Archinect - News

The Willis Tower turns 50

2023-05-05T12:24:00-04:00

Now called Willis Tower, the building has been a trendsetter since its debut. After starting life as a headquarters for Sears, Roebuck & Co., the building saw its namesake tenant relocate to the suburbs. Along with the rest of downtown, it suffered other blows, including fears raised by the terrorist attacks of 2001 and the Great Recession. It’s always bounced back. But the tower now faces what might be its biggest test.

SOM won the commission from the Sears corporation in 1970 at a time when office parks and the desire to project a stronger image of America against the backdrop of the Vietnam War were separately prevailing forces in the AEC industry. Sears eventually sold the 110-story building, which was the world’s tallest for 22 years, for more than $1 billion in 1988. More recently it has turned into a focal point of the city’s office vacancy crisis, and new owners Blackstone are now looking forward to returns from a $500 million-plus renovation led by Gensler with optimism.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)'s CEO Javier Quintana de Uña agrees. As he said, "It always keeps ahead of everything else."

The Tribune has historic photos of the tower under construction here.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (@skidmoreowingsmerrill)

103 floors up, Chicago's renovated Skydeck reopens at Willis Tower

2021-04-23T15:25:00-04:00

Three years in the making, the renovated Skydeck Chicago is reopening Friday for public tours of the 45,000-square-foot space that has undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation the general manager calls “part Chicago museum, part selfie museum, part architectural river tour and part children’s museum.”

A design collaboration of SOM, Thinc Design, and Chicago Scenic Studios, the re-envisioned Skydeck experience on Willis Tower's 103rd floor (of 110 in total) reopened to the public today.

Photo © Dave Burk | SOM

"In creating the new Skydeck, we wanted to honor the structural clarity and simplicity of the tower’s original design approach," explains SOM Design Partner Scott Duncan. "We wanted to create a quiet backdrop for people to be fully immersed in the city’s skyline and allow the view to speak for itself."

Photo © Dave Burk | SOM

Midwest floods impact Chicago’s Willis Tower and Farnsworth House

2020-05-20T14:08:00-04:00

Two of Chicago's most treasured architectural landmarks have been impacted by recent torrential rains that have battered the Midwest.

The Chicago Tribune reports that flooding impacted the SOM-designed Willis Tower basement, which caused a building-wide power outage. The resulting blackout left the 1,729-foot-tall tower completely dark, producing an eerie sight on the otherwise brilliant Chicago skyline.

Have you seen the creepy pictures of Sears Tower sans lights? Flooding knocked out power to the building. Also, I like that people still call it the Sears Tower. Which reminds me, I need to stop at Hooks on the way home from work today. pic.twitter.com/phspRyfVGl
— Sean Copeland (@TheSeanCopeland) May 20, 2020

Similarly, rising waters from a river located nearby the Mies van der Rohe-designed Farnsworth House in the western suburbs threatened to overwhelm the glass-encased home, as well. The Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin reports, however, that the waters have alr...

Chicago's Willis Tower could face another name change following Aon takeover

2020-03-11T15:58:00-04:00

In a $30 billion deal, Aon is buying Willis Towers Watson, a rival in business insurance and risk consulting, but it raises one question in the mind of most Chicagoans: What will happen to the Willis Tower name now that we’ve gotten used to calling it that? The deal between the two London-based companies was announced Monday. Executives said the combined operation will use the Aon name, not Willis.

Willis Tower, which once reigned the skyscraper ranking as the world's tallest building for nearly 25 years under its former name Sears Tower, will likely not be renamed again anytime soon as the naming rights contract with Willis Towers Watson insurance does not expire until March 2025.

Crain's Chicago Business reports that United Airlines, by far the largest tenant in the 110-story tower, could potentially also make advances towards putting its name on its headquarters building after hinting at such aspirations in the past.

"It's unclear whether Aon, which already has its name on one of the city's most recognizable towers—Aon Center in the East Loop—would have the right to unilaterally change the name," Crain's adds. "If Aon can change it, it's conceivable that the city could soon have Aon Center and Aon Tower in a flex of the company's skyline muscle."

Central Park Tower breaks Willis Tower's record 45-year claim to highest roof in the Western Hemisphere

2019-08-05T07:00:00-04:00

Central Park Tower, aka 217 West 57th Street, has surpassed the 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower (née Sears Tower) to claim the title of highest roof in the Western Hemisphere. The Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed supertall is being developed by Extell and will soon top-out at 1,550 feet tall over Billionaires’ Row.

