Until recently, the lobby of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange was labyrinthine and dark. In May 2020, Krueck Sexton, working with the building envelope experts at the Roschmann Group and engineers Thornton Tomasetti, outfitted the atrium with a dramatic new facade — a 7.3-metre-high wall of curvilinear heat-strengthened glass punctuated with egress doors. Supported by vertical fins, the sinuous skin is sufficiently durable to sustain inclement weather and Chicago’s epic winds. Coupled with a new wall and ceiling system that integrates a brilliant lighting scheme, the project brings fresh life to a once-gloomy lobby and gives something back to the streetscape, too.
Team Yugene Cha (Krueck Sexton Partners), Dirk Schulte (Roschmann Group), Scott Weyman (Lendlease), Amy Preston (Tishman Speyer), Mark Dannettel (Thornton Tomasetti) and Chris Stutzki (Stutzki Engineering)
In May 2020, Krueck Sexton, working with the building envelope experts at the Roschmann Group and engineers Thornton Tomasetti, outfitted the atrium with a dramatic new facade — a 7.3-metre-high wall of curvilinear heat-strengthened glass punctuated with egress doors.