Interior of Thompson Center-Chicago

This is is photo of the interior of the James R Thompson Center in downtown Chicago, which houses the State of Illinois offices. According to... more

by Michael Durst

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Price

$395

Dimensions

18.000 x 24.000 inches

Title

Interior of Thompson Center-Chicago

Artist

Michael Durst

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

This is is photo of the interior of the James R Thompson Center in downtown Chicago, which houses the State of Illinois offices. According to Wikipedia:

The building opened in May 1985 as the State of Illinois Center. It was renamed in 1993 to honor former Illinois Republican Governor James R. Thompson. The property takes up the entire block bound by Randolph, Lake, Clark and LaSalle Streets, one of the 35 full-size city blocks within Chicago's Loop. In front of the Thompson Center is a sculpture, Monument With Standing Beast, by Jean Dubuffet. The JRTC is sometimes referred to as the State Building.

The JRTC was designed by Murphy/Helmut Jahn and opened to mixed reviews by critics, ranging from "outrageous" to "wonderful". The color of the street-level panels was compared to tomato soup. The 17-story, all-glass exterior does not reflect the building's function, and instead conveys an image of pure postmodernism; the effect is striking, especially from the Daley Center,

Visitors to the JRTC's interior can see all 17 floors layered partway around the building's immense skylit atrium. The open-plan offices on each floor are supposed to carry the message of an open government in action.
Originally, the design called for curved, insulated (double paned) glass panels, but these were found to be prohibitively expensive. Flat, insulated glass had been suggested, but were dismissed by Jahn. Single-paned (non-insulated), curved glass panels were eventually used, and resulted in the need for a more expensive air conditioning system, which remains very costly to operate, and is insufficient on hot days (internal temperatures have reached as high as 90 degrees Fahrenheit). The building is also bitterly cold in the winter; in its early years, ice formed on the interior of some of the wall panels. The marble floor of the atrium initially developed unsightly water stains, an issue which has since been resolved.

Copyright Notice: All images are fully protected by U.S. and international copyright laws, all rights reserved. The images may not be copied, reproduced, manipulated or used in any way, without the written permission of Dr. G. M. Durst.

Uploaded

September 8th, 2015