Google’s announcement that it would take the Helmut Jahn-designed structure off the state of Illinois’ hands caps a years-long effort to figure out what to do with 1.2-million-square-foot building at Randolph and LaSalle streets with its distinctive red-and-blue accented steel frame.
Helmut Jahn
There’s nothing bashful or traditional about the Thompson Center, so it should come as no surprise that finalists’ designs in a competition to reimagine the building include a proposal for an indoor water park. Here’s a look at each of the designs.
The measure unanimously advanced by aldermen Tuesday would pave the way for the sale of the much beloved and equally loathed James R. Thompson Center in the heart of the Loop.
German architect Helmut Jahn died Saturday after being struck by a car while riding a bicycle in the western suburbs. Geoffrey Baer takes a look at Jahn’s work and his legacy in a special edition of Ask Geoffrey.
Helmut Jahn, a prominent German architect who designed an Illinois state government building and worked on the design of the FBI headquarters in Washington, was killed when two vehicles struck the bicycle he was riding outside Chicago.
The Thompson Center is for sale. Gov. Rauner says the iconic building has become a costly and inefficient albatross for Illinois. Just how much can the state get for it, and what does the renowned architect who designed it have to say about its future?
