Google Unveils Plans For New-Look Thompson Center Headquarters

CHICAGO — Construction will begin early next year on a gut rehabilitation of the James R. Thompson Center as Google prepares to take over the building as its new Chicago headquarters, all while working to maintain the building's architectural integrity, the company announced on Wednesday.

Google unveiled renderings of what the Thompson Center will look like once work is complete. The tech giant purchased the building from the State of Illinois for $105 million in 2022. The company said after announcing plans to renovate the building that it intended to preserve its postmodern architecture. On Wednesday, Google officials said they are working with the building’s architects to maintain the building’s “iconic form” while also bringing the structure into the 21st Century with a new glass-front design.

Company officials said that the structure’s 17-story atrium will remain in place and that the building’s covered colonnade at the Thompson Center’s base will be redesigned to allow for enhanced ground-floor experience.

The redesign will allow for more food and beverage retailers to call the Thompson Center home while also allowing for seasonal activations.

“With more natural light, access to green space, and biophilic design elements that borrow from nature, the original design’s ode to transparency and openness will live on,” Karen Sauder, Google’s Chicago site leader, wrote in a blog post released on Wednesday.

Sauder wrote that fencing will go up in early January as crews begin work on the building.

Sauder wrote that the company has made plans to operate on full-time carbon-free energy by 2030. Plans also call for the company to modernize the way the building looks and maximize natural daylight and views. The work will also replace outdated heating and cooling equipment with high-efficiency systems that are capable of managing Chicago’s famously varied seasons.

“These types of improvements take several years to complete; we’re excited about what this project symbolizes for the greater Chicago community and will share more about our plans in the future,” Sauder wrote.