GTG CONSULTANTS, PC

Property Needs Assessment

311 S. Wacker

Chicago, IL

Synopsis

Property Needs Assessment regarding acquisition of 65-story landmark tower designed by New York architects Kohn Pedersen Fox. The downtown Chicago building was completed in 1990 and contains 1,281,000-nrsf.

The building contains an 85' tall glass-ceilinged lobby known as the Winter Garden. Except for this feature, the underground parking levels, retail spaces, and office tower are generally constructed of a reinforced‑concrete one-way system supported by reinforced-concrete columns. The lateral-load resisting system likely consists of a combination of moment-resisting frames and shearwalls at the building core. The building is founded on drilled piers locally known as caissons.

Facts

Upon construction, 311 S. Wacker was the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world. It remains the world's tallest building known only by its street address.

311 South Wacker North Elevation — North elevation.

311 South Wacker Crown — One of four cooling tower enclosures, surrounding famed 105' cylindric "crown".

311 South Wacker Winter Garden — Winter Garden interior.