Significant alterations to the exterior of Helmut Jahn’s aging James R. Thompson Center have been revealed inside of planning documents submitted for Google’s forthcoming $280 million renovation of the landmark former government office building in Chicago.
The building’s glass facade and atrium will now be demolished in its entirety at a cost of $6 million, according to permitting documents issued by the city’s Department of Buildings on October 13th. Lee Bey was first to report the news in the Chicago Sun-Times Tuesday when a spokesperson for the tech giant promised a formal announcement could come “within weeks” as the planning process moves along.
Landmarks Illinois’ President and CEO Bonnie McDonald told Bey the demolition would “add to the waste stream” of the building’s carbon lifecycle, though did admit the reuse plan was a “big win” over previous fears it would either be razed or topped by a new supertall construction.
Added McDonald: “While we realize losing the existing windows would change the character of the building and add to the waste stream, we also recognize the need and opportunity to make historic buildings more energy efficient — something Landmarks Illinois supports. We take in the big picture that the building is being reused, and that is a win.”
The chief defense for the changes is their impact on the dubious yearly operational costs (a burden the State of Illinois cited directly as part of its decision to sell its stakes in the property), which had ballooned to $17 million by 2016.
Renderings released in 2021 appear to show a new glazed facade with biophilic elements placed vertically in the lobby and atrium. JAHN is leading the redesign. The firm's new President, Evan Jahn, said last July that the building would be “enhanced to a level and expectation of a 21st-century office” in line with Google’s other recent projects in the office sector post-Covid.
6 Comments
This is heartbreaking. The building is glorious as it is, I'm so sad to see it greyed out like a houseflip. Gutting the building, and me.
Just saw this place recently prior to its opening for the biannual. Its an amazing place with a formidable story. Its also a building on its last feet.
The rendering doesnt show enough to explain what is going to happen yet, IMO. I'm hopeful that it will be better than this first sketch...
The background story is amazing, including a massive amount of deferred maintenance ($326 million) that left the building in very rough shape, on top of design problems that are serious and would have required a face-lift no matter what.
Would be amazing to imagine this building delicately restored like the Neue Nationalgalerie but the other options on the table were not so nice. Talking with people involved with the project I understand a lot of opinions were pointed towards straight ahead demolition.
For what it is worth a previous proposal by Helmut Jahn's office was this
A nice tower but strange when banged up to the original building. The updated google-ready version, also by Jahn, seems more mature and better for the site.
TLDR, seems like adaptive re-use won out over demolition for a change. That's a big shift. After that we are arguing over how to do that best. And maybe there is still room for discussion...serious design is only now getting started.
Google is certainly well funded enough to cover the cost of rebuilding Jahn's original vision using today's envelope technology. That would be the right move here. Many of the issues could be cured with double and triple glazing, which was not done in the original construction due to cost. The original Jahn color scheme is integral to the building and should be retained.
i get the feeling the colors might not make it, or maybe not the mirror finishes. They really overwhelm and confuse. It's a bit painful, frankly. Amazing at the same time. Curious how they will deal with it. Color is as powerful as form in this building. More than the building, my hope is that the small triangular plaza space where the curve meets the intersection is turned into something more usable...
I was never fond of the building during my ten years in Chicago. Funny because you look at the curated photos of it and you are like "yeah, this is some good po-mo shit." but the experience in person was always awful.
From an environmental standpoint, I applaud its re-use.
From a functional and architectural standpoint, the building was a complete failure. Whether that was due to design, construction, maintenance, or its use and adaptation over the years is hard to say.
Opened in 1985, 38 years ago. Unbearably hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Massive leaks with the glass walls. Utter complete failure from the start to now.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.