now and the uppermost floors will be ready in September.

If this isn’t enough, look closely at Jeanne Gang’s pedigree. Her inquisitive, forward-looking approach to design - unique in its pursuit of new technical and material possibilities as well as in its expansion of the active role of designers in society - has distinguished her as a leading architect of her generation. Drawing insight from ecological systems, she creates striking places that connect people with each other, their communities, and the environment.

Studio Gang’s design process, which emphasizes research, experimentation, and collaboration inside and outside of traditional design fields, has resulted in a diverse, award-winning body of work, perhaps best represented by the 82-story, undulating Aqua Tower in Chicago.

Jeanne is also a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, her alma mater, and has been honored with the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture and named one of 2019’s most influential people in the world by TIME magazine. Further accolades include Architectural Review’s Architect of the Year, the Louis I. Kahn Memorial Award, and the Marcus Prize for Architecture.

If you want to experience one of the great wonders of St. Louis before it is entirely leased, visit liveat100.com for details and floor plans, or contact Mac Properties to schedule a visit. It will be worth it.