Spiraling Up: Structural Design of 727 W Madison

Abstract

This presentation will take a look at the design process of the award-winning structural engineering on 727 W Madison, a 45-story residential high rise in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood. Using a chronological approach, the audience will see how the engineers took the initial architectural concepts and created an efficient structure, solving many challenges along the way. Of particular note are the elliptical shape of the post-tensioned concrete flat plate slabs, the dual foundation system of straight shaft and belled caissons, as well as the resolution of potential vortex shedding discovered in the wind tunnel studies. The talk will also touch on some of the construction challenges that were encountered and close with a general discussion of careers in the structural engineering field.

Bio

Chris Arjona is a Senior Associate with WSP and a licensed Structural Engineer in the State of Illinois. He received his BSCE and MSCE from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Prior to joining WSP he worked at Wight & Company (an A/E/C firm in Darien, IL) as well as Halvorson and Partners (a structural engineering consulting firm in Chicago, IL which was acquired by WSP). Throughout his more than 14 years in the profession, Chris has led the design of projects ranging in scope from elementary school renovations to high-rise buildings and across sectors including residential, life sciences, office, and higher education. He has worked on many award-winning projects including the 88-story Mohammed Bin Rashid Tower in Abu Dhabi and the 45-story 727 W Madison in Chicago, winner of this year's SEAOI "Excellence in Structural Engineering" award. Within WSP Chris runs the Chicago office's technical standards group and is active in their Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity (EDI) initiatives.