Table of Contents

Structure ............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Foundations .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Structural System & Materials ........................................................................................................................ 4
Overall ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
First two stories - outer columns ................................................................................................................ 5
Masonry walls ............................................................................................................................................. 7
Inner structure ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Floor system .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Additional features.................................................................................................................................... 11
Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................................... 12
 Structure
Foundations
Frederick Baumann, an experienced architect with 20 years of work, published in 1873 a booklet
named The Art of Preparing Foundations for all Kinds of Buildings with particular Illustrations of the “Method
of Isolated Piers,” as followed in Chicago. The information present in this booklet represents an enormous
advance when it comes to foundation at that time. [4]
The first building with isolated footings (dimension stones in pyramidal form, as suggested by
Baumann) is believed to be the Borden Block, built in 1880. Later on, in 1882, the Montauk Block was the first
building to reduce the volume of the footing by using a grillage system of iron rails. Though it represented an
advance in the meaning of increasing profitable space under the ground (smaller foundation, bigger
basement), later buildings still used pyramidal footing of stones; such as the Insurance Exchange Building
(1885), the Royal Insurance Building (1885), and the Calumet Building (1884). [4]
For the Rookery Building, the conditions imposed by the owners about the cellar were clear: it was
necessary to have it under the whole house, and the footings should not obstruct the space required in the
cellar for the dynamos and machinery in general. [9] These conditions were achieved when John W. Root
[11]
designed what is known as grillage foundation: a combination of layers of steel beams and rails in a
crisscross pattern encased in concrete – a solution even cheaper than the standard foundation for that time.
The grillage foundation has the function to disperse the vertical loads of the structure onto a horizontal plane
that floats on the Chicago’s unstable clay soil. [3] Mr. Dankmar Adler (Adler and Sullivan firm) even compared
Root with “the man who makes two blades of grass grow where one grew before”. [9] On the other hand, by
that time there was some uncertainty regarding the durability of the grillage, however today it is possible to
notice the foundation’s good performance. The success of this kind of foundation can be seen in the variation
of less than one-inch in settlement at the year of 1896. [9]
It is interesting to notice that, as written in 1888 in Engineering and Building Record and the Sanitary
Engineer: “Probably nowhere else in the world is the soil so unfit for extensive building operations; and, at the
same time, there is probably no city in the world where so many heavy buildings have been crowded within a
 [11]
relatively small area”. This quotation gives a perspective of the
difficulties that the Chicago architects had to overcome: a black, miry
clay soil, “which at the surface is fairly firm in its nature but which
becomes soft a few feet below grade, and at a distance of over twelve
to fifteen feet is quite unsuitable for building operations.” [11] Meanwhile
the Rookery’s cellar floor is located 9-feet 8-inches below the grade and
the bottom level of the footing is 3-feet below the grade. [11]
The Figure 1 is a plan and section of the foundations on the
inner corner at the Adams Street. The construction of the grillage is as
the following description: “Under the pier is laid a homogeneous bed of
concrete seventeen inches thick. On top of this, steel rails are laid quite
close together and about two feet shorter than the width of the
foundation. On the top of these rails is laid a second tier in the opposite
direction but standing back at the sides about three feet each way.
Above these is a third row of beams which is kept back to about the
outer lines of the piers above on the sides though projecting on the ends;
and finally, there is a fourth row of beams which occupies a space a little
larger than the area of the pier. These beams are bedded and
surrounded with cement.” [11]
All Rookery’s footings are similar and based on the same
principle that the described above. They are designed proportionally to Figure 1 – Foundations at the inner
corner on Adams Street (plan and
the load carried by the piers. It is important to know that the piers act section). Source: Meyer, H. C. (n.d.).
Engineering and Building Record and
independently, what is crucial when trying to minimize uneven
the Sanitary Engineer (Vol. 18, pg. 272).
settlement. For example, Root took into consideration the difference McGraw Publishing Company. Copied
from Burnham & Root documents.
settlement of the masonry walls when compared to the interior iron
columns, making the masonry a little higher than the iron-work, so when the structure is settled to its final
position, the structure will be leveled. [3] [11]
 Structural System & Materials
Overall
The Rookery Building - one of the greatest buildings in the world in 1888, with more than 600 offices,
[3]
11 stories, and approximately 165-feet high - is well known by its hybrid structure: bearing masonry and
metal frame. Basically, the interior columns are made of cast iron and the exterior bearing walls made of
pressed dark brown brick and terra-cotta with relatively low use of stone [11] - except the outer columns at the
bottom two stories. The Figure 2 indicates the location of the main structural columns and walls.
It is interesting to know that Burnham was responsible for the main layout of the building, meeting
the basic requirements of the clients, while Root was the actual main designer of this project. [8]

