Wolf Point West Tower

The Wolf Point West Tower is a Contemporary skyscraper designed between 2012 and 2014 by bKL Architecture, and built between 2014 and 2016 in Chicago, IL.

Its precise street address is 343 West Wolf Point Plaza, Chicago, IL. You can also find it on the map here.

The Wolf Point West Tower has received multiple architecture awards for its architectural design since 2016. The following is a list of such prizes and awards:

• NAIOP Chicago Award in 2017
• CISCO Project of the Year award New Construction in 2016

Wolf Point is the area located at the confluence of the North, South, and Main Branches of the Chicago River, and is a historically significant site in Chicago's early development, ad it hosted the city's first taverns, hotel (Sauganash Hotel), ferry, drug store, church, theater company, and river bridges.

The Wolf Point West Tower is part of a redeveloped that took place in the 2010's, which also included the Wolf Point East Tower, and the Salesforce Tower later on.

bKL Architecture 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 here is a list of the people we do know also played their part in making the Wolf Point West Tower a reality:

• Halvorson and Partners in charge of Structural Engineering
• James McHugh Construction Co. as the Main Contractor
• Hines, Magellan Development Group as the Main Developer
• Alvine Engineering in charge of MEP Engineering
• Wolff Landscape Architecture in charge of Landscape Architecture

The Wolf Point West Tower can be categorized as a Contemporary building.

The Wolf Point West Tower uses a frame structure made of concrete columns and reinforced concrete 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 a combination of tinted and opaque glass panels, interspersed with horizontal bands of aluminum tubing. Inset balconies are also present at the corners and portions of the facades.

The tower rises above a four-story setback lobby, externally supported by columns of varying heights clad in steel plates.