Overview
Located in Chicago’s bustling Fulton Market, this one-of-a-kind office tower features one of the tallest cantilevered glass fin systems in North America. The structure has transformed the area and contributed to the exponential growth and expansion of Fulton Market. Offering flexible spaces and a vibrant community, the Gensler-designed 17-story, 750,000 square foot office building is home to several large firms including WeWork, Foxtrot and CCC Information Technologies. The project is a joint venture between Focus and Shapack, and is located on Lake Street between Halstad and Green. 167 North Green Street offers unparalleled amenities with a focus on community, luxury and accessibility. At its base sits 30,000 square feet of retail and communal gathering spaces, and a flexible event space on the top floor features 360-degree views that can fit a full-sized basketball court.
The main entrance features a Sentech-designed VetraFin-G Series System cantilevered glass fin wall that boasts full-height 35-foot tall structural glass fins. The project called for a suspended, cantilevered VetraFin-G system design with the bottom two rows of glass utilizing VetraPoint fittings to accommodate building movement. Some of the key challenges during the design and engineering phase of this project arose due to the building layout, which demanded creative design solutions from our engineering team for the connections to accommodate building movement. The combination of accommodating differential building movement, minimizing glass depth, minimizing connections to the structure, and maximizing transparency- coupled with accommodating jumbo fins of this size that were suspended from the 4th floor of the building- created a unique puzzle for the Sentech team.
This one-of-a-kind office tower features one of the tallest cantilevered glass fin systems in North America. The combination of accommodating for differential building movement and designing for 35-foot tall suspended glass fins while minimizing glass fin depth and structural connections created a unique puzzle that demanded creativity from the Sentech team.
These challenges were addressed with several creative solutions from the Sentech team. These included working around various differential movement conditions with innovative sealant designs, pre-loading the structure to simulate the weight of the façade during installation, and removing weight from the overhead structure to ensure all joints remained aligned with adequate clearance as the installation sequence progressed. The full-height portion of the wall utilizes over 35-foot tall fins from the bottom of the 4th floor structure to hold the façade glass in place. These 32″ deep fins are made up of 4 plys of 1.2″ thick low iron tempered glass with an SGP interlayer. The depth and makeup of the fins helped ensure that they were not overstressed when supporting the deadload of the façade glass, while withstanding loads imposed during a building movement event.
In total, this VetraFin Façade rises 44-feet in height. Each fin weighs in at approximately 2,900 lbs and supports 13/16″ laminated façade panels. Sentech designed, engineered and supplied all glass and hardware required to install this structural glass entrance façade.
Transparent, open and inviting, this cantilevered glass fin façade achieves the design mandate of openness, luxury and accessibility- without sacrificing valuable lobby space.
Credits
Architect: Gensler
Contractor: Focus
Glazing Contractor: Ventana Design-Build
Owner: Focus and Shapack
Performance Rating
LEED Gold® certified
