This powerful skyscraper anticipates Chicago's larger John Hancock Building and provides a visual guarantee against disruptive seismic forces. Twelve mammoth x-braces act as giant trusses. Sheathed in bronze-coloroed anodized aluminum, the raking diagonal exo-skeleton project three and one-half feet beyond the window plane. Chuck Bassett and Myron Goldsmith intended the diagonals to work solely in tension, thus reducing the weight and mass of the building. The roof gardens (by landscape architects Sasaki, Walker Assoc.) open a series of outdoor rooms delineated by fencing, paving and planters.
Alcoa Building
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Battery St, between Clay and Washinton Sts.