NBC Tower
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Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Adrian Smith)
Year Completed: 1989
Location: 454 N. Columbus Drive, Chicago, Illinois
Style: Postmodern
NBC Tower at Cityfront Center is a good example of Postmodern architecture. The Postmodern movement is influenced by historical architecture, but takes it out of its physical scale and context. The architect, Adrian Smith of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, looked to Art Deco architecture for influence in the design of this building.
In addition to the historical influence, Postmodernism also often takes into account the existing built environment when designing a building. Adjacent to the NBC Tower is the gothic Tribune Tower designed by John Mead Howells and Raymond M. Hood. The NBC Tower is patterned after another Hood building, the RCA Building, in New York City. The RCA building is one of the Art Deco buildings that make up Rockefeller Center.
The strong verticality of the NBC Tower's design, as well as the building's setbacks, are features that are often found in Art Deco skyscrapers. Borrowing from the Tribune Tower, this building also features a stylized "flying buttress" on either side the tower. As with the Tribune Tower, the buttresses are strictly for appearance and provide no structural support to the building.
At the top of the building in the first picture above, you can faintly see the NBC peacock logo which lights up at night in the multi-colours. The third picture above shows the entrance to the building.