Leopardo Needs Only 11 Weeks to Finish Britannica’s New High-End Headquarters at 331 N. La Salle Street in Chicago

CHICAGO, Illinois (April 27, 2006) – Leopardo Construction, a leading construction services firm, today announced the completion of the 75,000-square-foot interior build-out of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s new corporate headquarters. Encyclopaedia Britannica, one of the world’s leading publishers of reference and learning products, moved from 310 S. Michigan Avenue to the landmark Reid Murdoch Building at 331 N. LaSalle Street, which was built in 1914.

Encyclopaedia Britannica occupies the entire second floor and portions of the first and third.

The first-floor reception area bears the stamp of Britannica’s corporate identity. It includes a display of the company’s products, giant quotations from famous Britannica contributors, such as Einstein and Freud, and large plasma television monitors that can be seen from the street.

A short escalator ride to the second floor ends at the crossroads of the company with a gracious entry into the executive and editorial offices, and an expansive view of the editorial library. Curved, museum-like product award display cases also line the brightly-lit second floor loft space.

“Leopardo Construction’s execution was first rate,” said William J. Bowe, executive vice president at Encyclopaedia Britannica. Leopardo Construction served as general contractor of the project and Baumann Studios provided architectural services.