Sears Tower Knocked From High Summit

Chicago's Sears Tower was "officially" declared the fourth-tallest building in the world.
Though Sears is no longer the world's tallest building, Chicagoans can take heart:
The West Loop skyscraper is still recognized as the tallest building in America.

The Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's Height Committee, after reviewing its height criteria, has officially designated Taiwan's Taipei 101 building as the world's tallest. The announcement was made by CTBUH Chairman Ron Klemencic at the Structural Engineers Foundation of Illinois' 2004 Lecture on April 15 in Chicago, where members of the Taipei 101 design team made a presentation on the construction of that building.

Measured to the architectural top, Taipei 101 has a height of 508 meters, which places it above Malaysia's twin Petronas Towers, each measuring 452 meters. Chicago's Sears Tower moves into fourth place at 442 meters, followed by the Jin Mao Building in Shanghai at 421 meters.

The CTBUH criteria state, "The height of a building is measured from the sidewalk level of the main entrance to the architectural top of the building, including penthouse and tower. Towers include spires and pinnacles. Television and radio antennas, masts, and flag poles are not included."

In 1996 the council voted to expand the data gathered to include three additional height categories - Highest Occupied Floor, Top of the Roof and Top of Pinnacle or Antenna.

Although the Sears Tower held the record in these three categories, Taipei 101 has now taken over two of the three, with the Sears Tower remaining as the record holder for Top of Pinnacle or Antenna at 527 meters.

AMEC to Leave U.S. Market

Citing financial losses, AMEC Construction Management has decided to exit the American market.

The Chicago office, in addition to those in New York, Boston and San Francisco, will be closed or sold and existing contractual commitments completed in a process expected to conclude over the next two to three years.

Offices in Washington, D.C., and Florida, together with two ongoing projects, have been sold to Facchina-McGaughan, a joint-venture between the AMEC regional management and the Facchina Group.

Net capital employed in the total US business of about $40 million is expected to be released over the next two to three years and will be retained by AMEC.

The exit, together with the disposal of 51 percent of Spie Batignolles, the regional construction business in continental Europe, will eliminate what in recent years has been nearly £1 billion of activity with negligible impact on operating profit, according to an investor update recently posted on AMEC's Web site.

Illinois Economy Continues to Improve

After three years, the University of Illinois Flash Economic Index has broken through the 100 level, the dividing line between a sluggish and vigorous economy.

April's reading of 100.3 suggests that the Illinois economy is undergoing a sustained expansion. This was the first time the Flash Index has been above 100 since April 2001. A year ago in April, the index was at 96.0.

"There are numerous signs of growth in the state and national economy," said J. Fred Giertz, the University of Illinois economist who released the data.

"One sign is the growth of corporate profits reported in the first quarter," Giertz said. "Another is the shift by stock market investors from a concern about a lackluster economy to a fear that interest rates will rise because of the strength of the economy."

All three components of the Flash Index were up compared with the same month last year. Individual and corporate income-tax receipts were especially strong last month.

Titanium Chinese League Building Completed

The titanium-clad community service center for the Chinese American Service League Inc. was recently completed in Chicago's Chinatown.

Architect Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects in Chicago went to China three times over the duration of the project to research patterns and Chinese lattices for shading and aesthetic design.

The 38,000-sq.-ft. building's walls present the feeling of a dragon, evident in Asian-inspired art, and the sturdiness of Chicago.

The colors pallet includes jade green as the overriding theme. The carpets are silvery green and warm red, and the exterior is brownish silver and a dozen shades of grays and blacks.

Westmont-based Paul H. Schwendener Inc. served as the general contractor.

CTA Blue Line Gets Galvanizing Award

The Chicago Transit Authority has received an award of excellence from the American Galvanizers Association and the Ceilings & Interior Systems Construction Association for the $483 million rehabilitation of the Blue Line rapid transit system.

The CTA won the Centennial, Colo.-based AGA's 2004 Excellence Award in the bridge and highway category for its large-scale use of hot-dip galvanized steel.

The CTA covered 13,117 tons of structural steel with galvanized zinc, which coats and protects the steel from moisture and rust. The $3.3 million of galvanized steel is expected to save the CTA in future maintenance costs.

CISCA's 2004 Award of Excellence in the renovation and restoration category comes for the canopies at the newly renovated rail stations along the Blue Line.

The St. Charles, Ill.-based group cited the canopies for good craftsmanship and installation, unique use of material in a transit environment and creative detailing that is vandal weather resistant.

Carpenters To Expand Chicago Training Center

A 38,000-sq.-ft. addition will expand the number and type of classes offered and double the amount of students that can be trained at the carpenters' apprentice center in Chicago.

Five years ago, the Chicago and Northeast Illinois District Council of Carpenters built the facility at Cermak Road and Union Avenue on the South Side.

The facility graduates 250 pre-apprentices each year, and 1,000 pre-apprentices and 7,000 apprentices have been taught at the facility since it opened in 1999. There are classes every day and night of the week at the current Chicago facility.

The addition is expected to be complete in winter 2004.

Hotel Planned For Des Plaines

A nine-story, 253-room Hilton Garden Inn hotel is planned for River Road in Des Plaines.

The facility will reportedly be one of the largest Hilton Garden Inn properties in the U.S.
Rosemont-based McShane Construction Corp. is the contractor, and Madison, Wis.-based Gary Brink & Associates Inc. is to provide architectural services.