After the Ledge at Skydeck Chicago at the Willis Tower opened in 2009, attendance rose from 1.09 million in 2008 to a projected 1.4 million for 2011. Before you go to the Ledge at Skydeck Chicago at the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), you may want to get in the mood by seeing Vertigo (1958), Alfred Hitchcock’s famous thriller. Or maybe not. The thrill, panic, and fear so memorably portrayed in the film is present in real life at the Ledge. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), which designed the tower in 1973, came up with these subtle additions to

' [Cannon Design Staff] are now living in a world where they can talk with each other and share ideas, and it makes our projects stronger and our team stronger.' ' Thomas Bergmann, Cannon Design Architect Thomas Bergmann, managing principal of the Cannon Design St. Louis office, had walked past the Power House many times. The 1928 Revival-style building was a derelict landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, just off the interstate — a sign of different and more prosperous times. The building began its life as a courthouse. Then the city turned it into a coal-fired

Enrollment in the MBA program is up 45 percent from three years ago ' growth that the client attributes to the new building's visibility. Red tile roofs and stucco facades dominate the leafy grounds of Mills College, in Oakland. But for the new home of its now-10-year-old MBA program, the women’s liberal arts college and coeducational graduate institution asked architects Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ) to depart from the campus’s characteristic Spanish Revival style. The firm responded with a decidedly modern building made of crisp volumes clad in stone, zinc, and glass. Completed in the fall of 2009, the Graduate School

'We thought, it would be great if a corporation tried to reach out to the public. Roca wants to erase this detachment that companies have from society.' ' Borja Ferrater, Office of Architecture in Barcelona The Barcelona-based Roca, one of the world’s top producers of bath furnishings and tile, wanted to increase its visibility. So the company approached Carlos Ferrater’s Office of Architecture in Barcelona (OAB) in 2008 to transform a small 1960s office building it occupied into a brand showroom. Although the timing was precarious — right when the financial crisis hit — design architect Borja Ferrater developed a

'I often have the feeling that what I want to achieve is unattainable, but the project that THA delivered is even more than I dreamed I could achieve.' ' Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO Mercy Corps Command central for a global team of 4,000 professionals who run disaster relief and community development programs in over 40 countries, Mercy Corps needs an efficient base of operations. But its Portland, Oregon, “headquarters” was scattered in six leased locations around the city. “We were ready to build a home that would consolidate the different aspects of the organization and reflect our values,” recalls CEO Neal

'The test of a great building is in the marketplace. The Marketplace recognizes the value of quality architecture and endorses it in the sales price it is able to achieve.' ' Jon Pickard, Principal, Pickard Chilton Building high in the Windy City is not a charge to be taken lightly. New Haven–based Pickard Chilton has risen to the challenge with this 1.3 million-square-foot, 60-story tower on the north bank of the Chicago River that emphatically states its presence. In devising the scheme, the architects worked closely with Chicago developer Hines and anticipated anchor tenant, the international law firm of Kirkland

'We had to . . . figure out ways to make the merchandise look like art. Now many people walk into the lobby and think the store is the first gallery.' ' Jeff Sheppard, Roth + Sheppard Architects Established more than 26 years ago, Roth + Sheppard Architects have a bunch of retail projects in their portfolio — “just cool spaces that seemed to work,” says Jeff Sheppard, coprincipal of the Denver-based firm. His design of the gift shop at Daniel Libeskind’s Denver Art Museum wasn’t based on a gut sensibility, though. Instead, he and his team took a scientific

'Having a beautiful open space to work allows for increased collaboration and creative thinking. employees can connect with each other, and as a result, the product is better.' ' Eileen Fisher Launching her apparel line in 1984 with $350 and a degree in home economics, Eileen Fisher started small. But her modest beginnings belie the power of her brand — a line of elegant, comfortable clothing sewn with natural materials that has resonated with America’s professional women. As she does with her clothing, Fisher brings a holistic sensibility to the workplace, fostering people-centric environments in her Irvington, New York, headquarters