Sears Tower no longer the Tallest Building in North America
March 11, 2014
One World Trade Center (1WTC) in New York, originally known as the Freedom Tower, has become “The Top of America,” as this week’s issue of Time magazine puts it. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), the organization that determines how a building’s height is measured, 1WTC’s height to architectural top is 1,776 feet. This includes the 408-foot-tall spire that rises above the main structure of the building. In announcing the CTBUH decision to include the spire in its measurement, the organization’s executive director noted the symbolic importance of the spire reaching to 1,776 feet and the Height Committee’s confidence that the spire will remain a permanent architectural feature of the building.
So, the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago has lost its title as the tallest building in North America (it was the World’s Tallest Building from its completion in 1974 to 1996, when it lost that title to the Petronas Towers). The main roof level at the top of the building structure is actually higher at the Willis Tower in Chicago than at 1WTC: 1,451 feet at the Willis Tower vs. 1,368 feet to the steel parapet at 1WTC. But since the late 1990s the CTBUH has evaluated buildings according to several measurements, with height to architectural top determining the official building height. Initially there were four measurement categories; these have been reduced to three, eliminating the height to roof measurement.
The current three categories of measurement are:
- Height to architectural top. Permanent spires are included in this measurement. 1WTC’s height to architectural top is 1,776 feet; the Willis Tower’s height to architectural top is 1,451 feet.
- Height to highest occupied floor. 1WTC’s highest occupied floor is at 1,268 feet; the Willis Tower’s highest occupied floor is at 1,354 feet.
- Height to tip. This measurement includes antennas. 1WTC’s height to tip is 1,792 feet; the Willis Tower’s height to tip measures 1,729 feet.
Fazlur R. Khan Way
March 9, 2011
Displayed above the “Khan Sculpture” is the street sign that can be seen just outside the building, at the intersection of Jackson and Franklin Streets. The city named this intersection at the foot of the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) in honor of my father in 1998.
Our friends Vasyl and Luba at the Sears Tower last October
Khan Sculpture at the Sears Tower
February 24, 2011
If you have visited the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) you have probably seen a sculpture that was commissioned by the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois to honor my father. Designed by the Spanish artist Carlos Marinas, it is a large bas-relief made of stainless steel and bronze that represents the Chicago skyline and features a bust of my father. The sculpture was completed in 1988 and today has the special distinction of being seen by the many visitors to the skydeck.
This sculpture at the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) is located near to the elevators at the skydeck ticket area.
New article about FRK
February 21, 2011
This month’s issue of Structure magazine includes a great article about my father by Richard Weingardt. This March it will be 29 years since his death.
Yasmin Sabina Khan 