Pickard Chilton

Chicago, Illinois

'The test of a great building is in the marketplace. The Marketplace recognizes the value of quality architecture and endorses it in the sales price it is able to achieve.' ' Jon Pickard, Principal, Pickard Chilton

Building high in the Windy City is not a charge to be taken lightly. New Haven–based Pickard Chilton has risen to the challenge with this 1.3 million-square-foot, 60-story tower on the north bank of the Chicago River that emphatically states its presence.

In devising the scheme, the architects worked closely with Chicago developer Hines and anticipated anchor tenant, the international law firm of Kirkland & Ellis (K&E), which previously occupied Edward Durell Stone and Perkins and Will’s Aon Center. With a new home for K&E, the team hoped to create a visible identity as well as a high-performance transparent building that connected with the waterfront, attracted talent, and enabled K&E to use less square footage more efficiently while maximizing perimeter offices.

“The design of 300 North LaSalle was instrumental in securing the anchor tenant K&E,” says Hines vice president Jim Walsh. “The building needed to create an image of quality. Pickard Chilton’s selection of materials, from the curtain wall’s stainless steel to material choices in the lobby and the public plazas, as well as their detail in the overall design, achieved that goal.” This and flexible, efficient floor plans were also instrumental in attracting tenants for the 25,000-square-foot rentable floor plates. “In many cases,” points out Walsh, “these tenants will be paying more per square foot but taking less square footage.”

To maximize daylighting and views, the team raised the ceilings to about 10 feet and employed floor-to-ceiling low-E glass (with stainless steel shade fins). And to achieve LEED Gold CS certification and an Energy Star rating, they diverted 98 percent of demolition and construction waste and specified a green roof and condenser water supplied by the river, among other things.

“The building opened 90 percent leased in a tough leasing market and quickly leased to over 96 percent,” says Walsh. As a further testament to the building’s success, Hines sold it in 2010 for a record $655 million — at $503 per square foot, the highest price ever paid for a downtown Chicago office building, claim the architects. “You can achieve your business objectives by simply doing a box,” says Pickard Chilton principal Jon Pickard. “However, 300 North LaSalle transcends that. It contributes to the city at many levels — it has a dignity that goes beyond a bottom-line commercial focus and a refinement that is consistent with the history of Chicago.”

Architect:
Pickard Chilton
980 Chapel Street
New Haven, CT 06510
203.786.8600 T / 203.786.8610 F

Completion Date: May 2009

Total construction cost: $480 million

Gross square footage: 1.3 million sq.ft.

People

Owner: KBS Real Estate Investment Trust, Newport Beach, California

Developer: Hines, Chicago, Illinois

Architect:              
Pickard Chilton
980 Chapel Street
New Haven, CT 06510
203.786.8600 T / 203.786.8610 F

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:
Principals:
Jon Pickard FAIA, RIBA; William D Chilton FAIA, RIBA; Anthony Markese AIA, RIBA, LEED AP

Design Team:
Benjamin Simmons, David Brown, Charisse Bennett, Christopher Lee, Deborah Lukan AIA, Jonathan Stitelman, William Traill, Maxwell Worrell

Architect of Record:
Kendall/Heaton Associates Inc.
3050 Post Oak Blvd, Suite 1000
Houston TX 77056

Engineer(s):                                         
Structural Engineer :                              
Magnusson Klemencic Associates
1301 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3200
Seattle, WA 98101-2699

MEP Engineer:                                       
Alvine Engineering
1102 Douglas on the Mall
Omaha, NE  68102

Civil Engineer:                                        
Epstein
600 W Fulton St # 7
Chicago, IL 60661-1259

Consultant(s):

Landscape:                                             
Wolff Landscape Architecture, Inc.
307 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 601
Chicago, IL 60601

Lighting:                                                  
Quentin Thomas Associates, Inc.
Two Hillcrest Avenue
Douglaston, NY 11363

Acoustical:                                              
Cerami & Associates
404 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10018

Sustainability:                                          
BVM Engineering
834 Inman Village Parkway NE, Suite 230
Atlanta, GA 30307

Building Automation:                               
HMA Consulting
5177 Richmond Avenue, Suite 640
Houston, TX  77056

Vertical Transportation:                          
Persohn/Hahn Associates
908 Town and Country Blvd., Suite 120
Houston, TX  77024

Code/Life Safety:                                    
Hollingsworth Architects LLC
740 South Federal Street, Suite 1209
Chicago, IL 60605

Curtain Wall Consultant:                         
CDC, Inc.
8070 Park Lane, Suite 400
Dallas, TX 75231

General contractor:             
Clark Construction Group LLC
Bethesda, Maryland

Photographer(s):                                 
Alan Karchmer
3400 Patterson Street NW
Washington, DC  20015
202.244.7511

Peter Aaron/Esto
222 Valley Place
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
914.698.4060

Scott McDonald
Hedrich-Blessing Photographers
400 North Peoria
Chicago,Il 60622
312.491.1101

CAD system, project management, or other software used:  AutoCAD (Base design/modeling and production software); 3D Studio Max (Rendering software); Primavera (File/Submittal management software); Adobe CS (Illustrator, Photoshop,InDesign).

 

Products

Structural system
Steel Frame w/ Concrete Core

Exterior cladding
Metal Panels: Formawall (Penthouse Walls) Permasteelisa (Curtain Wall Metal Panels)

Metal/glass curtain wall: Permasteelisa

Precast concrete: Gate Precast Company

Roofing
Built-up roofing: American Hydrotech

Glazing
Glass: Viracon

Doors
Entrances: Kawneer

Wood doors: Lambton Door Co.

Fire-control doors, security grilles: Cornell (Insulated Coiling Doors)

Special doors): Hydrarol (High Speed Roll Up Doors)

Hardware
Locksets: Sargent

Closers: Norton

Exit devices: Sargent

Interior finishes
Acoustical ceilings: Armstrong (Public Areas & Back of House) & USG (Parking Garage)

Suspension grid: Armstrong (Public Areas & Back of House) & USG (Parking Garage)

Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: MARC Woodworking, Inc.

Paints and stains: Sherwin Williams

Floor and wall tile: American Olean

Resilient flooring: Armstrong

Carpet: Durkan

Lighting
Interior ambient lighting: Columbia

Downlights: Lite Frame

Exterior: Hubbell

Conveyance
Elevators/Escalators: Kone