Park Tower (Chicago)



Park Tower is a skyscraper located at 800 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Completed in 2000 and standing at 844 ft tall with 70 floors — 67 floors for practical use, it is the twelfth-tallest building in Chicago, the 43rd-tallest building in the United States, and the 83rd-tallest in the world by architectural detail. It is one of the world's tallest buildings to be clad with architectural precast concrete (the Transamerica Pyramid Building in San Francisco is taller). It is one of the tallest non-steel framed structures in the world—it is a cast-in-place concrete framed structure. This building was originally intended to be 650 ft tall. But later, the ceiling heights were increased allowing it to reach 844 ft.

The building occupies a footprint of 28000 sqft. Because of the small footprint and the fact that it is a non-steel-framed concrete building, this is the first building in the US to be designed with a tuned mass damper from the outset. While other skyscrapers in America have anti-sway systems, they were always added later. A tuned mass damper counteracts wind effects on the structure. (The 300-ton damper is a massive steel pendulum hung from four cables inside a square cage.) Because of its massive weight, the damper has inertia that helps stabilize the building from swaying in the wind.

Designed by Chicago architectural firm Lucien Lagrange Architects, Park Tower is a mixed-use tower. As the name suggests, the lower portion holds a Park Hyatt Hotel while the upper levels contain luxury condominiums.

The building contains 193000 sqft of hotel space (202 rooms), 475000 sqft of residential space, 20000 sqft of retail, and 92000 sqft of parking. Levels 9, 19, and the crown are mechanical areas. Floors 2 to 18 are hotel spaces, Floors 20 to 55 are residential apartments and Floors 56 to 70 are private condominiums. With its location on the prestigious Magnificent Mile, Park Tower is also home to the acclaimed restaurant NoMi.