John Hancock Building example essay topic

The John Hancock Center The John Hancock center, engineered by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is located on 875 North Michigan Avenue along the Magnificent Mile in downtown Chicago. The John Hancock building is the second largest building in Chicago and the twelfth tallest building in the world, standing at 1,127.6 feet to the top of the structure and 1,476 feet to the tip of the antenna. The structure was finished in 1969 after four years of construction. This project was controversial from the beginning, due mainly to its location near much smaller buildings. To keep such a tall building standing in Chicago, engineers had to make this building very stiff. The John Hancock Center is actually an extremely tall steel tube.

Steel columns and beams are concentrated in the skyscraper's perimeter and five enormous diagonal braces are on the exterior walls of the skyscraper in order to give it extra strength in the wind. Interestingly, the diagonals completely block the view from two windows on each floor and surprisingly, a rental agent has transformed these blocked windows into something of a symbol-which means that it actually costs more money to rent from these rooms. The skyscraper also rises from 40,000 square feet at the base to 18,000 square feet at the summit. This type of design provides additional stability for the building against wind.

Aside from the Empire State Building (1931, 1250 feet) and the Chrysler Building (1930, 1046 feet), the Hancock Center is the only building built before 1970 that still ranks among the world's 20 tallest buildings. The interesting X bracing on the face of the building made John Hancock Center one of the first skyscrapers to express its structural system. The John Hancock is made out of steel, aluminum, and glass and is home to many offices that occupy the lower floors of the 100-story skyscraper and apartments that are located on the upper floors of the building. This building is surrounded by huge, residential high-rise buildings and faces one of the city's most attractive streets-Lake Shore Drive.

It stands out greatly compared to the buildings surrounding it because it is so much taller and the diagonal bars going up the building make the building look very different and unique. The Hancock center is not exactly centered to the other buildings because the other buildings are not nearly as soaring as this one but because of this it makes one appreciate the building more as it stands tall. The Hancock Center was definitely built in a well suited area because Chicago is a busy place with many people and multipurpose buildings that hold offices as well as apartments are very useful. This building also adds immensely to Chicago's beautiful skyline. There are many different unique and interesting things about the John Hancock building including the great view, the incredible architecture, and the different appealing activities that people can participate in within the building. The Hancock center also houses many restaurants, health clubs, a swimming pool, a hotel, and even an ice skating rink; and of course the very famous observatory where four states can be seen which are Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

I chose to write about the John Hancock Center because it was a good chance to learn more about a great Chicago building. I have always wondered about the diagonal bars that go up the building, wondering whether it was for looks or if it was needed-and found that it was definitely needed for structural support. The Hancock center is a great place for almost anything. Not only are there apartments for people to live in, but many people also work, dine, and visit there on a daily basis. It is also a wonderful tourist site because of the observatory where people can see a great view of not only Chicago, but surrounding states as well.

The John Hancock Center is definitely a structure that Chicago should be proud of..