The Chicago Spire was supposed to be the tallest skyscraper in the United States. That was the idea of Santiago Calatrava when he presented his project for a slender and spiraling tower, 610 meters high, that soared in the city's skies. As explained by the architect, the shape was conceived contemplating the place where the skyscraper would have risen: “Chicago is an Indian name, and I can imagine in the oldest time the Native Americans arriving at the lake and making a fire, with a tiny column of smoke going up in the air. With this simple gesture of turning one floor a little past another, you can achieve this form”.

Thus, the various floors were designed to overlap, rotating around a large circular pillar. In addition, the concave facades would have increased the slenderness of the skyscraper, recalling the development of a shell. At the same time, on the ground, the edges of the façades became thin pillars, which bending gave shape to overlapped arches.

But the dream of the architect and engineer from Benimàmet has faded, along with the planned investment funds. At the end of this year, a new building site will start where the Chicago Spire should have risen. By David Childs and SOM, two “sister skyscrapers” with plastic forms will overlook the lake, positioned in the middle of a new urban park.

In Chicago, the signature of Calatrava will remain with Constellation: a shining spiral sculpture, 9 meters high, reflected in the river and in the glass windows of the surrounding towers. Significant urban presence but which does not stand out in the American sky.