![]() ![]() To honor Fazlur Khan’s contributions, the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois commissioned a sculpture of him for the lobby of the Willis Tower.Īdditionally, black bands appear on the tower around the 29th, 64th, 88th, and 104th floors. The system would prove highly influential in skyscraper construction and has been used in most supertall buildings since, including the world’s current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. It was both structurally efficient and economic: at 1,450 feet, it provided more space and rose higher than the Empire State Building and cost much less. The Sears Tower was the first building to use this innovative design. The remaining west and center tubes reach 108 floors. The northeast and southwest tubes reach the 66th floor the north, east, and south tubes end at the 90th. ![]() The Design & Construction of the Willis TowerĪ team of Colombian-Peruvian architects including Bruce Graham and Bangladeshi-Pakistani structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan designed the building as nine square “tubes” clustered in a 3×3 matrix forming a square base with 225-foot sides.Īll nine tubes would rise up to the 50th floor of the building, where the northwest and southeast tubes terminate. On July 16, 2009, the name of the building was officially changed to Willis Tower. The contract included naming rights for 15 years. In 2009 the London-based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings leased more than 140,000 square feet of office space on three floors of the Sears Tower. This history explains why many Chicago residents still nostalgically refer to the building as the Sears Tower, although it has not technically been the Sears Tower for years. The location of the tower was strategically selected for its proximity to expressways and commuter rail lines to benefit Sears employees, though in the end, the tower’s location proved to be advantageous for the city as well given that the inhabitants of the bustling office building generated new energy in a formerly stagnant West Loop neighborhood. In order to consolidate current staff and accommodate anticipated growth, the company hired a specialist firm to design a three-million-square-foot office tower. In 1969 Sears, Roebuck and Company was the world’s largest retailer, employing approximately 350,000 people. It All Began With the Sears Tower in 1973 It also provides more than 4.3 million square feet of floor space for offices and other activities. Built for Sears, Roebuck and Company, the structure reaches 110 floors and a height of 1,450 feet excluding broadcast antennas and their supports. The Sears Tower, located at 233 South Wacker Drive, first opened to tenants in 1973 though construction was not actually completed until 1974. Up next, we offer a short review of its history. The city’s diverse museums are likewise an entertaining landmark worth visiting, but it seems that, given the choice, most who’ve had the fortune of visiting both would likely opt for the former. Not only one of the most iconic buildings in the city of Chicago but also across the entire nation, the Willis Tower is visited by thousands of people each year. This brief historical recap on the Willis Tower, previously the Sears Tower, is presented by the Chicago sex abuse victim attorneys of Laffey, Bucci & Kent. ![]()
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