150 North Riverside

Team

Architect

Goettsch Partners

Contractor

Clark Construction

Stats

PROJECT TYPE

Office

COMPLETION

2017

PROJECT SIZE

1.25 million ft²

MKA ROLE

Structural Engineer

Chicago, IL
150 North Riverside

Built to accommodate unique site challenges such as adjacent Amtrak rail lines and the Chicago River, this 54-story, Class A office tower features an innovative and tapered superstructure design with a narrow footprint equal to 30 percent of the tower’s floor area.

Unlocking Site Value

Constrained by the Chicago River, two busy viaducts, and seven active railroad lines servicing one of the busiest Amtrak stations in the nation, the 150 North Riverside site—a prime riverfront parcel measuring just over two-thirds of an acre—appeared virtually impossible to develop to its full potential. MKA’s design allows the 750-foot-tall office tower to dramatically taper at its base to accommodate the river and existing infrastructure.

This innovative solution features a cantilevered steel frame extending from a central concrete elevator core, which single-handedly supports all of the building’s gravity and wind loads. At the eighth floor, steel columns slope inwards, funneling tower column loads to the central core and 16 underlying, 10-foot-diameter caissons that extend and socket into solid bedrock 110 feet below.

The result is an eye-catching, angular, blade-thin design that reduces the building’s footprint by 70% so as not to interfere with the river, viaducts, and railroad lines—and even accommodates a public riverwalk.