"The scheme consists of two identical 26-story towers placed 46 feet apart with their long axes set perpendicular to each other. The steel skeletal frame is based on a 21-foot grid and is clearly expressed in the elevations, indicated by black-painted steel sheets covering the fireproofed columns and beams. The rigorous consistency of the design is seen in the uniform treatment of each building face regardless of orientation. Each bay is subdivided into four window units by three wide-flange steel mullions. A supplementary mullion is welded to the face of the exterior by the others. Within these divisions aluminum-framed floor-to- ceiling windows are set. The significance of this work is a pioneer curtain-wall expression as well as a fulfillment of the all-glass skyscraper schemes proposed by Mies three decades earlier."

— A. James Speyer. Mies van der Rohe. p26.

The Creator's Words

"I had no conventional architectural education. I worked under a few good architects; I read a few good books—and that's about it."

"I remember seeing many old buildings in my hometown when I was young. Few of them were important buildings. They were mostly very simple, but very clear. I was impressed by the strength of these buildings because they did not belong to any epoch. They had been there for over a thousand years and were still impressive, and nothing could change that. All the great styles passed, but...they were still as good as on the day they were built. They were medieval buildings, not with any special character, but they were really built. "

— Mies van der Rohe. from John Zukowsky, organizer. Mies Reconsidered: His Career, Legacy, and Disciples. p13, 14.

Details

860-880 North Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois

American Institute of Architects 25 Year Award, 1976