Figure 2 – 1st and 3rd floor plan with structural elements colored. Source: HABS ILL,16-CHIG,31- (sheets 2 and 3 of 8) - Rookery
Building, 209 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL Drawings from Survey HABS IL-1030.
First two stories - outer columns
Instead of masonry walls,
rough and polished round granite
columns surmounted by brick piers,
support the loads at the base of the
building along La Salle Street and
Adams Street (Figure 3). Substituting
the brick piers for widely spaced
granite columns allows wide extension
of bay windows, which was crucial for
creating an almost continuous curtain-
wall system of glass at the lower floors;
each bay window held only by three
slender mullions. [3][7] It is important to
remember that back in the 1880’s,
electric light was still expensive.
Therefore, natural light provided by
large windows were fundamental at
the time; as the proper John Root once
wrote about commercial buildings:
“The first radical question to suggest Figure 3 – Round granite columns allows wide extension of glass windows.
Adams Street side. Source:
itself is that of light”. [5] The two stories http://explore.chicagocollections.org/image/artic/85/tq5s59v/

granite columns are capped by a heavy brick masonry lintel. [11][7]

The heavy monumental arched entrance also shown in the Figure 3 and the corner masonry piers are
somehow expected for a building of the Chicago School, due its characteristic preference for a solid base.
While the decision of Root for a colonnade base can be seen as an previa of the stilted base of modernist era.
[8]
 Likewise, in the
bottom two stories, though
along the Quincy Street and
the alley, the loads are
supported by a series of cast-
iron columns connected with
wrought-iron beams, or in
another words: a true skeletal
construction. [7]
As written by Carl A.
Condit in his book Chicago
School of Architecture: A
History of Commercial and
Public Building in the Chicago
Area, 1875-1925, this metal
frame structure made
possible, “by extending the
spandrel beams few inches
beyond the outer edge of the
columns, to open the walls at
the second story into
continuous windows divided
Figure 4 – Iron frame in the bottom two stories along the Quincy Street allowing large
by extremely narrow iron expansions of glazing. Source:
http://explore.chicagocollections.org/image/artic/85/z60cs94/
mullions.” As say the author,
this is one of the early uses of what is known as ribbon window, a nowadays common system for commercial
buildings. [7] The main point of this kind of window system is to maximize natural illumination inside the
building.
Masonry walls
In 1885, the Home Insurance Building was completed. The architect, Willian Le Baron Jenney,
designed a structure framed almost completely in iron, with the skeleton covered by brick. This building is
considered by many the first true skyscraper in the world. Maybe the owners of the Rookery were skeptical
about a building standing entirely supported by metal frame and asked John Root for masonry walls on the
exterior. [5] Root consented and designed the exterior structure with the remarkable massive dark brown brick
masonry walls (figure 5) unified by cement. [12] The bay windows are basically masonry piers and terra cotta
lintels and spandrels. [3]
Figure 5 –The remarkable
massive dark brown brick
masonry walls at the Adams
Street façade. Source:
http://explore.chicagocollecti
ons.org/image/uic/59/fn10x6
4/
Inner structure
The interior of the building is built with a rigid metal frame
structure: cast-iron columns connected by wrought-iron beams. The
wrought-iron beams cross-section are regular I-section shown in
Figure 6. The typical section of the cast-iron columns is also shown in
Figure 6.
The structure of the walls around the light court, as well as in
the semi-circular oriel staircase is a metal frame system – constituted
of iron beams, columns, and channels - and it works independently
from the exterior bearing walls. [5][3][8] The use of metal frame creates
a light and slender structure making possible the use of large and
homogeneous expansions of glazing on the walls above the light court,
with a single iron mullion dividing the window bay into two
rectangular cells of glass as it can be seen in the Figure 7.]
Furthermore, all the inner walls are, unlike the huge bearing walls,
thin and encased in glazed white terra-cotta, which makes them fire-
proof and also reflects the light and creates an even brighter light well.
[7]
These walls are self-supporting and tied to the floor of each story.
[11

