This is curtain-wall modernism in full stride. The project was commissioned by developer Herbert S. Greenwald, Mies’s early and influential client, whose death in 1959 halted development of two additional towers planned for the site. The glass-and-aluminum skin is suspended in front of the columns, which comprise two different structural systems (reinforced concrete on the lower floors and steel above). The space between the columns and the skin contains vertical ventilation shafts, allowing for more efficient heating and cooling than in Mies’s previous buildings.
AYIP 2023
401 N. Wabash — Day 91 /
The reflection they’re referring to isn’t only a literal one. When the Chicago architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) envisioned this contemporary tower, the building’s place and neighbors influenced its design. While it is true that the building’s materials mirror its neighbors, it can also be argued that its design communicates its relationship to them.
[401 N. Wabash Avenue] is designed with three setbacks. Each setback points toward an architecturally significant neighbor. The setbacks allow for "communication" with surrounding buildings. At 16 stories, the first is to the east of Trump Tower and corresponds to the height of the Wrigley Building. At 29 stories, the second points both north toward River Plaza and west to Marina City. All the way up at 51 stories, the third setback is west of Trump Tower and relates with Mies' last Chicago project, 330 N. Wabash Ave.