The 162 N. State Street Building was designed by architect Christian A. Eckstorm in 1924 and was originally known as the Butler Building. The building was converted to residential use for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) to serve as student housing, and in 2000, a building addition designed by Booth Hansen Architects was added to the south. The east (main) elevation of the original portion is clad with decorative cream-colored terra cotta. The north and west (rear) façades are predominately clad in common brick. The addition enclosure consists of GFRC panels.

Klein & Hoffman’s involvement consisted of the investigation of the facade conditions and design of the temporary stabilization for potentially hazardous conditions, preparation of reports that included repair recommendations and cost estimates, followed up by the preparation of repair documents and specifications, and continued through construction. Repairs at 162 N. State Street were completed in multiple phases. During the project, we worked closely with the Historic Preservation Division of the Chicago Department of Planning & Development toward an appropriate and historically sensitive rehabilitation of this significant Chicago landmark façade.