I can't believe this (built in 1985) PostModernist steel/glass building could be razed?? Check it out....Your input?

[ChicagoMeO]

i heard it was hard to heat.

[ChiGuy2.5]

Always hated that building. I also heard from people who work there that the smell of food in the basement lofts up towards the upper offices so they are basically working in the smell of Burger King, Sbarro, and others.

Tear it down! It's ugly, extremely inefficient, and the layout allows for tons of wasted space. That building should have never been built.

[chet everett]

It is not just hard to heat / cool, it is AWFUL to work in. I have a few friends that are tradespeople that were involved in the construction of the Thompson Center and they well remember the insanely undersized HVAC plant that was specified in the initial bid packages. The bozos that submitted those bids totally ignored the massive amounts of air that are sucked out of /into the building. This was way back before LEEDS was a thing and the various "engineers" used old textbook formulas for sizing HVAC plants. The actual tradespeople knew the air itself was not part of those "rules of thumb" because the huge atrium was NOT like a regular floor in an office building.

Naturally once the place was occupied there were numerous costly retrofits, which literally kept some HVAC firms busy for years. Needless to say that work all went to giant insiders that were only too happy to keep donating to the campaign funds of the politicians that approved this monstrosity.


I also have friends that work in the building and it is quite a zoo. The stink of hideous food court stands wafts around the place like some cross between a carnival and being on the wrong end of exhaust fan. Of course the tenants in the food court are all connected campaign donors that can't be troubled to actually manage their own franchises, so the places regularly close down with no explanation. That is not the worst of it. The noise from the atrium means normal conversation is impossible in many of the open cubes. Supervisors can't do anything but shrug when most employees wear headphones to "drown out the noise" or just talk to pals ALL DAY LONG on their cell phones.

The long circular lay out of the floors means getting between offices / meeting rooms takes much longer than in a normal office layout. It truly cuts into productivity. Even things like LAN wiring is nightmare, that requires MILES more copper to circle the floor than in traditional offices where adding an outlet is quick and easy.


The building would NOT be attractive to any other tenant for these reason, and given the massive transit hub that it connects to there is no practical way to accommodate any access for commuters while making normal tenants utilize the space.

It is an unfortunate money pit that will always serve as a monument to the stupidity of Illinois politicians of both parties and there willingness to fleece regular people.

[beaniemac]

with the entire building being glass, I can't imagine how hard it is to keep that place cool in the summer. working there would be like being an ant under a giant magnifying glass.

there certainly seems to be a bunch of empty office space there as well.