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Thompson Center
[Enlarge] [Purchase] (c) Daniel Kieköwer   [Enlarge] [Purchase] (c) Steven Henry   [Enlarge] [Purchase] (c) Pedro Marcelino   Photo Compilation Click here to see more files.		You are using Emporis.com and all data marked with * and additional tools are accessible through content/tools offered by Emporis.   Do you have an update for the content on this page? [E-mail the Emporis Data Team] [Enter and manage information and photos] Identification Official name Thompson Center Alternative names * Emporis Building Number 117313   Location Address * Bordering street #1 North Clark Street Bordering street #2 North LaSalle Street Bordering street #3 West Lake Street Bordering street #4 West Randolph Street Postcode * Exact Latitude * Exact Longitude * Location Map (POI) * Neighborhood Loop District Downtown City Chicago State Illinois Country U.S.A.   Technical Data Height (tip) * Height (struct.) 94 m 308 ft Height (roof) * Floors (OG) 17 Construction start * Construction end 1985 Elevators * Escalators *   Building in General Type of construction high-rise building Structural materials * Foundation type * Facade systems * Facade materials * Facade colors * Main usages * Side usages * * * * Architectural style * Status existing [completed] Facts - The office floors wrap around a giant cylindrical atrium which extends through the roof to a sloping skylight. The atrium is separated from the plaza by a curved glass wall. - The building houses state government offices, a post office, a rapid transit station serving five train lines, shops, sculptures, a free public art gallery, and a blood donation center. - At the time of its construction the design was a sharp break from convention, with a broad sloping curve of glass sweeping from one corner of the block to the other. The shape has often been compared to a spaceship. - The building's bold design by Helmut Jahn was commissioned by four-term Illinois governor James R. Thompson, after whom the building is named. - Conceived as a futuristic reinterpretation of the state capitol form, the building's skylight and central atrium stand in for the traditional dome and rotunda. - This structure replaced the Michael A. Bilandic Building across the street as the principal Illinois state government building in Chicago. - Glass elevators with vaulted tops shuttle passengers up and down a pair of elevator bays that project into the atrium. - The basement level holds an auditorium and a large food court which opens onto the atrium. - Just inside the main entrance a waterfall pours down to the lower level between a pair of escalators. - The plaza features the Jean Dubuffet sculpture Monument With Standing Beast, a 4-piece amorphic fiberglass construction painted white and crossed by a web of black lines. - The Dubuffet sculpture's companion, Monument With Phantom, is located in the plaza of the Enterprise Plaza in Houston. - A two-story open gallery encircles the entire building at sidewalk level, with round columns screened by flat granite panels. - The columns and granite screens which encircle the base continue around the perimeter of the plaza, decreasing in height the farther they get from the building. - Blue glass, salmon-pink panels, red structural elements, and pink granite give the interior and exterior an eye-catching color scheme. Companies involved in this Building* Emporis Premium Companies: Bennett & Brosseau Roofing, Inc., KONE Inc.. Associate architect: Lester B. Knight Associates Design architect: Murphy/Jahn, Inc. Architects Other companies: Commercial Light Company, Contech-MSI Co., Global Fire Protection Company, Maron Electric Company, Tractel Ltd. North Central, Vertical Access, Walsh Construction.