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Foundation Details, Holabird & Roche. Chicago History Museum, ICHi-51159.

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The Marquette Building sits on a floating foundation. The concrete slab is reinforced with at least four layers of steel beams in alternating directions. The building’s vertical support beams meet reinforced concrete courses that gradually step out creating a shallow pyramid to evenly distribute the weight over the foundation’s surface.

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© John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation