Cook County Administration Building

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]

The Cook County Administration Building (photographed in 2012)

Originally a corporate office building, the tower was later acquired by the Cook County government and now holds government offices and courtrooms.[2]

Design and construction

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]

Photograph of the untitled Joan Miró sculpture in a small plaza beside the building. The Cook County Administration Building is on the lefthand side of the plaza, with the Chicago Temple Building on the right and Three First National Plaza visible in the rear of the plaza.

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.

Photographs
  • Street view
    Street view
  • Interior of building
    Interior of building

References
  1. "Cook County Administration Building - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  2. "Cook County Administration Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  3. "Fire".
  4. "govinfo". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  5. "14 Years After 69 West Washington—Fire Reforms Are Still Incomplete". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  6. Institute, Fire Service. "LibGuides: Significant Illinois Fires: Cook County Administration Building Fire". guides.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  7. Mickey Ciokajlo; Sabrina L. Miller; Robert Becker; John Chase; Grace Aduroja; Manya Brachear. "6 die in Loop blaze". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  8. Davey, Monica (2003-10-19). "Smoke and Panic on Stairs In Chicago High-Rise Fire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  9. Michael Higgins; Dan Mihalopoulos. "Fire lawsuits settled for $100 million". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-07.

41°52′59″N 87°37′48″W

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