Old Towers, New Purpose: Adaptive Reuse in Chicago’s Loop

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By Thomas Leslie, FAIA

The Consumers and Century Buildings in Chicago’s Loop face a particularly urgent threat. The two early 20th-century skyscrapers are located adjacent to the Everett M. Dirksen Federal Courthouse and were purchased several years ago by the federal government, then vacated because of the potential security threat they posed. Frustrated that the two historic structures were deteriorating, the City of Chicago landmarked them in February 2025. The General Services Administration (GSA) asked developers for proposals to redevelop them but with restrictions to protect the neighboring courthouse.

Our spring 2025 Integrated Design studio proposed renovating the buildings into housing and a hotel. With high commercial vacancies in the wake of the pandemic, there is an opportunity to reimagine office buildings that would otherwise be considered “obsolete.” Our studio looked at how the two buildings could be revitalized while meeting the security needs outlined by the GSA. Student teams, working with preservation students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), used historic blueprints, on-site documentation, and building condition reports to replan the two skyscrapers and a vacant lot in between. Bringing residents and tourists into the heart of downtown is a crucial ingredient in maintaining the Loop’s vitality, so each team proposed entertainment venues that would take advantage of the site’s street frontage and the towers’ unused rooftops. Adding to the challenge, the program asked for a 500-seat ballroom to complement the hotel program, requiring teams to weave this element’s structure into the existing building fabric.

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A field trip to Chicago included a morning at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE), a leading preservation and forensic engineering firm in the Loop that has worked on the Consumers and Century Buildings, and tours of active preservation projects in the historic Pittsfield Building, a 1927 tower that posed many of the same challenges. Rachel Will at WJE spoke with students about opportunities for architects in renovation, repair, and rehabilitation of Chicago’s historic skyscrapers, and Ken DeMuth, architect and partner with Pappageorge Haymes, a leading adaptive reuse firm in the city, led our tours.

The American Institute of Architects estimates that roughly 43% of the profession’s work involves renovating or adapting existing buildings to new uses. Developing a studio curriculum around preservation and adaptive reuse helps prepare graduating Architecture students for this important work. Adaptive reuse keeps existing city centers and neighborhoods populated and active, and it is inherently sustainable, spreading the carbon footprint of structures out and gaining additional value out of those buildings for relatively small energy and material investments. Working with existing buildings also gets students used to operating within constraints of real building codes, real technical challenges, and building fabric that is already there.

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Reimagining these historic structures requires a different design mindset than working with a blank sheet of paper or a greenfield site—it asks students to study the layout and aesthetic of what’s there and develop the agility and thoughtfulness to realize new ideas within frameworks laid down years ago.