Massive and Rigid...

I will be the first to admit, I am not a huge fan of the architecture of the Sears Tower. At least in it's appearance. It is terribly situated on the street, turning it's back on the city with blank unusable (literally) plazas and just a wall on Franklin Street. But I will be the first to acknowledge it's raw muscle and feat of engineering.


This building is all about mass and rigidity. It's shear mass can make it overwhelming at times, but in that massiveness is a beautiful simplicity in it's engineering.


This building is essentially nine skyscrapers of varying heights bundled together to form one huge one. This makes for a super duper strong structure that isn't likely to go anywhere any time soon.


Those of us who live here and see it on a daily basis tend to take it for granted that it is among the tallest structures on the planet. I am often amused by the tourists wandering the Loop searching for it, and looking on their guide maps.