The Cook County Administration Building (formerly known as the Brunswick Building) is a skyscraper located at 69 West Washington Street in Chicago, Illinois.[1][2] The building, constructed between the years 1962 and 1964, is 475 ft (144.8 m) tall, and contains 35 floors.[1] It has a concrete structure.[1] The building, engineered by Fazlur Khan of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is notable for innovating the tube-within-a-tube structural system.[2]
Originally a corporate office building, the tower was later acquired by the Cook County government and now holds government offices and courtrooms.[2]
The building, was constructed between the years 1962 and 1964, and utilizes a concrete structure.[1] At the time of its construction, it was Chicago's tallest concrete office building.[2] The building is designed with an exposed structure and adheres to the modernist architecture style.[2] The building utilizes a deep foundation system.[2]
For this building, engineer Fazlur Khan of the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill adapted the tube system he had innovated with the design of The Plaza on DeWitt by creating a tube-within-a-tube, with both the building's core and its perimeter being hollow and rigid tubes that support the tower, allowing for column-free interior space.[2]
At its lower portion, the façade of the tower juts back slightly in a curve.[2]
The building is connected to the Chicago Pedway system, with the Pedway featuring retail spaces in the area where it passes beneath the tower.[2] An underground Chicago Pedway passage connects the building to the Richard J. Daley Center across the street.[2]
The building has a small plaza featuring an untitled sculpture by Joan Miró.[2]
Fire
The Cook County Administration Building saw a structural fire occur on the 12th floor of the building on October 17, 2003.[3][4][5]
The fire was started in a supply room[6] by a faulty light fixture and resulted in the deaths of six people.[7][8] The City of Chicago, in addition to several other defendants, paid $100 million to the families of the six victims after litigation,[9] citing multiple failures.
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