In this first installment of a new Architectural Tour series, Tnemec E-News focuses on the diverse and historic architecture of the “Windy City,” which recently concluded its centennial celebration of the “Plan of Chicago” created in 1909 by architect Daniel Burnham. Commissioned by the city’s Commercial Club, Burnham and the plan’s co-author, Edward Bennett, developed a visionary blueprint for making Chicago one of the most livable and prosperous cities of the 20th century. Today, the Burnham plan continues to inspire urban planners and developers across the country to expand green space and build upon existing infrastructure to make cities more aesthetically pleasing.

A spectacular lakefront, open spaces like Grant Park, and “green corridors” were all envisioned by the plan, which led to a marketing initiative by Chicago’s civic leaders that continued for decades. This effort fueled the development of North Michigan Avenue, Wacker Drive, and Chicago’s remarkable lakefront parks as described in the following excerpt from Encyclopedia of Chicago:

One of the plan's most prescient recommendations was for what would become, in Wacker Drive, the modern world's first double-level boulevard for regular and commercial traffic. The Chicago River would be straightened and enhanced for more efficient water transportation and river-borne commerce. The stations and tracks of competing rail lines would be consolidated into several train stations. A lakefront park system would run 20 miles along Lake Michigan. The elegant, formal downtown would culminate in a refurbished Grant Park that would be eastwardly inflected toward a new inner harbor with breakwater causeways stretching far into the lake. At the southern edges of this central park would rise such grandly neoclassical buildings as the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History, counterpoints to the Art Institute of Chicago on the park's northern edge.

Within this environment, an exciting mix of historic and modern architecture has evolved into a melting pot of designs such as the 30-story Wrigley Building representing “a fusion of French Renaissance and Spanish Revival styles,” according to Chicago Architecture. Constructed between 1919 and 1925, the Wrigley Building is credited “with spurring new development along Michigan Avenue north of the Chicago River that made the city what it is today,” Chicago Architecture reported.

The Wrigley Building was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White architectural firm, which also designed the impressive Chicago History Museum, Chicago Union Station, and the popular Shedd Aquarium, which each year attracts approximately 2 million visitors. In addition to the original aquarium constructed between 1925 and 1931 in classic Greek style, a four-level marine mammal pavilion was designed by the architectural firm of Lohan and Associates. “A huge expanse of curved glass and steel is the backdrop for the pavilion’s 3-million gallon whale tank,” reported Tnemec coating consultant Chris Wascher. “Saltwater, high humidity, and condensation are a constant problem on an enclosed water body this size, so to protect the tons of exposed steel truss work, a Tnemec zinc/epoxy/urethane system was specified.”

The Oceanarium, built in 1987 on 1.8 acres of lake-fill on Lake Michigan, which houses beluga whales, dolphins, and other animals, required more than 2,600 gallons of coatings for the 170,000-square-feet of space. The project featured a coating system of Series 90-97 Tneme-Zinc, a zinc-rich urethane primer; an intermediate coat of Series 66 Hi-Build Epoxoline, a polyamide epoxy; and a finish coat of Series 73 Endura-Shield, an aliphatic acrylic polyurethane.

Work on the animal life support operations areas, which started in the fall of 2008 and concluded in early 2009, required more than 330 gallons of coatings. The project featured a coating system of Series 201 Epoxoprime, a polyamine epoxy primer, a troweled mortar coat of Series 237 Power-Tread at 1/4" thickness, and a grout finish coat of Series 280 Tneme-Glaze, also a polyamine epoxy. Series 248 Everthane, a moisture cured urethane, was also selected for use in the food preparation areas.

Chicago is also the birthplace of the skyscraper where innovations in design technology have evolved. Among the city’s early skyscrapers are landmarks like Burnham and John Wellborn Root’s Rookery, which was constructed from 1986 to 1988, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s twin Lake Shore towers (see related article). Among the city’s most recognized tall buildings is the 44-story CNA Center with its red exterior featuring a fluoropolymer coating system from Tnemec. “Whenever you see the Chicago skyline, there’s this lone red building,” according to Wascher. “From a color perspective, it’s one of a kind.”

More than 2,300 gallons of coatings were required for the 1.3-million-square-foot red tower, which was built in 1972. The project was completed in two phases. The first phase consisted of overcoating the exterior steel substrate on the top 42 stories of the 44-story high-rise, as well as aluminum and galvanized louvers located mid-way up the building and on its top two levels. The exterior steel was spot-primed with Series 135 Chembuild, a modified polyamidoamine epoxy, followed by an intermediate coat of Series 73. The finish coat was Series 1072 Fluoronar, an advanced thermoset solution fluoropolymer, in the custom color “CNA Red.” Aluminum and galvanized metal substrates were primed with Chembuild and finished with Fluoronar in CNA Red as well. The lower two levels of the building required the removal of exterior coatings down to bare steel, followed by a prime coat of Series 90-97, an intermediate coat of Series 135 and a finish coat of Series 1072 in CNA Red. “Few people know the tower isn’t the original CNA building,” Wascher added. “The first CNA tower was the building immediately to its north, which was also painted with Tnemec products approximately 11 years ago.”

For a schedule of walking tours of Chicago’s historic downtown skyscrapers, visit the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Web site. In addition to its tours, the foundation presents exhibitions, lectures, youth and adult education programs, many of which are open to the public free of charge.

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