I. M. Pei Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids I. M. Pei Building |
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The I. M. Pei Building in 2019
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| Former names | American Life Insurance Building Wilmington Tower |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 1105 North Market Street Wilmington, Delaware |
| Coordinates | 39°44′50″N 75°32′50″W / 39.7473°N 75.5471°W |
| Completed | 1971 |
| Owner | I.M Pei Building. L.L.C. |
| Management | Buccini Pollin |
| Height | |
| Roof | 86 m (282 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 23 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | I. M. Pei & Partners |
| References | |
| emporis.com | |
The I. M. Pei Building, also known as the Wilmington Tower, is a tall office building located in Wilmington, Delaware. It stands as the third tallest building in Delaware. This building is special because it's the only one in the state designed by the famous architect I. M. Pei. Completed in 1971, the building reaches 282 feet (86 m) high and has 23 floors.
Contents
Discovering the I. M. Pei Building
This section explores the history and unique design of the I. M. Pei Building, a landmark in Wilmington, Delaware.
A Look Back: How the Building Began
The idea for this impressive building was first announced in 1964 by the American Life Insurance Company (ALICO). People in the local area were very excited about architect I. M. Pei's sleek and narrow design. One writer even said that people would be as proud of this new building as they were of historic places like Old Swedes Church.
Early Challenges and Delays
Construction started in 1966. The plan was to finish the building by 1968, but the project took much longer than expected. There were delays because it was hard to find enough workers, bad weather caused problems, and Pei had very high standards for every detail. The building was finally completed in 1971. It ended up costing much more than its original $6.5 million budget, though the exact final cost was never shared.
Facing Difficulties and Renovations
After its official naming as the Wilmington Tower in 1970, the building quickly faced financial challenges. During its long construction, several other office buildings were built. This meant the rent for offices in the Wilmington Tower was too high compared to other new places. By 1972, just one year after it opened, the building had only two companies renting space. It stayed more than half empty throughout the 1980s. People working there reported various issues, including elevators that didn't always work, problems with heating and cooling, and even leaks.
In 2004, the owners announced a $6 million renovation project. This plan aimed to fix many of the building's functional problems. However, it also included big changes to how the building looked. Architects and people who wanted to protect historic buildings criticized these proposed changes. Because of this feedback, most of the unpopular design alterations were stopped. The renovations were finished in December 2004. These improvements quickly made the building more popular, and more companies wanted to rent offices there.
The Unique Design of the I. M. Pei Building
The I. M. Pei Building was built using concrete poured right on the construction site. It features 20 office floors and two floors dedicated to machinery and equipment, all above a very tall ground floor.
Inside the Structure: Open Spaces
Each office floor is about 66 feet (20 m) wide and 75 feet (23 m) long. This provides 4,440 square feet (412 m2) of usable space, which is considered small for a modern office building. To create large, open office areas without many inside walls, Pei placed the building's services, elevators, and stairwells in two towers on the outside. He also used special strong beams to support the weight of the floors. These beams were placed in an unusual way, parallel to the longer side of the building. This made construction more challenging but allowed the entire inside and outside of the office floors to be free of support columns. Before any inside walls were added, you could actually see all the way through the narrow building!
Pei's Signature Style
The building's style shows ideas from Brutalist architecture. This is a style that uses lots of raw concrete and has a strong, blocky look. Pei used similar designs in other buildings he created around the same time, like the Green Building and Society Hill Towers. Pei designed the building to have a tall and narrow shape on the Market Street side. This was done so it wouldn't make the nearby historic buildings, like the Wilmington Club, look too small. The north and south sides of the building have wide windows. These windows are separated by concrete beams with special grooves. A very similar design was later used by Pei's partner, Henry N. Cobb, for the five-sided Baltimore World Trade Center. The east and west sides of the building have no windows and are marked by the supporting towers.
More to Explore
- List of tallest buildings in Wilmington, Delaware
- Wilmington, Delaware
- List of tallest buildings by U.S. state
