Modernizing Modernism: Challenges with Preserving Post-War Buildings

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Modernizing Modernism Challenges with Preserving
Post-War Buildings
The Inland Steel Building
30 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois
National Historic Tax Credit ConferenceChicago,
Illinois September 25, 2008
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Inland Steel Building

• Completed in 1958 as corporate headquarters for
  the Inland Steel Company.
• Designed by Bruce Graham and Walter Netsch of
  Skidmore, Owings Merrill.
• Unique design with external columns and separate
  service tower allowed completely unobstructed
  floor plates.

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Historic and Architectural Significance

• First modern glass skyscraper constructed in
  Chicago Loop.
• First Chicago skyscraper designed by SOM.
• First fully air-conditioned office building in
  Chicago.
• First use of insulated glass units in a Chicago
  skyscraper.
• Designated a Chicago Landmark in 1998.
• Listing on the National Register of Historic
  Places in process.

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The Project

• The Inland Steel Building is being rehabilitated
  and repositioned as an office building to compete
  in the 2008 marketplace.
• Project seeks 20 federal historic rehabilitation
  tax credits, thereby requiring compliance with
  Secretary of the Interiors Standards for
  Rehabilitation.
• As a Chicago Landmark, changes to exterior and
  lobby are subject to review and approval by the
  Commission on Chicago Landmarks.
• A challenge of rehabilitating the Inland Steel
  Building for the current market is to preserve
  significant modern interior features while
  accommodating the needs of a variety of tenants.

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The Challenge Preserve Modern Interior
Significant Interior Features

• Entry lobby and first floor retail space.
• Unique lighting pattern on second floor.
• Clear span office floors.
• Modular partition wall system.

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Entry Lobby and First Floor Retail Space

• Retain Richard Lippold sculpture Radiant One in
  lobby.
• Restore original lighting system.
• Reveal textured glass and marble features.
• Restore elevator lobby ceiling.

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Entrance lobby with sculpture, looking east
towards elevator lobby, circa 1958.
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Current condition of ground floor elevator lobby,
showing non-original lighting and Bubinga
paneling.
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Non-original Bubinga paneling in entrance lobby.
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Second Floor Lighting Pattern

• Second floor ceiling originally featured grid of
  square light boxes that extended through the wall
  plane to the exterior soffits.
• Light boxes were removed from interior.
• Rehabilitation proposes to restore original
  lighting configuration.

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1957 SOM Drawing of Second Floor Lighting
Configuration.
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Current condition of second floor ceiling,
showing non-original interior lighting and
original exterior lighting.
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Clear Span Office Floors

• Separate service tower allowed office spaces with
  no interior obstructions.
• Remodeling by individual tenants has obscured
  original open floor plans on most floors.
• Rehabilitation proposes to remove non-original
  partitions and reveal clear span office spaces.

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View of typical office floor, circa. 1957.
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Examples of later tenant remodeling.
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Proposed office interior.
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Modular Wall Partition System

• Interior office spaces defined by modular system
  of wall partition panels manufactured by E. F.
  Hauserman Company.
• Panels designed to snap into Celotex ceiling
  system for easy office reconfiguration.
• Rehabilitation proposes to retain Hauserman
  panels on some floors and introduce new modular
  system.

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Offices with Hauserman panels, circa 1958.
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Surviving Hauserman panels.
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Hauserman textured glass panels with clear glass
transoms.
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Proposed new modular partition system.
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Summary

• The Inland Steel Building is one of the defining
  commercial high-rises of the Post-War era of
  modern architecture and a beloved Chicago
  Landmark.
• A challenge of rehabilitating the Inland Steel
  Building for the 2008 market is to preserve
  significant modern interior features while
  accommodating the needs of a variety of tenants.
• The project will retain the Richard Lippold
  sculpture in the lobby, restore the original
  system of light panels on the first floor, and
  reveal obscured marble and textured glass
  features.
• The distinctive lighting configuration on the
  second floor will be restored.
• Inappropriate partition walls will be removed
  from office floors to reveal original clear span
  spaces.
• Hauserman wall panels will be retained on some
  floors, and a new modular partition system will
  be installed on remaining office floors.

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• Allen F. JohnsonDirector, Midwest
  OfficeMacRostie Historic Advisors LLC
• 53 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 1357 Chicago,
  IL 60604
• [phone] ajohnson_at_mac-ha.com
  macrostiehistoric.com