Chicago Skyscrapers Buildings: Illinois Designs

Chicago Skyscraper, IL Tower Architecture, Architects, Illinois Real Estate, American Property News

Chicago Skyscrapers: Tall Buildings

Contemporary Tower Developments Illinois, United States of America

post updated July 7, 2022

Chicago Skyscraper Buildings

We’ve selected what we feel are the key examples of Chicago Skyscraper Buildings. We aim to include tower buildings / projects that are either of top quality or interesting, or ideally both.

We cover completed Chicago Skyscraper buildings, new building designs and architecture competitions across Illinois. The focus is on contemporary Chicago towers but information on older buildings is also welcome.

Chicago Skyscrapers Design News

Major contemporary Chicago Skyscrapers added on e-architect recently:

Apr 11, 2022
800 Fulton Market
Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
800 Fulton Market Chicago Architecture News
photo : Dave Burk
800 Fulton Market, Chicago Building
The mixed-use office tower leverages advanced capacity-monitoring technology and ample outdoor space to promote tenant safety, health and wellness. The 326-foot-tall mixed-use office tower includes pandemic-responsive design features, from seven landscaped terraces that allow for indoor/outdoor workspaces, to assistive smart building systems.

Oct 15, 2020
110 North Wacker Drive
Architects: Goettsch Partners, Inc.
110 North Wacker Chicago Architecture News
image courtesy of architects firm
110 North Wacker
The Howard Hughes Corporation® (NYSE: HHC) and Riverside Investment & Development announced today the opening of the trophy-class office tower at 110 North Wacker Drive. The announcement marks the culmination of the highly-anticipated 55-story downtown riverfront building, which is a collaboration with the award-winning leasing, design and construction team of CBRE, Goettsch Partners and Clark Construction.

Dec 27, 2019
Union Station Tower Chicago
Design: Goettsch Partners (GP)
Union Station Tower Chicago Building
Union Station Tower
Global architecture firm GP celebrated the groundbreaking today for Union Station Tower, also known as BMO Tower, a new 50-story office building in Chicago. The tower and new public space are part of the larger redevelopment of Chicago Union Station, along with additional adjacent real estate owned by Amtrak.

Oct 26, 2018
Catalog at Willis Tower, Wacker Drive
Executive architect & interior designer: Gensler ; Exterior facade design: SkB Architects
Catalog at Willis Tower

Jun 15, 2018
150 North Riverside Office Building, West Loop – Wins at American Architecture Awards 2018
Design: Goettsch Partners (GP)
150 North Riverside Chicago Office Tower | www.e-architect.com
photograph © Nick Ulivieri
150 North Riverside Office Development
Chicago-based developer Riverside Investment & Development celebrated the debut of the 150 North Riverside office tower, which opened for business in February, with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony today.

More new Chicago Skyscrapers on e-architect soon

Chicago Skyscrapers

Major Chicago Tower Projects, alphabetical:

77 West Wacker Drive
Design: Ricardo Bofill – ‘Taller de Arquitectura
77 West Wacker Drive, Chicago Building by Ricardo Bofill
photo from Ricardo Bofill Architects
77 West Wacker Drive Building

110 North Wacker Office Building
Design: Goettsch Partners
110 North Wacker Building Chicago
photo from architects
110 North Wacker Building

111 South Wacker
Date built: 2005
Design: Goettsch Partners
office tower: 53 storeys, 1.5 m sqft

150 North Riverside Office Building, West Loop
Design: Goettsch Partners
150 North Riverside Chicago Tower | www.e-architect.com
photo © Nick Ulivieri
150 North Riverside Building

340 on the Park
Date built: 2007
Design: Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB)
62 storeys

860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments
Dates built: 1948-51
Design: Mies van der Rohe architect
Lake Shore Drive Towers
photo : William Zbaren
860-880 Lake Shore Drive Chicago
Architects Krueck & Sexton restore twin rectilinear towers, one of legendary Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s most celebrated commissions.

Aqua Tower
Dates built: 2008-11
Design: Studio Gang Architects
Aqua Tower Building
picture from architects
Aqua Tower

Catalog at Willis Tower, Wacker Drive
Date originally built: 1973
Executive architect & interior designer: Gensler – Exterior facade design: SkB Architects
Catalog at Willis Tower Chicago building
rendering courtesy EQ Office
Willis Tower Building Addition
New building base development at tallest tower in north America.

Fordham Spire – aka Chicago Spire: proposed skyscraper
Date design: 2006-10
Design: Santiago Calatrava Architects
Chicago Spire architect : Santiago Calatrava

Illinois Blue Cross HQ
Dates built: 2006-10
Design: Goettsch Partners
796 ft high
24 storeys added above existing 33 storey building, also by Goettsch Partners
$270m
For Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois

Inland Steel Building, 30 W. Monroe
Dates built: 1956-57/58
Design: Skidmore Owings Merrill Architects (SOM) – Walter Netsch
19 storeys, 101m high

John Hancock Center – ‘Big John’, 875 North Michigan Ave

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill – SOM: Bruce Graham (architect) with Fazhur R. Khan (engineer)
John Hancock Center Beacon
photograph © Joe Lekas
100 storeys, famous Chicago landmark

Marina City – ‘Corncob towers’, 300 N. State St
Date built: 1967
Architect: Bertrand Goldberg
Marina City Corncob towers
photo © Joe Lekas
Mixed-use development : residential, commercial, retail, theatre, marina, health club, swimming pool
60 storeys

Office Tower, Chicago
Date built: 1997
Goettsch Partners
446ft high building

Sears Tower, Wacker Drive
Date built: 1973
Design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Sears Tower Building
photograph : Michiel van Dijk
Sears Tower

Sears Tower modernization + hotel
Date design: 2009-
Design: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Sears Tower Chicago skyscraper building
image © Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Sears Tower Chicago Building Modernization

Sixteen at Trump Hotel
Date built: 2008
Design: Ivanka Trump with Valerio Dewalt Train Associates

The Trump International Hotel and Tower, downtown Chicago, Illinois
Date built: 2009
Architect: Adrian Smith, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Trump Tower Chicago Building
photo © Joe Lekas
415m high building with spire, 96 storeys tall
Trump International Hotel and Tower

Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Condominium Tower – proposal

Destefano and Partners
335m high, 100 storeys – proposed

Zero-energy tower – proposal
Date design: 2007-
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

More Illinois high-rise building projects online soon

Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America

Architecture in Chicago

Contemporary Chicago Architectural Projects

Chicago Architectural Design – chronological list

Chicago Architecture Tours – city walks by e-architect

Chicago Building News

Skyscraper Conference Chicago – images of key towers in the city
Chicago Skyscrapers
photo courtesy of Jan Klerks

Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum : contemporary Michigan Building

World Skyscrapers

Illinois Buildings

Farnsworth House

Absolute Tower, Canada
Absolute Tower
image from architect

Chicago Buildings

Comments / photos for the Chicago Skyscraper Architecture page welcome