Sky High

{Sears “Willis” Tower, Chicago}

Unfortunately, Chicago’s Sears Tower is neither the world’s tallest building (it technically hasn’t been since 1998, sadly) nor is it still actually called the Sears Tower. The recently christened “Willis Tower” was renamed for the London based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings that purchased the mega structure in 2009. Trust me, this change was met with great resistence from native Chicagoans. However, I digress…my feelings over the name change of arguably Chicago’s most notable landmark are not the subject of this post.

{Burj Khalifa, Dubai}

Even though things seem to be changing here in the Windy City, at least the renovations to the Willis Tower have been made by Chicago based architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill. Not only is this design magnate in charge of the renovations of the world’s former tallest building, they are also responsible for the construction of the current tallest builing in the world- the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. With Chicago being arguably one of the world’s most stunning architecture cities, it is no surprise that Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill both work and live here. Their work is truly captivating and can be seen all over the globe. I am still sad about the Willis Tower, but I am proud to say that a little piece (ok, a big piece…Smith and Gill were pretty important figures, I’d say) of Chicago went into the making of the world’s current tallest building.

Here’s an interview with Adrian Smith, the chief architect on the Burj Khalifa project.

Check out some more of AS+GG’s work. It truly is some of the most spectacular, innovative and breathtaking architecture you’ll ever see.