2024-09-07T19:38:35-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149989016/will-the-willis-tower-lose-its-claim-to-being-the-tallest-building-in-chicago Nicholas Korody 2017-01-27T17:51:00-05:00 >2018-01-30T06:16:04-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/gp/gpq3rs3sppseio03.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>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.</p><p>According to <em><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-architecture-notes-kamin-met-0117-20170120-column.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Chicago Tribune</a></em>, it&rsquo;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.</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/gt/gtyvxvrhvo7sox24.jpg"></p>