77 West Wacker Drive
Encyclopedia
Ricardo Bofill
Ricardo Bofill, also Ricard Bofill Leví is a Catalan Spanish postmodernist architect.He studied at the School of Architecture in Geneva, Switzerland...
. It was formerly known as the RR Donnelley Building when the RR Donnelley printing company was the primary tenant. RR Donnelley moved its corporate headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
to a different location in May 2005, and in 2007 the building became the corporate headquarters of United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
.
This is the World Headquarters of Chicago-based United Airlines, its parent company United Continental Holdings
United Continental Holdings
United Continental Holdings, Inc. , is a publicly traded airline holding company, incorporated in Delaware with headquarters in the United Building in Chicago, Illinois. UCH owns and operates United Airlines, Inc. and Continental Airlines, Inc. both of which use the trade name United Airlines...
, and United Continental subsidiary Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
. The deal included naming rights to the building. Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
is a major tenant in the building, occupying multiple floors.
The building has a newsletter called "FOCUS", published by Prime Group Realty Trust.
History
By 1990, Keck, Mahin & CateKeck, Mahin & Cate
Keck, Mahin & Cate was a law firm based in Chicago, Illinois that was founded in 1886 and stopped operations in 1997.The firm worked in general practice, banking and bankruptcy law, corporate finances, mergers and acquisitions, and the like. By 1985, it employed 95 lawyers.The firm had branches in...
, a law firm, considered moving out of its space in the Sears Tower and moving into a potential new development, which would become 77 West Wacker Drive. Brokers who were familiar with the lease negotiations stated that Sears was trying to keep Keck, Mahin & Cate in the building. Keck, Mahin & Cate decided to move into 77 West Wacker, and the Prime Group, developer of 77 West Wacker, finalized the development of the facility. In 1991 RR Donnelley leased 215000 square foot on floors 9 through 19 for its world headquarters, and Kemper Securities leased 150000 square foot. With the lease deals concluded, 77 West Wacker had 86% of its tenant space occupied. Jerry C. Davis of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
said that the remaining space would be too small for some prospective tenants. Davis added that the leases to RR Donnelley and Kemper significantly altered "the complexion of the downtown office market."
In 2004 RR Donnelley signed a letter of intent to move out of 77 West Wacker. During the same year McGuireWoods
McGuireWoods
McGuireWoods LLP is a major U.S. law firm with more than 900 attorneys in 19 offices in the United States and Europe. With the firm's largest offices in Richmond, VA, Charlotte, NC, and Chicago, IL, McGuireWoods has recently experienced a period of rapid growth by opening new offices in London in...
extended its lease by 8 years, changing the end date from December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2018. In addition McGuireWoods expanded its leased space, effective February 1, 2004. The company gained an extra 65756 square foot of space in addition to its existing 67819 square foot. As a result of the lease expansion of McGuireWoods, as of February 2004 77 West Wacker was 92.2% leased. In 2004 the lease of the firm Jones Day
Jones Day
Jones Day is an international law firm founded in Cleveland, Ohio on March 1, 1893, by Judge Edwin J. Blandin and William Lowe Rice. Jones Day is the eighth largest law firm in the world by revenue, and the fourth highest grossing firm in the US with annual revenues of US$1.4 billion...
of 138764 square foot in 77 West Wacker was extended by 15 years, with the end date changed from September 30, 2007 to September 30, 2022. In 2006 Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
extended the term of its lease and expanded its leased space to 12391 square foot, with a total of 47122 square foot occupied by Microsoft. During the same year Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig
Greenberg Traurig LLP and Greenberg Traurig PA is an international law firm based in Miami, Florida.The firm has approximately 1,800 attorneys and governmental professionals in 32 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Its founding office is in Miami, Florida with its largest office in...
agreed to expand its lease by 22565 square foot, giving it a total of 100975 square foot.
In 2006 United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
agreed to move its 350 executives and some staff members from its Elk Grove Township campus to 77 West Wacker.
Building design
Steve Baron, president of Prime Group Realty, said in 1990 that 77 West Wacker had "very compact floors with virtually no columns." Therefore tenant companies would not pay for space that they would be unable to use.To enhance its panoramic view over the city, the building's skin is predominantly glazed. The facade, of classical proportions, comprises glass surfaces framed in Portuguese white granite, with the dividers between the different floors linked by columns. The top floor is shaped like a temple. The ground floor houses an 18 m high atrium in gray and white marble.
At night, 540 lamps
Lamp (electrical component)
A lamp is a replaceable component such as an incandescent light bulb, which is designed to produce light from electricity. These components usually have a base of ceramic, metal, glass or plastic, which makes an electrical connection in the socket of a light fixture. This connection may be made...
light the building and its surroundings, along with a United sign that was added to the building in 2008.
The interior is similarly styled. The classical Greek
Architecture of Ancient Greece
The architecture of Ancient Greece is the architecture produced by the Greek-speaking people whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland and Peloponnesus, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Asia Minor and Italy for a period from about 900 BC until the 1st century AD, with the earliest...
style is repeated inside, with Thassos marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
walls and a 40 ft (12 m) tall coffered ceiling made of white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
wood.
A sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
by Xavier Corbero called "Three Lawyers and A Judge" graces the building, as does Antoni Tàpies
Antoni Tàpies
Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tàpies is a Catalan painter. He is one of the most famous European artists of his generation. After studying law for 3 years, he devoted himself from 1943 onwards only to his painting...
' artwork called "Big Eyelids". Bofill further contributed by creating a sculpture entitled "Twisted Columns" which appears to float above a reflecting pool
Reflecting pool
A reflecting pool or reflection pool is a water feature found in gardens, parks, and at memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water, undisturbed by fountain jets, for a calm reflective...
.
Transportation
Chicago Transit AuthorityChicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
(CTA) bus lines serving the building include 29, 62, 124, 145, 146 and 151. The closest CTA stations, the Clark and Lake Station and the State and Lake Station, have the Brown, Blue, Green, Orange, and Purple lines. The Metra Electric Line is the closest Metra
Metra
Metra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 240 stations on 11 different rail lines. Throughout the 21st century, Metra has been the second busiest commuter rail system in the United States by...
line.
Position in skyline
77 West Wacker is located between Buckingham FountainBuckingham Fountain
Buckingham Fountain is a Chicago landmark in the center of Grant Park. Dedicated in 1927, it is one of the largest fountains in the world. Built in a rococo wedding cake style and inspired by the Latona Fountain at the Palace of Versailles, it is meant to allegorically represent Lake Michigan...
and the Pittsfield Building
Pittsfield Building
The Pittsfield Building, is a 38-story skyscraper located at 55 E. Washington Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, USA, that was the city's tallest building at the time of its completion...
.
See also
- List of skyscrapers
- List of tallest buildings in the United States
- List of tallest buildings in Chicago
- World's tallest structures
- Ricardo BofillRicardo BofillRicardo Bofill, also Ricard Bofill Leví is a Catalan Spanish postmodernist architect.He studied at the School of Architecture in Geneva, Switzerland...
External links
- 77 West Wacker Drive
- Emporis listing
- Prime Group Realty Trust
- 77 West Wacker Drive - Ricardo Bofill Architecture