Defining The Skyline
August 2010
Recently, buildings such as The Legacy and The Blue Cross Blue Shield Headquarters, which Walsh Construction was contracted to build, have received some very positive reviews. The Chicago Tribune’s Blair Kamin, in his “Daily Chicago Journal About The Buildings And Urban Spaces That Shape Our Lives” column, picks apart defining characteristics of architectural structures, and eloquently rebuilds their beauty using thorough descriptions.
He recently focused his column on the Legacy and Blue Cross Blue Shield Headquarters. Boasting sleek glassy bodies, these structures reflect the beauty and opulence of the blue sky allowing them to appear slimmer. The Legacy is a 72-story mixed-use, high-rise building, which combines 356 condominium units, a school, retail, and parking areas.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Headquarters is a 24 floor (900,000 SF) structural steel framed addition to the existing 30-story structure. The curtain wall enclosure of the expansion matches the existing curtain wall system installed over ten years ago. Included in the addition are sixteen new elevators, four escalators, two floors of food service, and a new conference center on the 30th floor. Overall, the capacity of the building has nearly doubled from 4000 to almost 8000 employees.
