LEGO Willis Tower, Architecture Willis Tower Instructions Manual

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Willis Tower

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Architecture, Engineering and Construction

The Willis Tower is an “international style” design
consisting of s quare tubes in a 3 by 3 tube arrangement,
with each tube having a footprint of 75 by 75 ft., in
essence creating a unified bundle of nine tubes. The
Willis Tower was the first building for which this type of

“bundled-tubular” construction was used. This design

provides stability against high winds and also allows
for future upward growth if so desired by the owner.
The 222,500-ton or 445 million pound building is
supported by 114 rock caissons secured into bedrock.
The foundation and the floor slabs combine to equal 2
million cubic feet of concrete. 76,000 tons of
prefabricated steel frame sections measuring 15 x 25
ft. were put in place. The Willis Tower has more than
16,000 bronze-tinted windows and 28 acres of black
aluminum cladding or “skin”.
As the building climbs upward, the tubes begin to
drop off giving the Willis Tower its characteristic
setback or “step-back”. This geometry of the 110-story
tower was developed in response to the original
interior space requirements of Willis, Roebuck &

Company. The configuration incorporates the
unusually large office floors necessary to Willis’
operation along with a variety of smaller floors.
A revolutionary vertical transportation system was
instrumental in the Willis Tower reach in soaring to
new heights never previously achieved. 16 Double­decker express elevators travel from the first two
floors to “sky-lobbies” located at floors 33/34 and
66/67, where passengers transfer to single local
elevators serving all other individual floors. Among the
world’s fastest the elevators servicing the observatory
travel at 1,600 ft. per minute.

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Points of Interest

There are four sets of distinctive black bands wrapping
around the perimeter of the building which appear
between the 29th-32nd, 64th-65th, 88th-89th, and 104th­109th floors. These black bands are actually louvers

which allow ventilation for service equipment and also
serve to hide the structure’s belt trusses which the
Willis, Roebuck & Company did not want to be visible.

Location: .......................... 233 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Architect: .......................... Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP.

Classification: ............... Supertall

Construction Type: .... Steel Frame and Curtain Wall

Materials: ......................... Aluminum, Concrete, Glass and Steel

Year: .................................... 1970-1974

Height: ............................... 1,458 ft. (442 m.)

Footprint: ......................... 225 ft. x 225 ft. (68 m. x 68 m.)

Pinnacle Type: .............. East Antenna 1,720 ft. (521 m.), West Antenna 1,740 ft. (527 m.)

Stories: .............................. 110

Cost: ................................... $175 million (1970)

Floor Area: ...................... 4,400,000 ft

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(409,000 m2)

Zoned: .............................. Commercial: Office, Communication, Retail & Observation

Elevators. ......................... 104

Facts at a Glance

McShane-Fleming Studios
Chicago, Illinois

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