12 Minutes to Haul Last Concrete Bucket to Trump Top

The final bucket of concrete was recently hauled to the top of Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago, completing the 92nd floor of what is reportedly the tallest reinforced concrete building in the Western Hemisphere.

An American flag flapped in the breeze atop the concrete bucket, which took 12 minutes to haul via crane from ground level to the 1,170-ft-high top of the tower, which will be the second-tallest building in Chicago when complete.

The architectural spire is being attached, and it will enable the building to reach its official height of 1,362 ft.

Since work on Trump began three years ago, 180,000 cu yds of concrete has been poured—or 20,000 truckloads—and laid 25,000 tons of steel reinforcing bars to erect the tower.

With the final floor poured, one of the two Liebherr tower cranes will be removed. The second crane will be removed after the spire is placed.

The wind and weather encountered building a super tall structure in Chicago posed its share of challenges. Crews battled extreme cold, with temperatures more than 30 degrees colder than street level, and winds that blew up to 30 mph harder than on the ground, while pouring the upper floors. A three-story-tall windscreen, which was introduced for use in the United States, provided protection, and the team learned to demobilize quickly when wind gusts exceeded safe levels.

1-Million-Sq-Ft Pavilion Planned at University of Chicago

A 10-story, 1.2-million-sq-ft hospital pavilion for the University of Chicago Medical Center was recently announced.

The hospital pavilion, which is scheduled to open in 2012, will focus on cancer, gastrointestinal disease, neuroscience, advanced surgery and high-technology medical imaging. The project features 54 fully integrated rooms including specialty and hybrid operating rooms, general procedure rooms, gastrointestinal rooms, bronchoscopy rooms and interventional radiology procedure rooms.

The building will include an imaging department with computed tomography scanners, 3.0 T MRI units, fluoroscopy rooms, interventional radiology rooms and general radiology rooms, as well as an entire floor of operating rooms.

New York-based Rafael Vinoly Architects serves as the building architect, and St. Louis-based Cannon Design is the medical planner.

$200 Million Hospital Announced in Missouri

St. Mary’s Health Center in Jefferson City, Mo, has announced it will build a $200-million replacement hospital.

The planned hospital on a 110-acre property will have 167 patient rooms and related facilities. It will be about 40% larger than the existing facility and will be designed for future growth.

Construction is set to begin in 2010 with expected completion in fall 2012. The current hospital facility will remain open until the new hospital is completed.

A construction-management firm is expected to be selected by the end of the year. A partnership of St. Louis-based Lawrence Group and Minneapolis-based HGA Architects & Engineers will design the facility.

Hotel Fitted into Office Originally Designed by Burnham

Construction has started on the former Continental and Commercial National Bank Building at 208 S. LaSalle St. building, an office that will accommodate a hotel.

The bottom-12 floors of the 21-story building will house the hotel, and the upper eight floors will remain office space.

Built in 1911 and based on a design by Daniel Burnham, the structure has received preliminary landmark approval from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

Chicago-based Lucien LaGrange Architects is the designer on the project. The firm declined to provide cost information, start date or say whether a prime contractor had been named.

Chicago Group Recognizes Tallness of China Tower

China keeps growing.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a Chicago-based international organization, has recognized the Shanghai World Financial Center as the tallest building in the world in two categories, highest occupied floor and height to roof.

The 101-story is 1,555 ft to the highest occupied floor. By contrast, Chicago’s 108-floor Sears Tower is 1,431 ft to the comparable floor.

The organization’s other criteria comprise height to tip and height to architectural top. The Sears Tower is still the world champ in height to tip (1,730 ft). Taiwan’s Taipei 101 tower is the title holder in height to architectural top (1,670 ft).

The Shanghai building houses a 174-room hotel and 62 floors of offices.

Lake County Begins Government Facility

Ground was recently broken in north-suburban Libertyville for a 63,000-sq-ft public-health laboratory and permit facility that will accommodate 160 workers.

The $19 million Permit Facility & Consolidated Environmental Lab will hold operations for Lake County’s Public Works and the Health Department.

“Customers can save time and gas by interacting with just one staff member, allowing for a more efficient permit process,” said Suzi Schmidt, Lake County Board Chairperson.

The facility will include several sustainable features, such as an 8,000-sq-ft green roof that absorbs precipitation and reduces stormwater runoff while helping regulate the building’s temperature. Other elements include native plantings, bio-infiltration and vegetated swales and rain gardens to reduce stormwater runoff.

The facility is scheduled to open December 2009.