Willis Tower
- Architects
- Bruce Graham Fazlur Khan
- Year
- 1971
- Style
- International Style
- City
- Chicago, IL
The Willis Tower - known for decades as the Sears Tower - is a 110-story, 1,451-foot skyscraper in the Loop, designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It opened in 1973 as the world's tallest building, a title it held for nearly 25 years, and remains the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
the building
Nine bundled tubes. Graham and Khan designed the tower as nine square structural tubes clustered in a 3x3 matrix, with seven of the tubes stepping back at different heights, a system that let the building reach its extreme height while tapering its footprint as it rises.
The Skydeck. More than 1.7 million visitors a year ride up to the Skydeck, the highest observation deck in the United States, making the tower one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations.
the style
Willis Tower is an International Style skyscraper, its bundled-tube structure left legible in the tower's stepped massing rather than dressed in applied ornament.
More on International Stylethe architect
Bruce Graham served as architect and Fazlur Rahman Khan as structural engineer, both at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Khan's bundled-tube structural system for the tower was a structural first in skyscraper engineering.
significance
Willis Tower opened in 1973 as the world's tallest building, a title it held for nearly 25 years. It remains the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the 26th-tallest in the world, and has appeared in numerous films and television shows set in Chicago.
nearby
- Brooks Building
- 300 West Adams Street Office Building
- Continental And Commercial National Bank Building
- First Leiter Building
- Gage Group Buildings
- Chicago Board of Trade Building