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Your Location: World North America U.S.A. Illinois Chicago 330 North Wabash

330 North Wabash

Identification

330 North Wabash
IBM Building
116749

Map

Structure in general

skyscraper
existing [completed]
steel
caisson foundation
curtain wall
black
international style
flat roof

Usage

commercial office

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.

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More Information

Location

330 North Wabash Avenue
60611

Technical Data

211.84 m
211.84 m
211.84 m
52
1971
1973
36
2

Involved Companies

Architect:

Associate Architect:

Also recorded for this building:

Structural engineering, Owner, Property management, General contractor, Elevator supplier, Glass supplier

Features & Amenities

  • Plaza is available to the public