Architecture Adrenaline
Promoting Freedom for Creative Architecture
111 E Wacker is a 32-story office tower in Chicago's vibrant Loop, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe - one of the pioneers of modern architecture - that makes an ideal spot for any business venture.
Occupants include the world's largest law firm and two Fortune 500 companies, plus this property provides an exceptional parking garage and tenant amenities.
At 111 E. Wacker Drive in Chicago's Magnificent Mile lies two iconic office towers designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe that have become an icon of human-centric workplace design. They now serve as headquarters of commercial interior design association IIDA.
Parkway Properties Office Fund I owns and AmTrust Realty Corp manages this building, with plans for renovation to transform it into an appealing destination for tenants and visitors alike. When complete, renovation will link it with its sister building at 233 North Michigan Avenue while also reopening Wacker Drive to pedestrian traffic.
To reach 111 E Wacker Drive Pedway the quickest and easiest way is via Bus, Train or Chicago 'L'. Moovit provides all-in-one transit app that helps find you the quickest path using real time data - providing routes, prices and timetables specific to your trip.
The Chicago Architecture Center has relocated from its previous residence at the Railway Exchange Building to One Illinois Center - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's iconic riverfront tower at 111 E. Wacker Drive - which serves as its starting point for architectural river tours offered by the foundation.
Mies' International Style can be seen in its construction of the tower; an approach that emphasizes volume, the use of planes of glass to enclose spaces, and elegant materials over decorative ornamentation. Mies was an influential member of Germany's Bauhaus school as well as one of the pioneers of modernist architecture.
Mies was known for his minimalist approach in architecture. Among his greatest achievements at IIT were his two towers and crown hall - both built during his six-decade career - housing its school of architecture. All this was built on land that once housed 19th century US Army forts, grain warehouses and railroad yards.
The Chicago Architecture Center (CAC), best known for its tours of Chicago's built landscape and educational programs, will open a new center this spring at 111 E. Wacker Drive near Michigan Avenue bridge where river cruise architecture tours begin. This two-story space designed by local firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture promises an interactive learning experience.
The CAC will feature exhibition spaces, lecture halls and hands-on design studios; an interactive Chicago City Model Experience exhibit; as well as the City of Neighborhoods display by Local Projects--the design firm responsible for creating the National September 11 Memorial inside Snohetta-designed museums as well as One World Observatorys across Cleveland--will help conceptualize these exhibits.
The new center will also showcase residential architecture. This feature will highlight several neighborhoods - Humboldt Park, Pilsen, Bronzeville and Pullman are among them - to pique people's curiosity about all 77 neighborhoods within Chicago that possess their own distinct architectural character.
Lower Wacker Drive hides another layer, visited only by certain drivers for high-octane drag racing on weekends. Due to its difficult navigation, Jake and Elwood cause a car pileup here in Blues Brothers; for most Chicagoans however, the lowest Wacker catacomb should be avoided altogether despite constant changes on streets above.
Law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister wants its employees to spend more time at the office as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, so it signed a lease expansion that increased space by 40%, becoming the building's biggest tenant, Crain's reported. Furthermore, Taft extended its lease term nine years, up until 2034.
111 East Wacker is part of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's five-building, 4.6 million-square foot Illinois Center office complex in Chicago designed by AmTrust Realty Corp and currently occupied by Taft. Parking at Illinois Center garage is also available.
