The refurbishment included replacing the original travertine slabs, designing a new drainage system and recreating the original plaza lighting scheme. It also involved re-coating of the steel frame façade, cleaning of aluminum windows and addition of sand-blasted glass to the building’s lobby, for recreating the soft and velvety glow of the towers, which were constructed between 1949 and 1951.The surrounding plaza was also reconstructed.
Corrosion of the buildings’ exposed steel frame, failure of the lobby glazing system and extensive cracking and discoloration of the travertine plaza were some of the problems faced during restoration.
Krueck & Sexton took two years to finish the restoration work. German-American architect Mies van der Rohe carried out the renovations of the towers.
860-880 is located north of Chicago’s Loop central business district, close to the Lake Michigan.
