WI: The "The Illinois" was built

The Illinois was a mile-high tower conceived by Frank Lloyd Wright in a book he published in 1957, titled "A Testament". It would've been built in Chicago, so how would things change in general if it was built. Would another country, like the UAE or China, try to better the US? Would it even be completed in 2017 if construction started in the late 50s/early 60s? Could Chicago gain more tourism, or population, just because of the tower? What do you think?
 
My understanding is a number of serious technical problems were not resolved. While Wright may have regarded the project as possible it appears his staff/apprentinces regarded the idea as a technical study rather than a serious design project. Wright looked at a huge number of design ideas on paper many of which never were built as represented. After his years with Sullivan he had very little contact with 'skyscraper' type buildings, the Larkin building being the tallest of his own designs. He was also actually very weak in practical engineering. An associate had done most of the nuts & bolts work for mr Wright until his retirement in the 1920s. Lacking formal training in engineering, and limited experience with Sullivan suggests the Illinois concept was more a theoretical study whatever Mr Wrights intent.
 
Even assuming you could get strong enough materials for such a building, the elevator problem would likely kill it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyscraper_design_and_construction#The_elevator_conundrum

Note, that even today, with modern materials and construction techniques and computer design, etc., etc., the world's tallest building is barely half that height.

Had he seriously attempted the project, it would have failed miserably, and possibly blackened his name.
 
Its extremely unlikely at this point in the 1950s he would have had financial backing. Beyond that building commissioners gave Wright endless trouble over his more venturesome designs. He had to provide proof by qualified engineering experts and fields tests his zanier ideas would work. They usually did. Where he occasionally got into trouble was when he left undertrained apprentices in charge of a job & a poor decision or two in the form of altered specifications or overlooking a detail occured. The misplacement of the reinforcing rods in the cantilevers of the Falling Water house is a example. Bottom line is neither investors or building commissioners would have allowed the project to go forward until many substantial questions about the structure were resolved.
 
Note, that even today, with modern materials and construction techniques and computer design, etc., etc., the world's tallest building is barely half that height.

Further even if they could build a building that tall, it would be impossible to fill it with tenants, office or residential.
 
A large number of Wright's building had major technical issues, as a designer he was brilliant but as a practical architect no so much. The SC Johnson HQ in Wisconsin, while wonderful to look at had all sorts of issues from day ones. Also, designing houses with flat roofs in a climate where there is a lot of snow means structural problems as well as drainage issues when the snow melts. If such a thing was to be built with Wright as the architect you'd need a lot of really skilled engineers to go over ever bit of the plans. Of course the the 1950's being able to build such a thing was technically not possible.
 
Reminds me of a joke about a guy that was talking about a new building he had built, "in the Frank Lloyd Wright manner". What did that mean, the others asked? Prairie Style? "No", the guy said, "It went over budget, and the roof leaks".
 
A large number of Wright's building had major technical issues, as a designer he was brilliant but as a practical architect no so much. ....

Wright did himself no favors when he adopted the apprentice system in the Depression. No longer working with experienced engineering firms to detail his designs he was depending on hapazardly trained students & employees/associates to detail the designs & manage construction. These apprentices also did not not have the years of experience in communicating with Wright. His communications skills were weak and unlike the engineers who had habitually worked with him 1900-1930 the students and new associates frequently missed critical points in his instruction. It may have been age as well, but from his mid sixties he had increasing difficulty listening to the contractors. Unlike his previous wives Olgavana was a enabler & not much good at keeping his ego in check in the last three decades of his life.

The hotel he built in Tokyo during the early 1920s was probablly his seminal work. Remaining intact after a earthquake shook down the neighborhood around it. Backed with qualified engineers & contractors who were willing to deal with the unusual he was at the top of his game 1910-30
 
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