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    Norman Kelley refreshes lobby of postmodern Chicago skyscraper

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    US architecture studio Norman Kelley used materials such as brass and polished quartz to update the lobby in a 1980s skyscraper designed by John Burgee and Philip Johnson.

    The project – formally called the 190 South LaSalle Street Lobby – is located within a postmodern-style office tower in Chicago’s Central Loop. The 41-storey building was originally designed by American architects John Burgee and Philip Johnson and opened in 1987.
    Norman Kelley updated the lobby with materials including brassThe current owners, Beacon Capital Partners, hired local studio Norman Kelley to update the ground-level lobby, which is open to the public.
    “The overall goal of the project was to provide a safe interior public space that encourages community and contemplation, or a space to linger within,” the studio said.
    Rose-hued marble pilasters were kept intactThe lobby has a number of notable features that were kept intact. These include rose-hued marble pilasters, a black-and-white marble floor, and a 50-foot-tall (15-metre) vaulted ceiling sheathed in gold leaf.

    Norman Kelley added a range of new elements, including electric turnstiles, security desks and a cafe. Brass and polished quartz were used for the desks and cafe.
    A black-and-white marble floor was also preservedThe studio also designed new furnishings for the project, including a curvy sofa and long banquette, both in a vanilla hue.
    The seating was inspired by two sources – Vitra’s office furniture and group seating in the now-shuttered Four Seasons restaurant in New York, designed by Philip Johnson.
    A vanilla-hued banquette was designed by the studioThe seating was paired with round, brass-and-marble tables topped with portable LED Carrie lamps by Norm Architects.
    The north apse, which once held a marble security desk, was redesigned as a semicircular amphitheatre measuring 12 feet high and 27 feet wide (3.7 by 8.2 metres).
    The semi-circular amphitheatre has gold seatingThe tiered seating is made of perforated brass risers and honed, off-white marble with gold veining. Railings are made of brass pipes.
    To animate the space, the architects created an “immersive audio experience” in collaboration with the studio iart and sound scenographer Idee und Klang.
    Brass and polished quartz were used for the desks and cafeThe weather-inspired audio installation was designed to be triggered by 81 light sensors and three motion sensors that are located behind the risers.
    “Once the amphitheatre senses one’s presence, a musical score comprising 15 instruments, four tempos, and seven keys and scales play across eight of the nearest 91 speakers,” the team said.

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    “The brass-and-marble amphitheatre is a responsive instrument that uses real-time data inputs, like weather and time of day, to compose an ever-changing sonic environment.”
    The amphitheatre stands in contrast to the southern apse, where a towering bronze sculpture, called Chicago Fugue by Anthony Caro, was installed in 1987. The abstract sculpture is composed of anomalous shapes and alludes to musical instruments.
    A bronze sculpture by Anthony Caro features in the space”Like an aural diptych, the lobby presents two musical sculptures: one figurative, the other literal, to welcome you back to work,” the team said.
    Norman Kelley was founded in 2012 by Carrie Norman and Thomas Kelley.
    The studio’s other projects include an Aesop store in Chicago’s Bucktown neighbourhood, which features reclaimed bricks arranged in pinwheel patterns, and a flagship store for clothing retailer Notre that is housed in a building dating to 1906.
    The photography is by Kendall McCaugherty Ristau.
    Project credits:
    Architect: Norman KelleyOwner: Beacon Capital PartnersGeneral contractor: Power Construction CompanyMedia architecture: iartSound scenography: Idee und KlangAcoustics: Walters-Storyk Design GroupMEP: Kent Consulting EngineersStructural engineering: Klein & HoffmanAudio visual services: Global Service TechniciansMillwork: HuberExpediter: Burnham NationwideFilm: Spirit of Space

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      MAWD revamps lobby and atrium of Denver tower designed by IM Pei

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      Design studio MAWD has redone the interiors of an IM Pei tower in Denver, Colorado, including the lobby and an adjoining Philip Johnson-designed atrium.

      The London and US-based interiors studio redesigned aspects of the interiors at the 23-storey commercial tower 1700 Broadway in downtown Denver for Beacon Capital.
      MAWD updated the 27,000-square-foot (250-square-metre) lobby and atrium – the latter attached in 1983 by architect Philip Johnson, almost 30 years after the tower’s completion.
      MAWD redesigned both the lobby of the IM Pei tower and the attached atriumRebranded as the Atrium Campus, the extensive redesign of 1700 Broadway – which was the first skyscraper in the city – includes an update to the security desk, a lounge, and updates to the streetscape.
      Influenced by the mid-century architecture of the original design, MAWD included a massive communal fireplace with travertine accents. The coherence with the original was achieved through using repurposed stone from other parts of the building.

      The front desk was placed back and out of the way, and is surrounded by wooden louvres”We drilled into the mid-century details that were prevalent, authentic and ‘of-the-moment’,” said Elliot March, design lead on the project.
      The designers surrounded the fireplace area with long and short tables for gathering, as well as booths along the walls. Wooden louvres were placed over the welcome desk to highlight the green wall behind it.
      The seating around the lobby looks out into the atrium “streetscape”The lobby is framed by the black colonnades that define the structure from the street, which open up to the atrium.
      Johnson’s sloping atrium, which wraps around the lobby, was redesigned as an extension of the “streetscape” indoors. From the entrance is a walkway between the walls of the atrium and the open lobby, where benches, greenery and fixtures that imitate street lamps were placed.
      Steps were added in the atrium to increase social spaceThese elements lead up to an addition that the designers refer to as “Spanish steps”.
      This structure is pyramidal and works with the changes in elevation of the site to create more sitting and social areas in the atrium.

      “With IM Pei’s death, the last of the modern monument makers has passed”

      The steps climb towards a mezzanine that connects the atrium to a covered walkway over Broadway, as well as to the second floor of the building.
      On the second floor, MAWD revamped 9,300 square feet (863.9 square metres) for amenities including a gym, yoga studio, and conference rooms.
      MAWD added a lounge space on the second floorThe purpose of the design, according to MAWD was “to attract leading companies during the area’s tech boom, providing flexible and responsive spaces for the future of work”.
      The legacy of Chinese-American architect IM Pei, who died in 2019 aged 102, continues to draw interest; the Mesa Lab in nearby Boulder, Colorado, has become a focal point for architectural photographers. His structures that have received updates in recent years include Eskenazi Museum in Bloomington, Indiana, renovated by Ennead Architects.
      The photography is by Robert Benson.

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