CHICAGO SPIRE

446 EAST NORTH WATER STREET, CHICAGO IL USA

DETAILS
ARCHITECT : Santiago Clavatra
ENGINEER : Thornton Tomasetti
LOCATION: 446 East North Water Street, California, Illinois, USA
STATUS: Started in 2007, never completed
SITE AREA: 2.2 Acres
GROUND COVERAGE: 1300SQM
USE: Residential
HEIGHT: 610M
DEPTH: 37M
FLOORS: 150 floors above ground with 7 floors below
FLOOR AREA: 278,700 SQM

STORY
Th etower started out as a development project on the Chicago riverfront with a mix of hotels, offices, com-
mercial and residential apartments. The plans were put to a hault after the Fordham Group, the first devel-
opers, faced financial issues after which the project was taken up by Irish developer Garret Kelleher.

The design underwent some changes and the construction started in 2007. Kelleher even contrubuted
upto half of the cost along with the city hall for the DuSable park, a public park that was to come abutting
the Spire. The construction of the tower was stopped in 2008 due to financial problems with the foundation
and parking structure built leaving a gaping 37M deep and 34M wide hole on the surface.

INTRODUCTION
CHICAGO SPIRE
The design for the tall, twisting skyscraper was based on an image of a smoke spiral coming from a
campfire near the Chicago River lit by Native Americans indigenous to the area. The form was also
related the newly designed pinnacle to the ‘graceful’ and ‘rotating forms’ of a snail shell.

• The swirling façade was schemed to deflect the infamous gusts of Chicago wind.
• Inspired by natural forms, each floor of the tower projects seven arms from the central vertical axis
each having a concave edge
• As the tower rises, each floor rotates approximately 2 degrees in plan while the length of the radial
arms also diminish, forming a tapered tower which twists 270° from the base to the roof.
• The glass facade that will produce a ripple effect in the form of waves downstream is achieved
through a major structural innovation.
• The 5 storey high lobby area creates an inviting atmosphere leading through the Chicago river.

CHANGE S
• The design of the tower was changed thrice. This included the removal of
the hotel and broadcast antenna, and making the building all apartments.
The design change also altered the twist to be consolidated towards the
base of the building.
• What was a 124 storey building shifted to a 150 storey building with no
antenna, and the separate parking structure was taken underground.
• Where it originally twisted 360 degrees, it will only do a 270 as it makes
its way to the top of its 2,000 foot height, the project’s base is now also
35 feet wider.
• The Taper of the tower was also reduced towards the top, to make a
flat area, so as to maximise the utilization of the floor space.

CONCEPT
CHICAGO SPIRE
• The access of the site is through the
Lower Lake Shore Drive, to reduce the
CHICAGO SPIRE
buildings impact on traffic.

• The Spire was planned to be constructed

facing the Chicago river with a plaza in
front.

• River walks were to be extended along

the Chicago river. N LAKE SHORE DRIVE
DU SABLE PARK

• DuSable Park was a public park project

that was done through a coalition be-
tween the developers of the Spire and
the City Council. SPIRE PLAZA

• The park connected to the plaza of the

Spire which was to be open to the public
too.

CHICAGO RIVER

OUTER DRIVE BRIDGE

SITE PLAN
CHICAGO SPIRE
S U PERSTRU C TU R E
• The structure of the Chicago Spire would have benefited greatly from its design, adding
strength to the structure and would minimise wind forces
• Each floor was designed as a box to be anchored to a central column, with 12 shear
walls emanating from it, while offsetting from the lower one in order to form a twiddle.
• The entire structure will pose seven columns in the form of w around a high glass atri-
um of about 18m.
• Structural transition floors were designed after every 30-40 stories as it transfers stress
to the core and maintains rigidity.

F OUNDAT IO N
• In preparation for construction, 34 concrete and steel caissons were drilled 37 m into
bedrock underground, 20 to support the structural core and 14 got arranged in a ring
around the perimeter. The building is designed to be made primarily out of concrete.
• A cofferdam with a 32 m diameter and 24 m depth was installed to create a work envi-
ronment and would have later acted as a foundation for the building’s core.
• The foundation incorporates 70,000 tons of steel as well as 200,000 cubic yards of con-
crete while seven underground floors rest right over it.
• In an unusual move the parking garage was built from the top down instead of from the
bottom up. This helped speed up construction of the tower.

STRUCTURE
CHICAGO SPIRE
 Residential

PLANS
W-Shaped
Coulumn
Core

CHICAGO SPIRE
Circulation

The twisting form and the concave edge lead to forma-

tion of a unique floor plan at each floor that makes each
apartment different from the other.

Not having columns in the centre of the floor plate allows

Caissons for inclusion of various amenities regardless of its size.

The tower holds a total of 1,194 luxury apartments rang-

ing from 1BHK to Penthouses.

The thick core houses the 14 lifts and two staircases in it

that helps in cooling and protects the means of escape in
case of any emergency.

The Spire would have boasted the world’s longest eleva-

tor run of about 570M.

Placement of the radiating shear walls and the caissons.

PLANS
CHICAGO SPIRE
FUTURE
CHICAGO SPIRE