Once the world's tallest building from 1974 to 1996, the 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower in Chicago is, little by little, kicked out from top placements in various height-record categories by the new kids on blocks all over the world.

After losing the overall height crown to the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in the mid-90s (when it was still the Sears Tower), the 110-story Modernist structure was ejected from the elusive Top 10 Tallest Buildings club when the 2,073-foot-tall Shanghai Tower was completed, and now, Willis Tower had to pass on also the title of highest roof in the Western Hemisphere to a young, skinny New Yorker on Billionaires' Row, the soon-to-be-completed (and tallest residential building on the planet) Central Park Tower.

View this post on Instagram @CentralParkTower and @One57–– two NYC landmarks gracing the skyline and providing residents with unparalleled views of #billionairesrow
A post shared by Central Park Tower (@centralparktower) o...

The Petronas vs. Sears Tower controversy revisited

2019-05-03T14:43:00-04:00

The decision – that the Petronas Towers were indeed the world’s new tallest building(s), measuring 451.9 meters to the tops of their decorative spires – was based on the re-affirmation of a standard the Council had held for some 60 years. The antennae atop Sears Tower, which took it to an ultimate height of 527 meters, did not count toward its “architectural” height, because the antennae were not considered a permanent part of the building. [...] It was not a popular decision in Chicago [...]

Remember when the Southeast Asian nation of Malaysia laid claim to the title of "World’s Tallest Building" in 1996; daring to challenge Sears Tower's crown which had been the incumbent record holder since 1974? The Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the organization responsible for keeping track of proper building heights, back then determined in a historic announcement that Kuala Lumpur's brand new twin Petronas Towers measured 451.9 meters/1,483 feet from sidewalk to the top of their spires and were indeed the world's new reigning champions.

The CTBUH's decision was not well received in Chicago, to say the least, and a heated debate errupted whether Sears Tower's antennae should have been included in the building height determination to keep the 110-story behemoth at the top and the largely unrivaled sense of American exceptionalism intact. (The champion title has never returned to the United States since then, and Sears Tower, now Willis Tower, is currently ranked at ...

More details on Willis Tower's $668 million renovation

2018-09-17T15:10:00-04:00

Skyscraper owner Blackstone hopes Catalog, the centerpiece of the building's ongoing $668 million renovation, will set off a rush of foot traffic in the southwest corner of the Loop. [...] Anchoring Catalog will be Willis Tower's first food hall, a 14,000-square-foot location run by London-based food hall operator Urbanspace, as well as dining options Shake Shack, Sweetgreen, Luke's Lobster and Taylor Gourmet.

Chicago's Willis Tower is getting new elevators

2018-05-08T15:36:00-04:00

The 16,000 people who work in and visit Willis Tower each day could soon be spending less time on their elevator rides in Chicago's tallest building. A five-year project to upgrade the tower's 83 elevator shafts -- and replace 97 passenger cabs, as some shafts have two-level elevators -- will start in June, according to the building's owner, Blackstone Group's Equity Office, and elevator firm Otis.

This major upgrade is expected to significantly reduce trip times as well as energy consumption (by as much as 30-35%), according to Equity Office and Otis.

The 110-story Willis Tower—once ranked as the world's tallest building for nearly 25 years—hasn't undergone such an enormous overhaul since it was completed in 1973 as Sears Tower.

Chicago's Willis Tower to get $20 million expansion of the hair-raising Skydeck

2017-03-28T19:04:00-04:00

Not for the faint of heart, the Blackstone Group is planning on expanding the Skydeck, the popular observatory on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower, according to Chicago Business. The skyscraper, still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, was the tallest building in the world for nearly 25 years before being overbuilt by the Petronas Towers. The new owners acquired the space in 2015 for $1.3 billion, the highest price every paid for a US property outside of New York City, and are considering ways to further develop the property.

In 2009, the building then held by London-based insurance broker Willis Group, added retractable glass balconies. This panic-inducing attraction extends approximately 4 feet out into the sky, allowing those who dare the ability to stand 1,353 feet in the sky from a glass box referred to as The Ledge. Building on this popular attraction, the fresh proprietors of the tower are considering a $20 million expansion. With glass-bottomed attractions popping u...

