Accenture Tower

The Accenture Tower is a Postmodernist skyscraper designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects, with Helmut Jahn as lead architect, and built between 1984 and 1987 in Chicago, IL.

Accenture Tower is not the only name you might know this building by though. It is common for companies to want to attach their names to iconic buildings when they move in, or for the general public to come up with nicknames, and this one is no exception. The building has changed names several times over the years, and is also known as:

• 500 West Madison.
• Citigroup Center.
• Northwestern Atrium Center.
• Ogilvie Transportation Center.
• Union Pacific Railroad Station.
• Accenture Tower from 2019 until this day.

Its precise street address is 500 West Madison Street, Chicago, IL. You can also find it on the map here.

The Accenture Tower has received multiple architecture awards for its architectural design since 1987. The following is a list of such prizes and awards:

• Best of Year Award Honoree, Large corporate Office in 2023
• BOMA Chicago Chapter Building of the Year Award

The building has been restored 2 times over the years to ensure its conservation and adaptation to the pass of time. The main restoration works happened in 2022 and 2025.

Murphy/Jahn Architects, with Helmut Jahn as the lead architect, was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

That being said, architecture is a complex discipline involving many professionals from different fields, without whom this building would have not been possible. We will surely be leaving out a lot of names here, but at the very least we know that there was one other part involved, that was Cohen-Barreto-Marchertas in charge of Structural Engineering.

The Accenture Tower can be categorized as a Postmodernist building.

The Accenture Tower was completed in 1987. At that time Postmodernism was the prevailing style. Fresh, bold and daring, architects were exploring the freedom of designing without having to follow the strict, sometimes arbitrary rules of a specific architectural movement (which ironically became a movement itself). The Accenture Tower was therefore every much in line with what the architecture community, and the people liked and wanted at the time.

The Accenture Tower uses a frame structure made of steel columns and concrete and steel slabs.

A frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight. The walls in this case are non-load bearing, which allows for more flexibility when distributing the interior spaces.

The facade uses a non-load bearing curtain wall system. This means the curtain wall modules are anchored to the building's structural frame, typically by being attached to the edge of the floor slabs. The curtain wall system connects to the slabs using brackets, anchors, and mullions, which transfer the loads imposed by wind and temperature changes, to the building's primary structural elements.

This setup allows the curtain wall to accommodate differential movement between the facade and the structural frame, such as thermal expansion, floor deflection, or sway from wind forces. This system's integration with the slab edges also allows for continuous insulation and weatherproofing layers.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features

blue-tinted reflective glass combined with steel panels and tubes, enhancing its visual appeal by integrating elements of extrusion and curvature.

Its smooth, aerodynamic curves create a visual connection with the trains passing below, evoking associations with the aesthetics and dynamics of a machine.