One Chicago West Tower

The One Chicago West Tower is a Contemporary skyscraper designed in 2017 by Goettsch Partners , in association with Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, and built between 2019 and 2021 in Chicago, IL.

One Chicago West 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 One Chicago West Tower is also known, or has been known as, One Chicago, 23 West Chicago Avenue, One Chicago Square Tower B, or One Chicago Square West Tower.

Its precise street address is 23 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL. You can also find it on the map here.

The One Chicago West Tower has received multiple architecture awards for its architectural design since 2021. The following is a list of such prizes and awards:

• American Architecture Award by the The Chicago Athenaeum in 2021
• Residential Development of the Year by the Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards in 2022
• Multifamily Development of the Year by the NAIOP Chicago Chapter in 2022
• Multifamily Development of the Year by the Illinois Real Estate Journal Awards in 2023
• Design Excellence Award in the Architecture XL category by the American Institute of Architects, Chicago Chapter in 2023
• International Architecture Award by the The Chicago Athenaeum in 2023

The tower is the shorter of the two buildings in the One Chicago development. It is connected to the taller tower, the East Tower, through a central podium that stands 10 stories high.

Goettsch Partners was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design, in association with Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture.

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 here is a list of the people we do know also played their part in making the One Chicago West Tower a reality:

• Magnusson Klemencic Associates in charge of Structural Engineering
• Power Construction as the Main Contractor
• JDL as the Main Developer

The One Chicago West Tower can be categorized as a Contemporary building.

The One Chicago West Tower uses a frame structure made of reinforced concrete columns and beams.

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 a continuous reflective glass surface with thinner, darker elements marking the height of each slab. The South-East and South-West units also have corner balconies, creating a textured arrow-like pattern.