A commercial building defined by its externally braced facades and series of landscaped terraces.
The building’s external steel cross-braces are engineered with Chicago’s harsh climate in mind - movable node at the centre of each brace allows for thermal expansion and contraction. This innovative mechanism facilitates the use of a steel lateral system with a concrete gravity system. Together with a glazed offset cantilevered core, this unique structural system enables large, open floor plates and flexible, light-filled workspaces.
Structural engineering principles strongly influenced the architecture here and it’s great to see engineering decisions honestly and proudly expressed for the building tenants and the general public to appreciate.
The structure is carefully proportioned to echo the areas historic low-rise streetscape.
The elastically reconfiguring bracing system is innovative and bold considering scale. It offers significant constructability benefits over more traditional approaches and allows for thermal expansion and contraction with Chicago’s harsh climate in mind.