IBM Building (Pittsburgh)

IBM Building
The building in 2026
Location4 Allegheny Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°27′12″N 80°0′14″W / 40.45333°N 80.00389°W / 40.45333; -80.00389
Built1976
ArchitectBruno Conterato
Architectural styleInternational Style
NRHP reference No.100012666
Added to NRHPJanuary 30, 2026

The IBM Building, also known as the East Commons Professional Building, is an office building in the Allegheny Center neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1975–6 as part of the Allegheny Center urban renewal project, which razed over 500 buildings to build a modernist shopping, residential, and office complex. It originally housed offices for IBM, replacing the old IBM Building in Gateway Center, which had been sold to the United Steelworkers.[1] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2026.[2]

The IBM Building consists of a nine-story rectangular block, clad in glass and aluminum curtain walls and raised on pilotis above a recessed ground floor. According to the National Register nomination, the building is a notable example of International Style architecture. It was designed by the firm of noted modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, though Mies himself had died in 1969. Bruno Conterato (1920–1995),[3] one of three students of Mies who continued the firm after his death, was the architect of record.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: IBM Building (Draft)" (PDF). City of Pittsburgh. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  2. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Weekly List 2026 01 30". National Park Service. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  3. ^ "Bruno Conterato (obituary)". Marshfield News-Herald. November 21, 1995. Retrieved March 8, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.