Ask Chicagoist: Goose Island Building?

By Thales Exoo in Miscellaneous on Jul 28, 2006 2:40PM

I'm sure that someone has asked this question before, but I'll go ahead anyway...There is a building on the very northerly tip of Goose Island, you can see it looking south from the North Avenue bridge, that looks like a big glass lighthouse.

Thanks.

Hello there!

The first piece of advice we have for you (and all our readers) is to never hestitate to ask a question to Ask Chicagoist. You thought this was potentially a frequently asked question, while in reality we weren't familiar with the building at all. We are saddened to think of all the lost Ask Chicagoist opportunities, just because readers think their questions must have already been asked. So please! Ask anyway! Send in those questions.

The modern glass building you spotted on Goose Island is Wrigley's Global Innovation Center, located at 1132 W Blackhawk St at the northern tip of Goose Island. The center opened in September 2005 and, based on its name, people working there are apparently going to brainstorm ways to stop global warming, facilitate peace in the Middle East, and eliminate disease and hunger. Either that or they'll come up with new flavors of chewing gum.

The 193,000 square foot facility has labs, offices, an actual pilot processing plant for market testing, as well as a "sensory tasting area" where taste tests can be held (hopefully without any pesky side effects). Chicagoist's TMJ precludes us from chewing gum, but we hope they come up with a gum that doesn't make that annoying smacking noise when people chew too loudly, and make some final conclusions on people who can't walk and chew gum at the same time. You can read more about the details of the laboratory and office space here.

Wrigley and unique architecture certainly have a history together. This building, although coming from a different school of thought than the historic Wrigley Building, certainly has its modern architectural charms. The building has a "Mankato limestone façade, twin pseudo-lighthouses, and lush greenery (including a 30,000-sf vegetated roof)." One of the most notable features of the building is its Winter Garden at the center, underneath a "glass tension-cabled ceiling." The architect, Gyo Obata of HOK, said in an interview, "because of the weather in Chicago, I put in a winter garden so as you come into the building, you come into a garden that the labs and the offices surround."

Goose Island itself is an appropriate place for the center. Since the 1850s, when the island was created by the North Branch Canal (the west side of the island is the north branch of the Chicago River, the east side is the manmade canal), Goose Island has been home to industry and manufacturing in Chicago. And, of course, is the namesake of a renowned brewery.

Image via meghaks

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