Home Insurance Building

Chicago

This project is a renovation and replaced Home Insurance Building (Previous)

Height
1
To Tip:

Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).

55 m / 180 ft
2
Architectural:

Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

55 m / 180 ft
Floors
Above Ground

The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

12
1 2 Home Insurance Building Outline
Height 55.0 m / 180 ft
Floors 12
Official Name
The current legal building name.

Home Insurance Building

Type
CTBUH collects data on two major types of tall structures: 'Buildings' and 'Telecommunications / Observation Towers.' A 'Building' is a structure where at least 50% of the height is occupied by usable floor area. A 'Telecommunications / Observation Tower' is a structure where less than 50% of the structure's height is occupied by usable floor area. Only 'Buildings' are eligible for the CTBUH 'Tallest Buildings' lists.

Building

Status
Completed
Architecturally Topped Out
Structurally Topped Out
Under Construction
Proposed
On Hold
Never Completed
Vision
Competition Entry
Canceled
Proposed Renovation
Under Renovation
Renovated
Under Demolition
Demolished

Demolished

Completion

1890

Country
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of Country, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

United States

City
The CTBUH follows the United Nations's definition of City, and thus uses the lists and codes established by that organization.

Chicago

Address

135 South LaSalle Street

Function
A single-function tall building is defined as one where 85% or more of its usable floor area is dedicated to a single usage. Thus a building with 90% office floor area would be said to be an "office" building, irrespective of other minor functions it may also contain.

A mixed-use tall building contains two or more functions (or uses), where each of the functions occupy a significant proportion of the tower's total space. Support areas such as car parks and mechanical plant space do not constitute mixed-use functions. Functions are denoted on CTBUH "Tallest Building" lists in descending order, e.g., "hotel/office" indicates hotel function above office function.

office

Structural Material
Steel
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from steel. Note that a building of steel construction with a floor system of concrete planks or concrete slab on top of steel beams is still considered a “steel” structure as the concrete elements are not acting as the primary structure.

Reinforced Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning systems are constructed from concrete which has been cast in place and utilizes steel reinforcement bars.

Precast Concrete
Both the main vertical/lateral structural elements and the floor spanning system are constructed from steel reinforced concrete which has been precast as individual components and assembled together on-site.

Mixed-Structure
Utilizes distinct systems (e.g. steel, concrete, timber), one on top of the other. For example, a steel/concrete indicates a steel structural system located on top of a concrete structural system, with the opposite true of concrete/steel.

Composite
A combination of materials (e.g. steel, concrete, timber) are used together in the main structural elements. Examples include buildings which utilize: steel columns with a floor system of reinforced concrete beams; a steel frame system with a concrete core; concrete-encased steel columns; concrete-filled steel tubes; etc. Where known, the CTBUH database breaks out the materials used in a composite building’s core, columns, and floor spanning separately.

steel

Height
Architectural
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the architectural top of the building, including spires, but not including antennae, signage, flag poles or other functional-technical equipment. This measurement is the most widely utilized and is employed to define the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) rankings of the "World's Tallest Buildings."

55.0 m / 180 ft

To Tip
Height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance to the highest point of the building, irrespective of material or function of the highest element (i.e., including antennae, flagpoles, signage and other functional-technical equipment).
55.0 m / 180 ft
Floors Above Ground
The number of floors above ground should include the ground floor level and be the number of main floors above ground, including any significant mezzanine floors and major mechanical plant floors. Mechanical mezzanines should not be included if they have a significantly smaller floor area than the major floors below. Similarly, mechanical penthouses or plant rooms protruding above the general roof area should not be counted. Note: CTBUH floor counts may differ from published accounts, as it is common in some regions of the world for certain floor levels not to be included (e.g., the level 4, 14, 24, etc. in Hong Kong).

12

Construction Schedule
1890

Completed

1931

Demolished

Architect
Design

Usually involved in the front end design, with a "typical" condition being that of a leadership role through either Schematic Design or Design Development, and then a monitoring role through the CD and CA phases.
William LeBaron Jenney

CTBUH Initiatives

Height: The History of Measuring Tall Buildings

16 December 2009 - CTBUH News

Videos

16 March 2017 | Chicago

Building Tall Skyscraper Lecture Series: How High Can We Go?

Thursday, March 16, 2017. Chicago, United States of America. Hosted in collaboration with the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the first lecture of the series Building Tall...

Research

01 March 2020

“Buildings Without Walls:” A Tectonic Case for Two “First” Skyscrapers

Thomas Leslie, Iowa State University

“A practical architect might not unnaturally conceive the idea of erecting a vast edifice whose frame should be entirely of iron, and clothing the frame--preserving...

See more

Research

01 March 2020

“Buildings Without Walls:” A Tectonic Case for Two “First” Skyscrapers

Thomas Leslie, Iowa State University

“A practical architect might not unnaturally conceive the idea of erecting a vast edifice whose frame should be entirely of iron, and clothing the frame--preserving...

01 March 2020

The Elevator, the Iron Skeleton Frame, and the Early Skyscrapers: Part 2

Gerald R. Larson, University of Cincinnati

In Part One, I documented the evolution of the use of the elevator and the iron frame to build ever-taller buildings that would eventually be...

11 October 2019

Was the Home Insurance Building The “First Skyscraper”?

Mir M. Ali, School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Gerald Larson, University of Cincinnati

Chicago’s Home Insurance Building, the 12-story office building designed by William Le Baron Jenney, completed in 1885 and demolished in 1931, has frequently been referred...

01 March 2018

Designing the High-Rise Building from the Inside/Out

Timothy Johnson & Jonathan Ward, NBBJ

For over 100 years, the tall building has largely advanced in technological innovation; however very little has been done in the terms of understanding the...

01 March 2018

Dynamic Interrelationship between the Evolution of the Structural Systems and Façade Design in Tall Buildings

Kyoung Sun Moon, Yale University School of Architecture

The emergence of tall buildings in the late 19th century was possible by using new materials and separating the role of structures and that of...

01 February 2011

The Origin of the Skyscraper

Gerard Peet, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands

The modern skyscraper is generally considered to be an American invention. Chicago and New York claim they once hosted the world's first skyscraper and many...

12 June 2008

The Tallest Buildings in the World: Past, Present & Future

CTBUH Research

Over time, the average height of the 100 tallest buildings in the world has been steadily increasing. However, by 2010, this average height will have...

26 February 2001

BUILDING SYSTEMS AND CONCEPTS - Structural Innovation

William F. Baker, SOM

Mankind had always lived close to the ground. During the thousands of years that preceded the birth of the skyscraper, life was limited by a...

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