Chicago, Illinois, USA
1000M, standing at 805 feet, boldly enhances Chicago’s skyline at the south end of Grant Park along the Historic Michigan Boulevard District. Positioned between the Willis and Museum Park towers, it balances the northern Grant Park cluster—including Aon, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and 340 on the Park—with a high-rise trio alongside Museum Park Tower and NEMA at Roosevelt and Michigan Avenue. This creates a cohesive closure to the open space, mirroring the northern edge at Michigan Avenue and Randolph.
1000M by Jahn Architects, won an American Architecture Award 2025 from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
The design draws from the site’s nexus of nature and city. East and west facades sharpen at northeastern and southwestern corners, while opposite corners soften into curves. North and south facades feature interlocking triangles shifting along a diagonal seam that ascends the full height.
This geometry yields innovative floor plates, refined into apartments. The tower widens gradually at northeast and southwest corners, evolving from a rectangular base to an expansive parallelogram atop, granting even southwestern units prime Lake Michigan and Museum Campus views. Organic curves and angled corners playfully echo the silhouette.
The 32,400-square-foot site, with 134 feet of Michigan Avenue frontage, was the last developable parcel there. Flanking Grant Park’s south end and newer Roosevelt Road towers, it bookends northern developments. Nearby, the Museum Campus, Lakefront, and Soldier Field lie south; north sits the 20-story 910 South Michigan (converted offices, 2000); south, the 8-story historic 1006 South Michigan (acquired 2015). A western Wabash Avenue parcel ensures vehicular access amid Michigan Avenue constraints.
The tower responds to its urban context across scales. The base—first 19 floors to 214 feet—delivers rectilinear harmony with Michigan Avenue’s block buildings. Its south face slopes 18 feet over 1006 South Michigan, elongating the north-south axis above. Punched openings with less glass nod to adjacent historic facades.
A two-story “cut” separates this from the 22nd to 73rd floors: a rectangle with curved east/west facades. Northwest and southeast corners curve vertically; northeast and southwest slope outward 12 feet, forming a rooftop parallelogram. A diagonal crease unites north/south facades.
The facade avoids all-glass clichés, honoring historic structures and resident preferences against floor-to-glass designs. Horizontal emphasis arises from mill-finished aluminum panels flush with silicone-glazed vision units. The base modernizes historic profiles with higher sills and more aluminum. The tower mixes flat/profiled panels, distinguishing block from curves. Cost drove segmented glass at curved corners, with curved spandrels reinforcing horizontality.
1000M pioneers Chicago’s residential multifamily market, elevating urban architecture through architect-client-builder collaboration. Its architectural and commercial triumphs stem from shared vision.
Architects: Jahn/
Design Team: Philip Castillo, Helmut Jahn, Philip Castillo, Lynda Dossey, Peter Hayes, Nebojsa Stanic, and Dan Cubric
Interior Architects: Kara Mann Design
General Contractor: McHugh Construction Co.
Clients: Time Equities Inc. and JK Equities, LLC.
Photographers: Tom Rossiter
