based on 70 reviewsThe architecture of 875 North Michigan Avenue is informed by its expressive structural system and gently sloping façades. This innovative form was designed to efficiently accommodate the variety of uses contained in the building. The gentle inward slope creates optimally-sized floor plans for both the lower parking and office levels and the higher residential floors. Additionally, the tapered form significantly reduces wind loads, allowing for a reduction in the size of structural members. For Chicago's busy streetscape, the building's shape increases the visual verticality of the building; adding perceived height to an already impressively tall tower.
The architectural form of the 875 North Michigan Avenue represents a radical departure from established aesthetics of the time. Initially, critics labeled the building as too industrial, but over time it has come to symbolize the gutsy tradition of structural expression in Chicago. It is often characterized as super-rational, logical, and a representation of the machine age of architecture. It exhibits its true structure much in the tradition of bridge construction. These qualities are at the heart of why the building has endured in the minds of so many.





Other visitors' reviews of 875 North Michigan Avenue
Show More Reviews875 North Michigan Avenue was that narrow, black skyscraper, like a block of wood stuck at the intersection. The building was pitch black inside; the elevator doors opened onto glass windows, offering a view of Chicago spread out below. The wind was so strong the windows rattled, and the lake was a hazy, indistinct expanse of gray. A child was pressed against the window counting boats, but forgot to finish halfway through. The distant sound of traffic below drifted up like muffled thunder. Feeling dizzy after standing there for a while, I quickly found the elevator and went down.