The remaining interior columns are arranged strategically in

the line of the walls partition, allowing more flexibility for the office Figure 6 – Typical iron column plans and
sections, from the basement to the roof.
layout. Therefore, the tenants can easily replace partitions or doors, Source: Meyer, H. C. (n.d.). Engineering
and Building Record and the Sanitary
without compromising any structural elements. [11] Engineer (Vol. 18, pg. 274). McGraw
Publishing Company. Copied from
In order to create a lighter structure and to appropriate the Burnham & Root documents.
design to the loads, the metal of the columns is thicker at the bottom
of the building and thinner at the top, following this sequence: 2 ¼-inches thick in the basement, 2-inches in
the first and second stories, 1 ¾-inch in the third and fourth, 1 ½-inch in the fifth and sixth and 1-inch thick in
the above stories. The base-
plate in which the column
comes up has an area of 54-
square-inches and a thickness
varying from 3 to 4-inches. All
the cast-iron columns have a
terra-cotta covering and a
cement finish in order to make
them fire-proof. [11]
The columns’ joints are
made above the line of the
beams on the floor. The
connection between the
columns and beams are made
by bolts and, in order to do
that, the column is flanged out
and it is added cast webs. [11]
In the angles of the
building, the wrought-iron
girders connect the corner
columns with the outer corner
pier as shown in the Figure 8. Figure 7 – Walls and oriel stair-case above the light court. Large and homogeneous
[11]
expansions of glazing Source: Historic American Buildings Survey Philip Turner,
Notice that Root - in the Photographer Summer 1967 LIGHT COURT SHOWING STAIRTOWER - Rookery Building,
209 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL Photos from Survey HABS IL-1030.
sake of more uniformly https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.il0038.photos/?sp=2
distribute the load of the girder
into the pier surface - placed a short beam at the corner of the pier where the girder rests.
Floor system
The floor system, represented in Figure 9, is
constituted of flat arches of 9-inches terra-cotta blocks
interlocked and supported by iron beams – leveled with the
girders. The iron beams have below them a 1-inch terra-
cotta strip cover for heating control purposes. The
undersurface of the terra-cotta bricks is aligned with this 1-
inch terra-cotta strip, forming a level celling, which is
grooved to posterior plastering application. Above the first
row of 9-inches terra-cotta blocks, a row of 6-inches high
terra-cotta bricks is laid. Over them, a layer of concrete
aligned 1-inch above the top of the beams, where the
Figure 8 – Floor iron framing system of a corner of the
sleepers are bedded and where the floor boards are then building. Source: Meyer, H. C. (n.d.). Engineering and
Building Record and the Sanitary Engineer (Vol. 18,
placed. The roof system it is similar, based on terra-cotta pg. 274). McGraw Publishing Company. Copied from
Burnham & Root documents.
bricks and iron beams. It is important to notice the good
fire-proofing property of this floor system due the use of concrete and terra-cotta blocks. [11]
The iron beams of the floor system are sustained from the interior single line of girders, bear by the
iron-columns, to the outer masonry walls.

Figure 9 – Typical floor system. Source: HABS ILL,16-CHIG,31-

(sheet 7 of 8) - Rookery Building, 209 South LaSalle Street,
Chicago, Cook County, IL Drawings from Survey HABS IL-1030.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.il0038.sheet/?sp=7
Additional features
In 1905, at the eyes of Edward C. Walter,
The Rookery’s manager, the building was gone
out of fashion and had to be modernized in some
aspects. Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned
for this work, and although the building’s
renovation was in its aesthetics - not affecting the
[12]
structure - it is noteworthy. Basically, he
brightened the lobby’s appearance replacing
much of the iron and terra-cotta detailing with
geometric patterns based on Root’s work.
From the structural perspective, the
most important change was to encase the Root’s
iron columns with gilded white marble. [3] Later in
1992, during a restoration, it was decided to
leave one column showing both Root’s original
ironwork and Wright’s white marble case for
visitors to compare (Figure 10). [3][10]
John Root used a lot of techniques to
Figure 10 – Original Root’s iron-column encased by Wright’s white
make the structure safer and stable, he did not marble, opened for visitors to compare. Source: own work.
let the masonry to tie itself, always there is some
iron structure to do this work. Throughout the entire building, lintels unite the masonry piers, and the iron-
columns over the windows openings. More impressive, Root adopted a technique common in English
buildings by the time: “All around the building are four or five strands of hoop iron laid together at regular
intervals, bedded in the masonry, and thoroughly locked and tied”. The system band together the masonry
and gives it some sort of unity, making it work and settle together. [11]
The turrets on the top of the building are made of terra-cotta. [3]
 Bibliography
1. http://explore.chicagocollections.org/records/?f1-types=Digital+Images&keyword=rookery
2. https://www.loc.gov/item/il0038/#more-resources
3. The Rookery. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2016, from http://therookerybuilding.com/
4. Randall, F. A. (1999). History of the development of building construction in Chicago (2nd ed.).
5. Pridmore, J. (2003). The Rookery: A building book from the Chicago Architecture Foundation. San
Francisco, CA: Pomegranate.
6. Sinkevitch, A., & Petersen, L. M. (2014). AIA guide to Chicago (3rd ed.). University of Illinois Press.
7. Condit, C. A. (1969). The Chicago School of Architecture: A history of commercial and public building
in the Chicago area, 1875-1925 (4th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
8. Clausen, M. L. (1987). Paris of the 1880s and the Rookery. In J. Zukowsky (Author) & R. Bruegmann
(Ed.), Chicago architecture, 1872-1922: Birth of a metropolis. Mü nchen, Federal Republic of Germany:
Prestel-Verlag.
9. Monroe, H., & Mielatz, C. F. (1896 - 1966). John Wellborn Root; a study of his life and work. Park
Forest, IL: Prairie School Press.
10. http://livinghistoryofillinois.com/pdf_files/Rookery%20Building,%20Chicago,%20IL.pdf
11. Meyer, H. C. (n.d.). Engineering and Building Record and the Sanitary Engineer (Vol. 18). McGraw
Publishing Company.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015084574311;view=1up;seq=332)
12. Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
http://www.flwright.org/researchexplore/rookery