311 South Wacker Drive
Encyclopedia
311 South Wacker Drive in Chicago
, USA, is a post-modern
65-story skyscraper
completed in 1990. At 961 feet (293 m) tall, it is the seventh tallest building in Chicago and the 16th tallest in the United States. It was once the second tallest reinforced concrete building in the world (after Two Prudential Plaza
, also in Chicago).The building is also the tallest building in the world known by its street address.
The lower level of the winter garden was designed to connect via underground passageway to Union Station. The building also contains three levels of underground parking. The building contains both retail and commercial tenants.
's bronze sculpture "Gem of the Lakes" looks over the garden from the Wacker entrance. The fountain shell form is taken from the city seal with a heroic figure representing Chicago as the "city of broad shoulders" wearing a cape symbolic of the great engineering feat which reversed the flow of Chicago River.
This land was originally to be occupied by two more towers, two linear slabs, developed like arms up to the shoulder of the existing building. The massing and design would allow for a built area roughly equal to the amount of the adjacent Sears Tower, which along with the winter garden would create a publicly accessible urban space, similar to the historic Rockefeller Plaza in NYC.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, USA, is a post-modern
Postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
65-story skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
completed in 1990. At 961 feet (293 m) tall, it is the seventh tallest building in Chicago and the 16th tallest in the United States. It was once the second tallest reinforced concrete building in the world (after Two Prudential Plaza
Two Prudential Plaza
Two Prudential Plaza is a super-tall skyscraper that was built in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois, United States in 1990. At 995 feet tall, it is currently the sixth-tallest building in Chicago and the thirteenth tallest in the United States. The building was designed by the firm Loebl,...
, also in Chicago).The building is also the tallest building in the world known by its street address.
The lower level of the winter garden was designed to connect via underground passageway to Union Station. The building also contains three levels of underground parking. The building contains both retail and commercial tenants.
Design
Lobby
The lobby is an impressive two-level (one below ground) 85 feet (25.9 m)-tall glass-ceilinged "winter garden" with palm trees and a fountain. The Winter Garden was influenced by the adjacent steel structures of Chicago’s "L" tracks and Bridges. It was envisioned as a commuter link or "pedestrian station" serving as a connection from the adjacent Train Station through the existing service tunnels under the Chicago River leading to the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) from a series of underground spaces and passages. The garden was added in 2002. Raymond KaskeyRaymond Kaskey
Raymond Kaskey is an American sculptor.He was born in Pittsburgh. He studied architecture at Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University...
's bronze sculpture "Gem of the Lakes" looks over the garden from the Wacker entrance. The fountain shell form is taken from the city seal with a heroic figure representing Chicago as the "city of broad shoulders" wearing a cape symbolic of the great engineering feat which reversed the flow of Chicago River.
Crown
The top of the building is a 105 feet (32 m)-tall translucent cylinder, surrounded by four other smaller cylinders, which was inspired by the massing of the Tribune Tower. This makes it among the most visible Chicago skyscrapers at night, as its crown is brightly illuminated. The five cylinders on top are lit at night by 1,852 fluorescent tubes, and a lantern at the top changes colors for various holidays and special events.Park
311 South Wacker is surrounded to the northwest by a grassy area, commonly used as a lounging and public lunch area during warm months, which is the largest area of green space in the Chicago Loop. This park is used to host local farmer markets, musical events, and various art and cultural festivals. To the southwest is a parking lot.This land was originally to be occupied by two more towers, two linear slabs, developed like arms up to the shoulder of the existing building. The massing and design would allow for a built area roughly equal to the amount of the adjacent Sears Tower, which along with the winter garden would create a publicly accessible urban space, similar to the historic Rockefeller Plaza in NYC.
See also
- List of tallest buildings in the United States
- List of tallest buildings in Chicago
- List of tallest buildings and structures in the world
- List of tallest buildings in the world
- Wacker DriveWacker DriveWacker Drive is a major street in Chicago, Illinois, United States, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of the Chicago River...