Aging buildings that lack access to conveniences and amenities in and around the structure are contributing to the emptying out of central business districts across the world. As a result, there’s a widespread effort to reinvent these spaces and their surrounding neighborhoods with more mixed-use options and variety. Willis Tower, an iconic building previously known as Sears Tower, had been confronting these challenges for years and wanted to recapture its place as the vibrant heart of Chicago’s urban core.

Despite having numerous office tenants and the Skydeck, a popular attraction, Willis Tower felt isolated. People were not spending extended time in or around the building. Gensler studied how people used the existing spaces and leveraged that data to inform a design that could recapture the city’s attention. That includes a reimagined base to connect Chicagoans and visitors to five levels of retail, dining, shopping, and immersive entertainment, and a streetscape that creates community for more than just the building’s tenants.

From street to sky, Willis Tower dissolves the borders between work and life through an ecosystem of dynamic activity. The building is now better connected to Chicago with a design that activates previously underutilized spaces and creates unique areas for discovery and engagement. With the addition of a market, food hall, retail, co-working space, public art installation, and a roof deck, the building has become the centerpiece of a bustling neighborhood and a model for how to reinvent aging buildings around the country.