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Home , John Hancock Center, Marina City, Skyscraper, Sky lobby

LOCATION OF

CHICAGO

LOCATION OF CENTRE

130 E WACKER

NORTH MICHIGAN AVENUE DR TEMPERATURE OF CHICAGO

• Mid-summer day, humidity is usually moderately high and temperatures ordinarily reach anywhere between 78°F and 92°F (26°C to 33°C). • Overnight temperatures in summer usually drop to around 65°F (18°C), but can sometimes remain well above 70°F (21°C). • Yearly precipitation comes about 36 inches (920 mm). • Summer in Chicago is prone to thunderstorms. • In a normal summer, temperatures exceed 90°F (32°C) on 24 days.

PROJECT BRIEF

• Project :- • Architect :- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. • • :- Chicago • Country :- USA • Type :- • Number of Dwellings :- 700 • Date Built :- 1968-70 • Floor :- 100 • Floor area :- (260,126 m²)

PROJECT BRIEF

Height • Antenna/Spire :- 1,500 ft (457 m) • Roof1 :- 127 ft (344 m) • top floor :- 1,078 ft (329 m) • count :- 42 Companies • Contractor :- Tishman co. • Developer :- john Hancock insurance

BUILDING USE

 mixed use  communication  observation   Residential

JOHN HANCOCK CENTRE

•Located at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Gold Coast area of Chicago, . • designed by fazlur Khan of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. • It was the tallest building in the world outside City completed in 1969 •Currently the fourth-tallest building in Chicago and the sixth-tallest in the . •When measured to the top of its antenna masts, it stands at 1,506 feet (459 m).

• The building is h•o. me to and restaurants, as well as about 700 and contains the highest residences in the world. • This skyscraper was named for John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, a developer and original tenant of the building.

The elliptical-shaped outdoor plaza

FACADE • The facade consists of 5 sections, each approximately 18 high. • Facade defined by the diagonal bracing tubes. • In the top section, only half of the pattern is visible. • The external cladding is made of anodized aluminum with tinted bronze and bronze colored aluminum frames.

Five sections defined by diagonal braces

FACADE

Facade detail

Close up of aluminum skin

The slope of the helps to reduce the feeling of vertigo for people looking out of high floors. SITE PLAN

PLANS

STREET LEVEL PLAN TRANSIT FLOOR PLAN

APARTMENT It includes 48 stories of (witH a total of 711 apartments).

LIVING ROOM PLAN OF

K I T C H E N

BATHROOM BED ROOM

APARTMENT

TYPICAL APARTMENT LIVING ROOM FLOOR PLAN CIRCULATION • ’s centrally located core contains fifty lifts and five escalators. • Transport up to 12,000 people a day. • Express lifts directly link the entrance level with the transfer floors, the , and the restaurant at the very top of the floor.

Escalator from the office

SUITES

View of embassy suite

View of Hilton suite

INTERIOR OF JOHN HANCOCK CENTRE

• JOHN HANCOCK Center's interior incorporates rich travertine and marble surfaces with textured limestone. • The elliptical-shaped outdoor plaza has become a favorite meeting spot for North Michigan Avenue office workers, shoppers and tourists. • This community oasis is enlivened with plantings, a 12-foot waterfall and seasonal outdoor dining.

Marble surface with texture limestone

• The 95th floor has long been home to a restaurant. • While patrons dine, they can look out at Chicago and . • The Hancock Center's observation deck facilities (called the Hancock Observatory) compete with the 's Sky deck across town. • The Hancock Center is in a commercial district, while the Willis Tower is in the financial district. • The Hancock Center 94th floor observation deck displays exhibits about the city of Chicago. • The 44th-floor features America's highest indoor . • The first forty-one floors are office, , and commercial; the remaining upper floors are condominiums, an observatory, a restaurant & bar, and broadcast facilities. • ... rises from 40,000 square feet at the base to 18,000 square feet at .

INTERIOR OF JOHN HANCOCK CENTRE

Planters used in interiors

Marble surface texture limestone

OBSERVATION DECK

• The Hancock Center's observation facilities compete with the Sears Tower's Sky deck across town. • The Hancock Center 94th floor observation deck displays exhibits about the city of Chicago. • Maps explain the view in each direction and a special meshed-in area allows the visitors to feel the winds 314 m (1,030 ft) above ground level.

Observation deck

View of Chicago from observation deck

SWIMMING POOL

• America's highest indoor swimming pool is located on the 44th floor near the sky lobby. • The pool itself is carved out of the below.

Swimming pool on the 44 th floor.

PARKING

• The parking garage is accessed through a detached spiral ramp at the southeast corner; the double helix makes 3 loops each way between ground level and the garage.

