In the "Windy City" of Chicago, a city of many

landmarks, one structure stands far above the rest. On a

clear day you can see four states from its sky deck.
The 110-story Sears Tower rises one-quarter mile
above the gtound. The total development contains a gross
area of 4.4 million square feet with 101 acres of floor
space. The daily population is approximately 16,500.
Sears Roebuck and Company in 1967 was outgrowing
their headquarters and needed a larger facility. Unwilling
to move to the suburbs, they bought one city block west
of the Loop. No one connected with the project set out
to build the world's tallest building, but Sears had
estimated its eventual floor space to require a huge 40-
story cube, with floors of about 20,000 square feet. Sears
hired Skidmore, Owings & Menill (SOM) to design the
new headquarters building. SOM performed some time
studies that proved the company could save 30 percent
of walking time if smaller floor areas were stacked, and
so the building began to grow upward. Another important
factor was that Sears really wanted to rent out part of the
building until it needed it. So SOM began to work out a
way to give Sears multiple buildings in the same sffucture.
The Sears Tower, as finally designed, reaches its 1,454-
foot peak through a series of set backs. These set backs
provide towers with different footprints within the same
building.
It took a unique structure to make such a building
possible, and this is the most significant aspect of the
Sears Tower. SOM's Fazlur Khan, a pioneer and
recognized expert in high-rise structural systems,
developed a system called "bundled tubes" for the Sears Photo by Skidmore, Owings & MerrillLLP

54
Tower. Fazlur Khan frst implemented a similar structural system in l964in the construction of
the DeWitt-ChestnutApartments in Chicago; a 43-story reinforced concrete tower.
The "bundled tube" design for the Sears Tower was structurally efficient and economic. It
provided more space and rose higher than the Empire State Building, yet cost much less per unit
area. The tower consists of a structural steel frame, which was prefabricated in sections and
bolted into place on the site. Erection of the 76,000-ton frame began in June, 1971, andit was
topped out in May, 1973. Three different types of steel were used: Ex-Ten, known for its strength,
and corrosion-resistant Cor-Ten were used on lower floors; A-36 Carbon steel was used in the
"Christmas Tree" components in higher elevations. The fireproof frame is clad in black duranodic
aluminum and bronze-tinted, glare-reducing glass. Outside, the sloping plaza is surfaced in red
granite imported from Argentina and inside, floors and walls of public areas are surfaced in
Italian travertine marble. Exterior doors, lobby trim and all hardware in the building are made of
stainless steel.
For purposes ofresisting wind loads, the structure is considered to be a tube or vertical cantilever
fixed at the ground. Application of this concept to the particular space criteria and the need to
create a higher efficiency for the cantilever tube resulted in the formation of a "bundled tube"
system. Nine 75-foot square tubes of varying heights, each corresponding to a megamodular
area, were bundled together to create the larger overall tube 225 feetsquare. The perforated wall
of each tube is composed of columns at 15-foot centers and deep beams at each floor; beams and
columns act together as a "perforated tube" to resist wind load. Two adjacent framed tubes share
one set of columns and beams. The basic character of the frame is maintained typically throughout
for all floors and framed-tube lines. All beam-to-column connections are fully welded to provide
maximum wind sway resistance.
At floors where floor area is reduced, setback is accomplished by termination of columns
pertaining to the particular tube while the other columns continue. Trussed levels, consisting of
diagonal members between columns, are provided at three intermediate mechanical levels
-
two immediately below the setbacks at the 66th and 90th floors, and the thid at the 29th - 3lst
floor mechanical level. The trussed levels serve three purposes: (1) The large gravity force
concenffations that occurred in the members at the setbacks were relieved; (2)The differential
column shortening, due to gravity and wind forces, was reduced, especially at the setbacks; and
(3) The overall lateral stiffness of the framed tube was increased by approximately lVo.The
objective of providing diagonal members only at mechanical levels was to avoid loss of space
continuity between adjacent modules at office floors.
Ameasure of cantilever effectiveness of framed tubes is their load disribution characteristics.
A photo of the completed Sears Tower showing
Conventional square orrectangularframedtubes, relying only on faade frames with non-rigidly
the "bundled tube" design. Photo by Skidmore,
connected core columns, exhibit a large amount of shear lag and are, consequently, less efficient. Owings & MerrillLLP

55
 i ;.
Sears Tower's structural system, by providing the
. .1
q faade
:. interior framed-tube lines, connects opposing
.* lu i* r frames at two intermediate points between the ends
1i {.r
1 of the building, thereby reducing the effect of shear
lag. The "structural premium for height" (extra
T structural weight per square foot in tall buildings to
provide wind resistance) was reduced considerably
due to improved tubular behavior, as shown by the

w ffi T
F
tn NI F
ffi
low unit structural steel quantity of 33 pounds per
square foot for a towet height of 1,500 feet above
foundations. The wind sway is about 0.3 inch per

ffi n I E story for the design wind pressure; the fundamental

ffi ruT t
natural period is 7.6 seconds.
T The efficiency of the framed-tube system is
r F
! governed by two primary factors; namely, column
g F
T
spacing and beam-column proportions. Close

I M column spacing with the deepest members would

result in the highest efficiency in resisting wind.

