420 North Wabash

Horwitz Matthews
7 Stories
Chicago, Illinois

The total renovation and remodeling of this existing loft warehouse into a first-class office building included the relocation of stairs, elevators, and new mechanical systems. The design goal was to integrate the corporate office imagery with that of a converted loft building. This was achieved with the glass curtain wall cut into the building’s masonry façade.

A new vertical slice of the exterior wall dramatizes the relocated entry and leads visitors to the axial, processional lobby. The sequence is further developed with aluminum reveals, marble flooring, chrome ductwork, and a monolithic steele, which serves as the building’s directory.