Detached spiral Bridge from the ramp to ramp the garage RESTAURANT

• Located atop the John Hancock Center, The Signature Room at the 95th® offers diners exquisite food, superb service and a dazzling view. • The elegant wood and interior create an inviting and intimate atmosphere, while the floor-to- ceiling windows exhibit the stunning Chicago skyline and 360 degree views of the entire city.

th Signature room of the 95 th Signature lounge on 96 floor floor RESTAURANT

RESTAURANT

Area For private

parties SKY LOBBY

• The first sky lobby was also designed by Khan for the John Hancock Center. • The 44th-floor sky lobby of the John Hancock Center also features the first high-rise indoor swimming pool, which remains the highest in America. • This was the first time that people could have the opportunity to work and live 'in the sky'

Barry Flanagan sculpture in Delaware place office lobby the south lobby LOBBY VIEWS

CONCEPT BEHIND FORM

• The tapered form resulted from structural concepts to reduce cost and decrease the "sail effect" of wind loads. • The tapered form is also accredited to the of building functions with offices, which require more open floor area on the lower levels, then a zone of efficiency apartments that require a deeper plan than the multi-bedroom dwellings at the top that have more rooms requiring exterior frontage. • The unique diagonal bracing, an idea used earlier by SOM in the Alcoa Building in San Francisco of the same year, is the result of a structural concept to achieve maximum wind bracing with minimum . • The idea is a rectangular "trussed " made up of vertical trusses where lateral loads are taken up by the diagonal members as compared to a conventional of vertical vierendeel trusses where lateral loading is taken up in the connections between column and beam. • The choice of this system resulted in a significant savings in steel from a typical steel building requiring 45-50 pounds of steel per square foot to about 30 pounds per square foot here.

Tapered form CONCEPT BEHIND FORM

Tapered form

Because of space constraints caused by the tower's tapering walls, common hallways and elevator lobbies are narrower on hig her floors. MULTIFUNCTIONAL

• Just like , the John Hancock Center is a multifunction building. • It includes 48 stories of apartments (with a total of 711 apartments), 29 stories offices, shops, a hotel, a swimming pool, an ice rink, restaurant and on top of the 344 meters (1127 ft) tall building radio and television facilities. • On top it offers services like its own post office and a refuse collection. • Apartments are located on the top. • Some of them are so high that the inhabitants sometimes have to call the doorkeeper to ask what the weather's like down on the ground, as the apartments are sometimes above the clouds.

Height comparison

CRITICISM • At the beginning of the project, it was controversial mostly because of the location of this massive tower, near the much smaller and more gentle on Michigan Avenue. • After its completion, most of the criticism dwindled, but much like with the Sears Tower, the plaza at the entrance was considered very user- unfriendly, being afflicted by heavy gales and loud traffic noise from Michigan Avenue. • It was redesigned in 1995 and now includes a 3,5 meters high fountain to muffle the noise and a recirculation of office and shopping traffic.

Fountain view

STRUCTURE

• X-braces used in the façade. • The construction was designed by the engineer Fazlur Kahn and architect Bruce Graham from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Fazlur Kahn devised the frame-tube system, which he also implemented in the sears tower. • This new construction method was made possible by new , like more advanced software and new developments in steel.

Diagonal shaped braces

• New construction method, made possible for Kahn to which could resist the strong windforces more effectively by having the forces absorbed by all three dimensions of the building. • The diagonals are connected to the exterior columns, making if possible for the forces to be carried over from the braces to the columns and back. • The innovative construction also resulted in a 50% decrease of required steel compared to built with interior columns. • The huge X-braces serving both a structural and a visual purpose. • Visually, it gives the impression of stability and it moves the eye away from the -sized windows.

Night view

• The external crossbracing also conveniently freed up the interior space from columns, allowing for flexible office arrangements. • The John Hancock weighs in at a mere 29.7 lb/sq. foot (although it uses a total of 46,000 tons of steel). This allowed it to be constructed for the cost of a conventional 45-story. • One of the most famous buildings of the structural expressionist style, the skyscraper's distinctive X-bracing exterior is actually a hint that the structure's skin is indeed part of its 'tubular system'. • This X-bracing allows for both higher performance from tall structures and the ability to open up the inside floorplan (and usable floor space) if the architect desires.

FEATURES AND AMENITIES

• Doorman is available • Exercise facility is available • Hospitality room is available • Laundry room is available • Observation floor is available • One of the city's famous buildings • Plaza is available to the public • Public parking is available • Sky lobby is present • Swimming pool is available • Transmission antenna on roof

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Recognized around the world for its distinctive architecture, prestigious location and presence on Chicago's skyline. • JOHN HANCOCK CENTER has won numerous awards for its innovative and iconic style, including the Distinguished Architects 25-Year Award from the American Institute of Architects. • John Hancock Center is a member of the World Federation of Great .

ARIAL VIEW OF JOHN HANCOCK CENTRE

Tapered form