Honor Award

• Division: Commercial
• Location: Chicago, IL
• Architect: Powell/Kleinschmidt Inc
• Client: Tishman Speyer Properties
• General contractor: Turner Construction Company
• Consultants: Environmental Systems Design (MEP/FP Engineer); Thornton Tomasetti (Structural Engineer); Israel Berger & Associates (Curtain Wall); George Sexton & Associates (Lighting Consultant); Daniel Weinbach & Partners (Landscape Architect)

Overview

The new, expanded entry lobby enclosure was designed to be spacious and transparent, providing an inviting public plaza in an urban setting. The glass wall owes its transparency to the unusually large laminated glass panels of low-iron glass that are point-supported on four routulles per glass unit. The outrigger support arms for the glass, the tubular steel skeletal superstructure, glass roof, and carefully integrated lighting and sprinkler systems provide minimal profiles and maximum transparency. In addition to Louis Nevelson's sculpture, "Dawn Shadows," the winter garden features two bamboo forests. Jurors were impressed by the "modest, minimal framing," and credited the project with "revitalizing the plaza with an elegant, convincing program that incorporates lighting, sculpture, and the urban landscape."