John Hancock Center

Chicago, USA

Photo © Ezra Stoller/Esto, courtesy of SOM

Photo © Timothy Hursley, courtesy of SOM

Photo © Jon Miller/Hedrich Blessing, courtesy of SOM

Photo © Ezra Stoller/Esto, courtesy of SOM

Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Location: Chicago, USA
Year: 1970

The world’s first mixed-use high-rise, the John Hancock Center is an architectural icon mirroring the collaboration between architect Bruce Graham and structural partner Fazlur Khan. The multidisciplinary nature of the design remains an archetype for the collaborative ideal that continues to make SOM a leader in the spectrum of design disciplines. The tapered shape of the tower was chosen in order to match the different floor space requirements which decrease from bottom to top—from the entrance and commercial zones at the base and the parking floors above them to the clusters of small apartments at medium height and finally to the large apartments on top where relatively less space is needed for ancillary rooms.