Description

The exhibition hall, named after the publisher of the Chicago Tribune, Robert R. McCormick, was completed in 1971 as the eastern wing of the complex and is arranged on three levels. On the top floor there is a large glazed exhibition area with views over Lake Michigan; on the level below there is a second exhibition space, which can be reached via a lobby that also serves the theater; the third, lowest level comprises conference rooms.

Inspired by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s buildings, a trussed girder grillage spans the interior. The roof structure consists of 24 square fields each of which spans more than 45 m and is supported by 36 cross-shaped steel columns with a reinforced concrete core. The roof cantilevers nearly 23 m at the edges and has a clear height of roughly 15 m above ground level. This height is a result of the various proposed uses: exhibition halls with an area of 27,900 m² each, three concert auditoriums with rising tiers, a theater, two multi-purpose spaces, a large banquet hall, 16 smaller multi-purpose spaces, offices, and restaurants. These spaces are accessed through a large entrance hall of 5,580 m² and served underground. In addition, underground parking for some 2,000 vehicles is south of the building, which is directly linked to the hall.

The building’s capacity was increased by a northern extension in1986 and a southern extension in1996. In 1997, the eastern hall was refurbished and received a changeable partition enabling the hall to be subdivided into two spaces. Furthermore, a new banquet hall with an area of 4,200 m² was built. Due to these facilities, the trade fair can cope with 4 million visitors per year.

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Originally published in: Jürgen Adam, Katharina Hausmann, Frank Jüttner, Industrial Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2004.