330 North Wabash

Identification

Map

Structure in general

Usage

Facts

• The lobby has a small bust of architect Mies van der Rohe by sculptor Marino Marini.
• Second-tallest building designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the most famous minimalist architect of modern times.
• The building is located at a turn in the Chicago River, and can be seen straight ahead when entering the river from Lake Michigan.
• A public plaza surrounds the tower on all sides, with a large stairway descending north to the lower street level.
• For the time it was built the IBM Building housed an extraordinarily large number of computers, which required an advanced level of environmental engineering. The walls were sealed by a plastic thermal barrier, and a reverse refrigeration system was used to reclaim heat given off by machines and people.
• The original plan called for a U-shaped building, but the rectangular design was made practical when the city agreed to change the outline of Wabash Avenue on the lot's edge.
• Unlike many later curtain-wall skyscrapers with uniform facades, IBM's facade is articulated by differentiating glass, spandrel and mullion - window frames are raised and spandrel panels recessed.