The James R. Thompson Center is a 17‑story, 1.15 million-square-foot, postmodern office building at 100 W. Randolph Street in Chicago’s Loop, bounded by Randolph, Lake, Clark and LaSalle streets. Designed by Helmut Jahn and completed in 1985, it was originally the State of Illinois Center.

© Courtesy of Google

The Thompson Center has always been a place where Chicago’s many worlds collide, with commuters, visitors and professionals moving through the same space. Google’s new design, however, aims to create an inspiring space offering unique amenities for the Loop, including a monumental architectural conversion, conceptualized together with Architecture Plus Information (A+I). Google will expand the central opening beneath the 17-story atrium, constructing a cascading staircase integrated with terraced seating and retail offerings.

“Google first opened the Chicago office in 2000, and since then, the city has grown into a tech hub, and Google’s offices have grown to over 2,000 employees,” said Mike Miller, site lead, Google. “In 2022, Google announced their intentions to buy the James R. Thompson Center building, honoring its legacy while transforming it into a center of work and community for the next generation of Chicagoans. Google purchased the Center and is now redeveloping the Thompson Center into a 2,000‑employee headquarters with public spaces, art, and sustainable features, with completion and opening planned for 2028.”

© Courtesy of Google

Now, Google shares new design renderings for the building’s soaring atrium and recently announced new community partnerships. Google teams up with After School Matters to commission a student-designed art piece for the retail concourse, as well as supporting A Better Chicago to combat chronic absenteeism and help local students thrive in school.

Artist Sanford Biggers has also been selected to create a major sculpture for the Thompson Center plaza, bringing a significant civic art moment to this central destination.

An activated atrium and plaza are being designed for the day-to-day as much as for special moments, and will bring a curated mix of quality food, distinctive retail and space for seasonal events. The Thompson Center will offer a natural place to grab lunch for visitors, catch up with working colleagues or simply take in the scene.

An architectural rendering of the Thompson Center’s soaring circular atrium from the ground floor is planned. Visitors will sit on circular wooden benches under a massive suspended oculus ring. As visitors enter the plaza, a dramatic view of the atrium will be revealed through an oculus. Retail and dining spaces will flank the entrance, with casual seating below.

A grand terraced staircase in the Thompson Center atrium will allow people to socialize on the wood-paneled steps or work at modern communal tables surrounded by lush indoor plants, with the towering metal elevator core and office balconies in the background. A view of the grand staircase will show a variety of activity, with easy movement to the lower level, and a connection to Chicago Transit Authority for CTA buses and train service.

© Courtesy of Google

Sanford Biggers is creating a new sculpture honoring the Loop’s rich history of public art. Biggers’ sculpture reimagines traditional quilt patterns as a hyper-dynamic, tilted accordion structure offering spaces for interaction and gathering. Vector, the name of Biggers’ 30-foot-tall sculpture, will be a continuation of the artist’s celebrated Codex series, in which Biggers explores the hidden meanings and sacred geometries found within antique quilts.

To create his sculpture, Biggers engaged with several local institutions to incorporate Illinois history into the glazed terracotta tile patterns, including historic, 19th-century quilts from collections at Illinois State Museum and Chicago History Museum, in addition to a Tumbling Block motif, a design historically associated with signaling along the Underground Railroad.

The art installations deepen Biggers’ connection to Chicago, where his artistic journey began at the School of the Art Institute in 1999 and continues today.

“Google’s vision for the Thompson Center is a place for daily inspiration with world-class art, innovative workspaces, direct access to CTA, an activated plaza, and the iconic atrium,” said Miller. “Complemented by Google’s ongoing investments in Chicago’s youth through public art and educational grant support.”