541 North Fairbanks Court, formerly the Time-Life Building, is a , 30-story

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, designed by

Harry Weese Harry Mohr Weese (June 30, 1915 – October 29, 1998) was an Americans, American architect who had an important role in 20th-century modernism and historic preservation. His brother, Ben Weese, was also a renowned architect. Early life and educat ...

and completed in 1969. Located on the Near North Side, it was among the first in the U.S. to use

double-deck elevator A double-deck elevator or double-deck lift is an elevator where one cab is stacked on top of another. This allows passengers on two consecutive floors to be able to use the elevator simultaneously, significantly increasing the passenger cap ...

s. The odd-numbered floors are accessible from the lower lobby, with even floors serviced from the upper level. In 2014, the building was purchased by

Northwestern Memorial Hospital Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is a nationally ranked academic medical center located on Northwestern University's Campus of Northwestern University, Chicago campus in Streeterville, Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship campus for Nort ...

, which already housed several back-office functions there, for $28 million (equivalent to $ in ).. The

Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, 10 boat docking harbors, two botanic conservat ...

planned to vacate floors 3 through 7, which it used as its headquarters, in 2018. It then negotiated an extension with rent of the lease while preparing a move to a new facility.

Architecture

The structure is clad in

Cor-Ten Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys that form a stable external layer of rust that eliminates the need for painti ...

steel, the material used for the Daley Center and the Picasso sculpture in the Center's plaza. The metal rusts with age, an effect intended by the architects. The lobby floor is ½ level below ground, and an underground retail concourse is found another half level below. The

coffered ceiling A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also ...

s in the lobby and outdoor arcade are similar to Washington, D.C.'s subway system, designed by the same architect. The lobby has a base of with bay windows.

Awards

* In 1973, the architects won an Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects.

References

External links

Otis Fact Sheet (rev. 03/06)archived copy
- mentions double-decked elevators Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago Harry Weese buildings 1969 establishments in Illinois Office buildings completed in 1969 {{Chicago-struct-stub