Aon Center (Chicago)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Aon Center | |
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| Information | |
|---|---|
| Location | 200 East Randolph Street Chicago, Illinois |
| Status | Complete |
| Constructed | 1970-1972 |
| Opening | 1973 |
| Use | Office |
| Height | |
| Roof | 1,136 ft (346 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 83 aboveground 5 belowground |
| Floor area | 3,600,000 sq. ft. 334,448 m² |
| Elevator count | 50 |
| Cost | $120,000,000 (USD) |
| Companies | |
| Architect | Edward Durell Stone |
| Contractor | Turner Construction |
| Developer | Standard Oil of Indiana |
The Aon Center (200 East Randolph Street) is a modern skyscraper in Chicago designed by architect firms Edward Durell Stone and The Perkins and Will partnership, and completed in 1973 as the Standard Oil Building.[1] With 83 floors and a height of 1,136 feet (346 m), it is the second tallest building in Chicago, surpassed in height only by the Sears Tower. It is the fourth tallest in the United States and the 16th-tallest in the world. The building is managed by Jones Lang LaSalle.
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[edit] History
The Standard Oil Building was constructed as the new headquarters of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, which had previously been housed at South Michigan Avenue and East 9th Street. Standard Oil (Indiana) was formed in 1889 by John D. Rockefeller as part of the Standard Oil trust and the building was affectionately referred to as "Rockefeller's last erection" while under construction.[citation needed] When it was completed in 1973 it was the tallest building in Chicago and the fourth-tallest in the world, earning it the nickname "Big Stan".[2] (A year later, the Sears Tower took the title as Chicago's tallest.) The building employs a tubular steel-framed structural system with V-shaped perimeter columns to resist earthquakes, reduce sway, minimize column bending, and maximize column-free space.
When completed, it was the world's tallest marble-clad building, being sheathed entirely with 43,000 slabs of Italian Carrara marble. This quickly proved to be an unsuitable cladding for the harsh Chicago winters. In 1974, just a year after completion, one of the marble slabs detached from the façade and penetrated the roof of the nearby Prudential Center Annex. To alleviate the problem, stainless steel straps were added to hold the marble in place.[2] Later, from 1990 to 1992, the entire building was refaced with Mount Airy white granite at an estimated cost of over $80 million.[1][3] (Amoco was reticent to divulge the actual amount, but it was well over half the original price of the building, without adjustment for inflation.) The discarded marble was crushed and used as landscaping decoration at Amoco's refinery in Whiting, Indiana.[1] Two years after the completion of the Standard Oil Building, First Canadian Place was opened in Toronto, Ontario. Durrell Stone acted as the consulting architect on the project, which ended up being of a very similar design to the project in Chicago; square in plan, only 9 meters shorter, and clad in white Italian Carrara marble, the only visible difference being the horizontal orientation of the windows on the Toronto tower, as opposed to the vertical run of the windows on the Standard Oil tower. Echoing the problems with the cladding experienced on the Standard Oil Building, in 2007 a panel of marble fell from the 60th floor of First Canadian Place.[4]
The Standard Oil Building was renamed the Amoco Building when the company changed names in 1985. In 1998, Amoco sold the building to The Blackstone Group for an undisclosed amount, estimated to be between $430 and $440 million.[1][2] It was renamed as the Aon Center on December 30, 1999, although the Aon Corporation would not become the building's primary tenant until September 2001.[5] In May 2003, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. acquired the building for between $465 and $475 million.[6][1] (On August 10, 2007, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. changed its name to Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.)[7]
[edit] Exterior lighting
In the early 1980s, the lights in selected offices in the building were turned on to form a huge cross during the Christmas season.[citation needed] In recent years, the top floors of the building have been lit at night with colors to reflect a particular season or holiday. Orange is used for Thanksgiving, green or red for Christmas, and pink during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The lighting commonly matches the nighttime lighting on the antenna of the Sears Tower and the upper floors of the Merchandise Mart.
[edit] Plaza
In the plaza, there is a Sounding Sculpture by Harry Bertoia.
[edit] Tenants
Aon is the building’s largest tenant, subleasing from BP.[citation needed] It leases a rentable 515,083 sq. ft. (47,852 m²), or 20.6% of the building.
- Agency.com
- BP
- Kirkland & Ellis
- DDB Worldwide
- Element 79
- Jones Lang LaSalle
- Daniel Edelman Inc.
- ThoughtWorks
- R.H. Donnelly
- Strata Decision Technology
- Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
- The Mid-America Club
- Veolia
- Zeno Group
[edit] Position in Chicago's skyline
[edit] See also
- List of buildings
- List of skyscrapers
- List of tallest buildings in Chicago
- List of tallest buildings in the United States
- World's tallest structures
- List of tallest freestanding structures in the world
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e Emporis, Aon Center, Chicago, <http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=aoncenter-chicago-il-usa>. Retrieved on 23 April 2008
- ^ a b c Glass Steel and Stone, Aon Center, <http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/625.php>. Retrieved on 25 September 2007
- ^ McMillan, Greg (2007-06-12), "Two buildings, two cities, one problem", The Globe and Mail (Toronto), <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070612.PRMARBLE12/TPStory/Business>. Retrieved on 25 September 2007
- ^ Doolittle, Robyn; Toronto Star: King St. to stay closed; May 16, 2007
- ^ Business Wire, ADVISORY/Chicago Landmark Office Tower Officially Renamed Aon Center During Unveiling Ceremony, <http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ADVISORY%2FChicago+Landmark+Office+Tower+Officially+Renamed+Aon+Center...-a058415200>. Retrieved on 25 September 2007
- ^ Miller Cicero, LLC (2003-10-07), Trophy Building Sale Sets New Record, <http://www.millercicero.com/press/files-view.php?ViewNode=1066154585cVxrI>. Retrieved on 25 September 2007
- ^ Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc., Wells REIT Changes Name to Piedmont Office Realty Trust, <http://www.piedmontreit.com/cms/content/view/139/63>. Retrieved on 10 August 2007
[edit] External links
| Preceded by John Hancock Center |
Tallest building in Chicago 1972—1973 346 m |
Succeeded by Sears Tower |
| Preceded by John Hancock Center |
Tallest building in the United States outside of New York City 1972—1973 346 m |
Succeeded by Sears Tower |
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