il H

Sears Tower at the start of superstructure construction. Photo by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
However, counterbalancing this and suggesting wider
column spacing are (1) the need for occupant space
continuity between the megamodular units; (2) a
reasonable glass proportion for windows on the
facade; (3) steel fabrication economy. Another factor
was the maximum transportable width of shop-welded sub-assemblies of columns and beams; this was
found to be 15 feet. (Maximum permissible truck load envelope on Chicago streets is 10 feet wide by 14 feet
high. By placing the modules on the timber at an angle, l5-foot widths are possible.) A final factor was that
beyond l5-foot column spacing, greater member thickness was needed to prevent plate buckling (this extra
thickness and weight not contributing to frame strength). Considering all these factors, it was found that
optimum column spacing is 15 feet for all frames.
Floor System: The 75-foot square megamodular floor areas are typically framed by one-way trusses of
75-foot span at l5-foot centers. Each truss frames directly to a column by means of high-strength friction
bolts designed for shear only. The span direction of these trusses alternated every six floors to equalize the
gravity loading on the columns. The trusses arc 40 inches deep, and utilize all the available depth in the space
between ceiling and floor slabs above. Access for mechanicat distibution ducts is provided by the triangulations
in the trusses, which allow a 2l-inch-diameter duct to pass through. The top and bottom chords of the trusses
are standard T-sections. The web members are angle shapes, which are welded to the stems of the chords.

56
 Floor electrical distribution is provided in a unique 3-inch-deep cellular
metal deck system that spans the 15 feet between trusses. Design of the floor
system is based on composite action with 2Vz-inchlightweight concrete poured
above the steel deck. Two composite actions are involved; one between concrete
and steel decking, and the other between this pair and the truss. The deck
design is based on an unshored condition for the wet weight of the concrete and
on composite behavior for the superimposed loads. Shear studs are located in
the troughs and welded through the deck to establish composite action for the
trusses. Since the shear stud strength is also controlled by the shape and depth
of the troughs, extensive push-offtests were required to verify the stud strengths.
The failure mode is by formation of shear cones in the concrete above the
studs, rather than by failure of the studs themselves. Load tests of simple and
multiple span slabs and full scale slab-deck-truss assembly were also performed.
Composite action in the floor system reduced by 2 psf the structural steel
required for trusses, improved floor vibration characteristics and the engagement
of floor slabs with the floor steel members by shear studs also established a
very stiff diaphragm in the plane of the floor. Such diaphragm action was
essential for integral behavior of the bundled tube under wind forces.
Design for Wind: The design for wind forces required analytical and
experimental verification of static and dynamic behavior. The analytical part
was related to computerized structural analysis, optimization studies and design
of elements of the framed tube. The experimental part involved extensive wind
tunnel investigations.
Two levels of wind pressures were established as a result of wind studies.
o'design
One corresponded to a level" with the usual factor of safety for the
design of members as per the American Institute of Steel Construction Code,
and the other to a "limit level" that represented an exffeme wind. The member
designs for the limit level were performed for stresses approaching yield in the
members. The design and limit levels were respectively 1,.25 and 1.8 times the
Chicago Code wind pressure with respective statistical recurrence periods in
excess of 1,000 and 10,000 years. The design level wind pressure at the top
amounted to 62.5 psf. Adamping coefficient of one-half percent was included
for the model on the basis of field measurements of the John Hancock Center
The Sears Tower under construction. Photo by Skidmore, Owings &
in Chicago. Curtain wall design pressures were derived separately from the MerrillLLP
pressure model tests and generally, higher negative pressures were specified at
the location of the setbacks.

57
 Column Temperatures: The average temperature
of the exterior column was restricted to be within
7" F of the inside temperature (75' F) in order to
reduce the effect of exterior column foreshortening.
The column detail includes four inches of
Thermonber insulation behind aluminum cladding,
and gravity circulation of inside air through the
column covers. Tests were performed by the curtain
wall contractor to determine the effectiveness of
insulation for an outside temperature of -20" F.
Foundation: Caissons to rock are used for the
support of all columns of the tower. The caisson
diameters vary from seven to 10 feet and average
65 feet in length. The material above the rock for a
distance of 25 feet consists of sand and silt under
high hydrostatic pressure. Permanent steel shells
apto 1.-l/4inch thickwere provided for all caissons
to prevent inflow of this sand-silt material, and also
to achieve a watertight seal in the rock by coring
into it a certain distance. The tops of the caissons
are tied together by a five-foot-deep concrete mat
covering the entire area of the tower. The mat
functions not only as a grade beam between
caissons, but also as a rigid plate bearing on
undisturbed clay to transfer the 9,000 kips of wind
shear to the substratum. The cohesion of clay is
mobilized at the interface of mat and clay and
therefore, the entire plan area of the mat is used.
Credits: This document was modified from a
197 2 article in ASCE Civil Engineering magazine.
Structural engineers and architects were Skidmore,
Aerial view of the Sears Tower. Photo by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Owings & Menill, Chicago. General contractor
was Diesel Construction, Chicago. Structural steel
fabrication and erection were by American Bridge Division, U.S. Steel Corporation, Chicago. Metal deck
flooring was by Inland Ryerson. Structural bearings were by Fabreeka. V/elding equipment was by Lincoln
Elecnic. And elevators were designed by Westinghouse.
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