CHICAGO | Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) | 1,451 FT / 442 M | 108 FLOORS | 1974

[rockyi]

I first visited the Sears Tower in January 1975 when it was open just a few months. Yep, I was in awe.

[Jibba]

Here's an example of one of Sears' various event/holiday lighting schemes (taken tonight):

[TallMark]

I understand The Sears is going to be retrofitted by Smith & Gill, to include changing the glass façade. On the other hand, almost ANY change can be an improvement over that cheap run-of-the-mill blackish glass facade that has rendered this otherwise beautifully designed building, a non-entity around the world and even US. Some people here are wondering why this "iconic" building is so unknown. Well, look at it and you ll know the answer! (Come on Chicagoans: don't get offended. Instead do something for this building to become the icon it so richly deserves to be)

Does anyone have any photos or the design and what our imaginative Adrian Smith is going to do to improve the Sears' looks?

I truly hate that cheap blackish curtain over that great building. I am certain the new Sears would become the well-known building it deserves to be once that bloody curtain has been pulled down and something more deserving is put in its place

[bnk]

Originally Posted by Jibba

Here's an example of one of Sears' various event/holiday lighting schemes (taken tonight): ]

Another photographic proof that the council of tall buildings screwed up by not including antennae in total height.

[Nowhereman1280]

Seriously TallMark? I'm not even going to waste time responding to that...

[truedaniel]

TallMark,,,,,are you being serious? Surely you are kidding, right?

[harryc]

[TallMark]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

Seriously TallMark? I'm not even going to waste time responding to that...

No one can. The bloody façade is downright cheap and ugly. The owners of the building know that too, that is why they have hired Smith & Gill to get rid of it and surface the building with something grand and noteworthy. There is really no need for any response. It is a settled issue, and in time it will be fixed. Just find out what Smith & Gill are going to replace the cheap blackish glass with.

[TallMark]

Originally Posted by truedaniel

TallMark,,,,,are you being serious? Surely you are kidding, right?

ditto

[JMO_0121]

Originally Posted by TallMark

ditto

This tower is beautiful, the fact that its black makes it unique. When i was up there it was amazing. I have heard of them wanting to make this building green, but I have never heard of them wanting to change the facade. That would be close to (very) impossible. It would be better to bring down the tower, and build it again. The sears tower will always be black, I seriously dont know how you came up with the statement of making the Sear Tower not Black.

How could you change the facade on such a tall tower, I know its possible, but do you know the kind of money needed to do this, not happening, not this year, not next year, but maybe in 50-80 years, when it could* be necessary.

[ChicagoChicago]

Originally Posted by TallMark

No one can. The bloody façade is downright cheap and ugly. The owners of the building know that too, that is why they have hired Smith & Gill to get rid of it and surface the building with something grand and noteworthy. There is really no need for any response. It is a settled issue, and in time it will be fixed. Just find out what Smith & Gill are going to replace the cheap blackish glass with.

Please post a link where S&G has talked about altering the facade. Otherwise, you're posting rumors.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by TallMark

No one can. The bloody façade is downright cheap and ugly. The owners of the building know that too, that is why they have hired Smith & Gill to get rid of it and surface the building with something grand and noteworthy. There is really no need for any response. It is a settled issue, and in time it will be fixed. Just find out what Smith & Gill are going to replace the cheap blackish glass with.

Its not cheep though, if I recall this tower was actually built with some of the higher quality materials available at the time. From what I've heard the Sears was of a pretty high construction standard, especially considering its age. I live in a building that was finished about a year before the Sears and is made of the exact same materials (black anodized aluminum and glass) and I can tell you our facade is much much cheaper. The aluminum is buckling and wavy in places and even losing its anodization in a few areas. Sears does not have a cheep facade...

BTW the glass is not "blackish" in any way, you must not have looked very carefully because the glass is clearly bronze, the aluminum is black.

[headcase]

Originally Posted by ChicagoChicago

Please post a link where S&G has talked about altering the facade. Otherwise, you're posting rumors.

I did a quick search, and while I have found articles talking about updating the systems to LEED standards, nothing about changing the look of the building.

Here is the only one I found mentioning the skin.

The building’s current owner, which is no longer Sears, has retained architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (Smith, formerly of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, designed Burj Dubai), who will explore how the building’s lighting, mechanical systems, elevators, and glass skin can be updated to bring the building up to LEED standards.

[headcase]

Sorry, meant to put this in the other post....

This article mentions reglazing, but again nothing about changing the look. I highly doubt that is going to happen. Doesn't make sense....

Recently, AS+GG was selected to oversee the greening of the Sears Tower, a commission that could easily have gone to the building's original architects, SOM Chicago. "They were interviewed," Smith says with a discernible grin. The ongoing renovation will involve reglazing of the building, updated lighting, and an overhauled mechanical plant. New green roofs will be installed—the first test section is already in place—along with a rooftop photovoltaic array. In addition, the firm will explore the use of wind turbines as a viable energy source.

SSDD

[wrab]

I know that S+G was working on a hotel for the site, adjacent/contiguous to the original tower - but now gone from the S+G website.

[spyguy]

This was the addition

I pulled this off their website

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ I see they have plans to backfill the river and replace it with buildings. Whoever is the developer for that is going to make a hefty chunk of change!

[harryc]

As seen from the Lake/Ashland CTA station.

[Zerton]

I don't understand how the antennas aren't an architectural element. Were they not considered in the original plans?

[TallMark]

Originally Posted by JMO_0121

This tower is beautiful, the fact that its black makes it unique. When i was up there it was amazing. I have heard of them wanting to make this building green, but I have never heard of them wanting to change the facade. That would be close to (very) impossible. It would be better to bring down the tower, and build it again. The sears tower will always be black, I seriously dont know how you came up with the statement of making the Sear Tower not Black.

How could you change the facade on such a tall tower, I know its possible, but do you know the kind of money needed to do this, not happening, not this year, not next year, but maybe in 50-80 years, when it could* be necessary.

Well, D. Trump did that to the tallest building in Manhattan north of the Empire State Building at Columbus Circle (I forget, but I guess it was called the Gulf-Western, right on the Central Park, by the USS Maine memorial). The building was about two-thirds as high as Sears is today. It too had this cheapish, black glass facade. Well, Trump had it totally stripped down, turned the building into a super luxury apartment building, and gave it a real ritzy façade of burnt dark brown glass facade without those cheap metal panes. The building looks superb now. It is accross the street from the new Time Warner twin towers, and very nicely competes with them for elegance its newly-found nice façade.

The Sears, I am sure, would benefit from the same. Its façade needs to be stripped down to the bone, those metal panes thrown away, and the building should get a "Trump" treatment for elegance. Smith & Gill, I am certain, will do justice to this otherwise, magnificient structure (unfortunately, cladded by a cheep robe!!