Willis Tower Plaza

Location: Chicago, IL

The plaza on the south side of the former Sears Tower, now Willis Tower, was a redevelopment to provide a more inviting pedestrian space as well as new access to the observation deck. Expanded planters were designed to provide a green perimeter for the major plaza area and to serve as a focal element. Flowering trees and shrubs, bulbs and seasonal flowers are used to provide interesting color, texture and human scale for this outdoor space. Performances are held weekly in the plaza during the summer months. The lobby planting consists of a single, twenty-foot diameter stainless steel bowl filled with seasonal flowers. The spiral planting pattern remains the same, but the flower species and colors are changed every two weeks throughout the year according to a carefully designed seasonal schedule.