The WT 260 wind tunnel. Photo © SOM
“Today’s designs are tested in wind tunnels, but only one architectural firm in the world has its own — and it is located in a historic building across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago. The Skidmore, Owings & Merrill wind tunnel is 30 feet long, 40 inches wide and 55 inches tall, tucked away in a mezzanine office of the 111-year-old Railway Exchange Building, designed by a Daniel Burnham associate and once home to Burnham’s architectural firm.”