(Above) Fall came on a Saturday in downtown Chicago this year. Marina City can be seen behind a tree on the plaza of 330 North Wabash.

>Writing about Aqua recently, Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin said the new skyscraper up-river from Marina City “is skillfully woven into the fabric of the city, setting it apart from Marina City, whose corncob-shaped high-rises meet the ground awkwardly.”

Reading that makes us want to see Mr. Kamin meet the ground awkwardly. As you can plainly see in this image, the helical design of the parking ramps is probably the most graceful way to transition the towers from the residential units on top to the ground below. The helix can be described by this tidy parametric equation: x(t) = cos(t), y(t) = sin(t), and z(t) = t. Try that, Aqua.