Willis Tower

Willis Tower
w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Name	Willis Tower
Location	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Architect	Bruce Graham and Fazlur Rahman Khan
Engineer	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Construction start	1970
Completion	1974
Opening	1974
Height	1,451 feet
Floors	110
Elevator count	104

Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was designed by Bruce Graham and Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and completed in 1974. The building was developed by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and was the tallest building in the world at the time of its completion, surpassing the World Trade Center in New York City. It was later surpassed by the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is currently the second-tallest building in the United States, after One World Trade Center in New York City.

● History

The construction of the building began in 1970 and was completed in 1974, with a total cost of $150 million, which is approximately $800 million in today's dollars, adjusted for inflation in the United States. The building was officially opened on September 26, 1974, and was named after Sears, Roebuck and Co., the company that developed it. In 2009, the building was renamed Willis Tower after the Willis Group Holdings, a London-based insurance broker that acquired the building's naming rights. The building has been owned by several companies, including Sears, Roebuck and Co., MetLife, and Blackstone Group, and has been managed by Jones Lang LaSalle and CBRE Group. The building has also been home to several notable companies, including United Airlines, Sears Holdings, and Caterpillar Inc., and has been visited by several famous people, including Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama.

● Design_and_Construction

The building was designed by Bruce Graham and Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and was constructed by American Bridge Company and Harrison & Abramovitz. The building's design was influenced by the Bundeshaus in Bonn, Germany, and the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The building's structural system is a tube structure, which provides excellent strength and stability, and is supported by a foundation system that consists of a mat foundation and a deep foundation system. The building's exterior is covered in anodized aluminum and black glass, and features a distinctive bundled tube design, which was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The building's design has been influenced by several famous architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier, and has been compared to several famous buildings, including the Empire State Building in New York City and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

● Architecture

The building's architecture is a prime example of modern architecture and brutalist architecture, and features a distinctive bundled tube design, which provides excellent strength and stability. The building's design was influenced by the De Stijl movement and the Bauhaus school, and features a minimalist and functional design, which was inspired by the Villa Savoye in Poissy, France. The building's exterior is covered in anodized aluminum and black glass, and features a distinctive grid system, which provides excellent structural support and is inspired by the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois. The building's design has been influenced by several famous architects, including Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, and Richard Neutra, and has been compared to several famous buildings, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York City and the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.

● Observation_Decks

The building features two observation decks, the Skydeck on the 103rd floor and the Ledge on the 103rd floor, which offer stunning views of the city and are managed by Legoland Discovery Center and Madame Tussauds. The Skydeck is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Chicago, and attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year, including several famous people, such as Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, and Bill Clinton. The Ledge is a glass balcony that extends 4.3 feet outside the building, and offers a thrilling view of the city, which is similar to the view from the Top of the Rock in New York City and the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada. The observation decks are also home to several exhibits and displays, including a history of Chicago exhibit and a science exhibit on the physics of skyscrapers, which is sponsored by NASA and MIT.

● Tenants_and_Occupants

The building is home to several notable companies, including United Airlines, Sears Holdings, and Caterpillar Inc., and has been visited by several famous people, including Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama. The building is also home to several restaurants and bars, including the Signature Room at the 95th and the Metropolitan Club of Chicago, which offer stunning views of the city and are popular with Chicagoans and tourists alike. The building's tenants and occupants include several famous companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, and several notable organizations, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, which are headquartered in the building.

● Incidents_and_Controversies

The building has been the site of several incidents and controversies over the years, including a fire in 1988 and a bomb threat in 2001, which were responded to by the Chicago Fire Department and the FBI. The building has also been the subject of several lawsuits and disputes over the years, including a lawsuit filed by the Willis Group Holdings over the building's naming rights, which was settled out of court. The building has also been criticized for its security measures, which have been deemed inadequate by some, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which have raised concerns about the building's surveillance cameras and metal detectors.

● Impact_and_Legacy

The building has had a significant impact on the city of Chicago and the world of architecture, and has been named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The building has also been recognized as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service and has been designated as a Chicago Landmark by the City of Chicago, which has also designated the building as a historic district. The building's design has influenced several other buildings, including the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, China and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and has been compared to several famous buildings, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building has also been featured in several films and television shows, including The Dark Knight and ER, which have showcased the building's stunning architecture and breathtaking views. Category:Skyscrapers in the United States