Chicago, Illinois, USA
Designed in a partnership between Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and Goettsch Partners for JDL Development, One Chicago replaces an entire city block bordered by State, Superior, Dearborn, and Chicago—save only the single-story hold-out building at the site’s southwest corner.
One Chicago has recently been awarded a 2023 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The site, the former parking lot of Holy Name Cathedral, will be turned into a $850 million mixed-use complex anchored by two very tall and thin skyscrapers.
Rising to a height of up to 1,011 feet, the taller of the pair would become the city’s sixth tallest building.
The twin-tower plans call for a total of 850 residential units, boutique offices, a grocery store, an event space, and a high-end health club.
This means that while indeed tall, One Chicago Square is not nearly as dense as some of its neighbors.
The 76-story main tower anchors the development’s southeast corner at State and Superior streets and contains 276 apartments and 77 condominiums.
The tower is composed of five vertical, rectilinear bars that drop off at varying heights as the program mix changes.
The setbacks allow for multiple large terraces and create a more slender form as the tower rises.
Expressive fins varying in width reinforce the verticality of the building, giving the façades a distinct texture. At the tower base, the residential lobby, amenity spaces, and a large terrace open up to the urban park.
The tower rises considerably more airy and elegant with a strong visual emphasis on verticality thanks to the aluminum fins set within its glassy façade.
A series of spiraling setbacks on the taller of the two towers further reinforces its slender shape.
Set back approximately 45 feet along the site’s eastern side, the tower design creates a new urban park that provides a buffer from street activity as well as a sanctuary and amenity for residents, patrons, and the public, including visitors to Holy Name Cathedral across State Street.
The second tower, 49 stories tall and containing 459 apartments, anchors the northwest corner of the development at Chicago and Dearborn streets.
Similar to the main tower, the building features roof terraces formed by the tower setbacks that provide private outdoor living spaces for residents.
The 10-story podium is wrapped with activated functions, including 68 additional apartments, as well as commercial and retail spaces.
“By going tall and slender, we open up a lot of light and air for everyone around us,” explained Jim Letchinger of JDL Development.
Above the ninth floor, the two 45- and 76-story residential towers occupy just 27 percent of One Chicago Square’s total site area.
To bring circulation off the street and support logistics for the various building functions, all traffic, services, and parking for the development are enclosed and controlled within the podium via a covered auto court, a truck turntable on the ground-floor loading dock, and basement loading areas.
Project: One Chicago
Architects: Goettsch Partners
Lead Architect: James Goettsch
Associate Architects: Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture
Associate Architect Lead: Jim Plunkard
General Contractor: Pepper Construction
Client: JDL Development
Photographers: Nick Ulivieri Photography, Renae Lillie, Ian Jolipa, and JDL Development
