Grand Plaza I Building

The Grand Plaza I Building is a Contemporary skyscraper designed by Loewenberg + Associates, in association with OWP&P Architects, and built between 1997 and 2003, for a reported $200 million dollars, in Chicago, IL.

Grand Plaza I Building 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 Grand Plaza I Building is also known, or has been known as, The Residences at Grand Plaza, or Grand Plaza East Tower.

Its precise street address is 540 North State Street, Chicago, IL. You can also find it on the map here.

In 2021 the Grand Plaza I Building was awarded with the Resident Satisfaction award winners by SatisFacts.

The Grand Plaza I Building is one of the two towers that make up the Grand Plaza Complex, which takes up an entire city block.

Loewenberg + Associates was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design, in association with OWP&P Architects.

Loewenberg + Associates was in charge of the architectural design, however, architecture is a complex discipline, which usually involves 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 here is a list of the people we do know also played their part in making the Grand Plaza I Building a reality:

• Koz Sowlat in charge of Structural Engineering
• James McHugh Construction Co. as the Main Contractor
• Otis Elevator Company as the company in charge of the elevators system
• Magellan Development Group, US Equities as the Main Developer
• Thornton-Tomasetti Engineers in charge of MEP Engineering

The Grand Plaza I Building can be categorized as a Contemporary building.

That being said, and even thought being a contemporary building, probably taking advantage of modern materials, construction techniques, and technology, the design of the Grand Plaza I Building is inspired by the postmodernism style.

The Grand Plaza I Building uses a frame structure made of concrete columns and 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 of the building however, is load bearing. This doesn't imply that it is a traditional load-bearing wall. Rather, it means that the structure's exterior pillars have been pushed to the very edges, becoming integrated with the facade, and therefore, technically, a part of it.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features some shear walls with window openings, combined with large sections of balconies.

The base of the building occupies most of the city block, giving a feeling of solidness and massiveness .