SOM’s Inland Steel Building is one of modern architecture’s most epochal structures. The first Chicago high-rise built since the Great Depression, Inland Steel was the paradigm for SOM’s principle that high-rise form at its best does indeed follow function. Inland Steel changed the way high-rises are constructed, and helped transform the American office culture during the second half of the 20th century.

Project Facts

Completion Year: 1958
Site Area: 23,040 ft²
Project Area: 325,000 ft²
Building Height: 101 m
Number of Stories: 19

Project Awards

2003 • Friends of Downtown • Chicago Treasure Hunt Award
1998 • Commission on Chicago Landmarks • Landmark Designation
1983 • Chicago Athenaeum and Institute of Business Designers • 25 Year Award
1982 • AIA - Chicago Chapter • 25 Year Award
1959 • AIA - Chicago Chapter and Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry • Honor Award for Sculpture
1958 • AIA - Chicago Chapter and Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry • Honor Award
1958 • Chicago Building Congress • Award for Outstanding Building Achievement