Chicago’s Willis Tower is about to get a $500M facelift

2017-02-10T12:37:00-05:00

City officials revealed Wednesday a slew of improvements for Chicago’s tallest building, the Willis Tower. Totaling up to $500 million, the renovations will include six floors of new retail space, an outdoor deck and a winter garden—all intended to entice tourists into the Tower. Other potential new amenities include a rooftop skating rink and a 50,000 square foot digital attraction. Officials said that 5,000 Skydeck tickets will be given each year to Chicago schools. $100,000 will be donated to Project Pipeline, a program for young people.

The project, which is spearheaded by the building’s owners the Blackstone Group L.P., will begin this month and end in the summer of 2019. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the project should create 2,500 jobs.

h/t DNA Info

Will the Willis Tower lose its claim to being the tallest building in Chicago?

2017-01-27T17:51:00-05:00

The Willis Tower may soon have to say goodbye to its title as the tallest building in the Windy City. Two competing designs for a redevelopment of the Helmut Jahn-designed James R. Thompson center stretch high above the tower. One, by Jahn himself, would preserve the original, curving structure while adding a 1,340-foot hotel and residential skyscraper besides it. Another, by Chicago architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill, would demolish the Jahn building and build a 1,700-foot mixed-use tower. Apparently, Governor Bruce Rauner is in favor of demolishing the older building.

According to the Chicago Tribune, it’s not clear if any of these plans will actually be realized. Budgetary disputes between Dems and Republicans in the state government may preclude any action.

Sorry, Willis Tower, but Shanghai Tower just kicked you out of the Top 10 Tallest Buildings club – after 41 years!

2016-01-07T15:02:00-05:00

Shanghai Tower has officially completed as the tallest building in China and the second-tallest building in the world. [...] The completion of Shanghai Tower is especially notable for pushing Chicago’s 442-meter Willis Tower (originally Sears Tower), once the world’s tallest building, out of the Top 10 list for the first time since it completed in 1974. Willis Tower was among the Top 10 Tallest Buildings for 41 years

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat goes on to say: "Given the rapid development of urban centers in these regions and the new heights that are being realized by contemporary tall buildings, CTBUH data projects that it will be less than five years before Willis Tower also falls out of the Top 20 Tallest Buildings."

Cue the sad trombone, Chicago.

↑ The updated CTBUH Current Tallest 20 poster (click image to enlarge).

Previously in the Archinect news:

Chicago's Willis Tower sold for $1.3B to Blackstone Group

2015-03-19T13:20:00-04:00

Blackstone Group LP agreed to buy Chicago’s Willis Tower, the second-tallest building in the U.S., and plans to upgrade the retail and observatory space in a bet on growth in the city. [...] On a per-square-foot basis, the valuation for the more than 40-year-old Willis Tower is lower than deals for newer buildings. The Blackstone price is about $342 a square foot, based on about 3.8 million square feet (353,000 square meters) of rentable space.

Previously: Need a skyscraper? Chicago’s Willis Tower just hit the market.

Need a skyscraper? Chicago’s Willis Tower just hit the market.

2015-03-05T17:29:00-05:00

Chicago’s Willis Tower, once the world’s tallest building and one of the city’s top tourist attractions, is up for sale. [...] The 1,450-foot (442-meter) building, formerly known as the Sears Tower, is the second-tallest in the U.S., and was the world’s highest from its completion in the early 1970s until 1998 [...] “It’s iconic in the size and how it dominates the skyline, [...] As an office building, however, it’s 1970s construction.”

Glass Cracks Below Tourists in Chicago Skydeck

2014-05-29T13:30:00-04:00

In what could have been a nightmare come true, part of the glass floor in a viewing box high above Chicago cracked right below a group of California tourists. [...] Alejandro Garibay and his family were taking in the sights at Chicago's Willis Tower on Wednesday night. The tower's Skydeck, which opened in 2009, is on the 103rd floor, about 1,353 feet above Chicago's downtown. [...] While on the glass, Garibay heard cracking.

Willis Tower Suspends Visitors Above Chicago

2011-05-31T14:25:03-04:00

Despite the reassuring rivets in the 1,500-pound glass panels, the calm stillness of the air at the Windy City’s pinnacle and the security of a 10,000-pound weight capacity for each of the four 4.3-foot-deep glass boxes that protrude past the sheer edge of the Western Hemisphere’s tallest building — despite all that, you still feel twinges of queasiness.