1st Place, Mixed Use
THE MART, which was constructed in 1930, has been known and recognized internationally as an icon of innovation and design for nearly 100 years. As one of Chicago’s most significant and iconic historic buildings, THE MART has been brought into the 21st century with revitalized amenity spaces, circulation and public areas, gathering and workspaces, and an impressive exterior plaza space. The resulting destination is a hub for community engagement that attracts and retains a new ethos of how we work.
Folding walls let the amenity spaces open up into the newly finished corridors. 
The newly furnished and welcoming South Lobby. 
A portal entrance through the elongated corridor draws tenants and visitors into the amenity and lounge areas. 
A mirrored ceiling overlooks the escalator entrance to the second floor amenities. 
The new Conference Center has multiple working lounge spaces for tenants. 
The Designer’s Lounge. 
The private Tenant Lounge. 
Curved marble reception desks add sophistication to amenities, such as the Fitness Center. 
The new River Park at THE MART. 
The new River Park at THE MART. 
BEFORE: Some of the public corridor space showing non-historic flooring and partitions prior to renovation. 
BEFORE: Unused space on the second floor, this would become part of the circulation, conferencing and fitness. 
Site plan showing project location in downtown Chicago. 
Diagram of Amenity locations on the second floor.
PHOTOS and DRAWINGS: Gensler
Connectivity Inside
Aiming to provide the future of office space to some of the country’s most creative and forward-thinking companies, Gensler’s design honors the building’s heritage and legacy while embracing modernity. It highlights detailed decorative and ornate geometries while introducing complementary materials and reimagined finishes. This balanced intersection, dubbed “Modern Legacy”, showcases THE MART as the epicenter of design: yesterday, today and into the future.
The design approach focused on creating strong connectivity and convergence from the outside in, providing more visibility into and throughout the large building (a full city-block long), allowing for an activated boulevard within the structure to connect across the building’s expanse. The new spaces at THE MART include the following:
- A revitalized approach to the South Lobby, celebrating the iconic Art Deco interior with new lounge seating from MART showrooms to create a welcoming environment while celebrating the building’s showroom history.
- An extensive, centralized amenity experience on the second floor, featuring a 23,000-square-foot health club with state-of-the-art equipment, juice bar and private classes.
- An intimate speakeasy-style lounge overlooking the river.
- A 21,000-square-foot conference center and workspace with meeting rooms, lounge areas, flexible space, private café and collaboration areas.
The amenity floor interventions pushed the boundaries of traditional retail corridors by blurring the edges of what is private and public. Creating an internal boulevard that redefines the common corridor into a general plaza space connecting retail and suite fronts, much like an outdoor city street, is foundational to the activated walkway. Reception and check-in concierge for the conference and fitness centers were pulled into the activated corridor while tenant suites blurred and opened beyond the traditional passage door for a more inviting approach. What was once considered a circuitous and hard to navigate corridor has evolved into a highly dynamic and engaging walkable internal boulevard to traverse and connect.
Outdoor Amenity
The new River Park is a people-focused landscape that increased THE MART’s public green space and complementary social environments while reducing vehicular congestion and traffic, making multi-modal accessibility more prevalent. Previously, Merchandise Mart Plaza was an all-concrete four-lane drive on an elevated platform above the building’s loading dock. The design team reduced the drive lanes and created green space and seating areas along the Chicago River’s edge, adding a chicane to help slow car traffic. This allowed for the greening of the walkway at the building’s edge and for outdoor seating for the retail tenants on the first level. By creating a planting zone within this dense urban space, stormwater is absorbed, and wellness benefits are offered. The effort has created a public gathering space for everyday use with areas that can be reserved for special events, including NeoCon, which happens annually in June.
One of the most significant impacts designers can make is to maintain the viability of our existing buildings. This renovation ensures that THE MART will enter its second century of existence as an active, viable part of the urban fabric. While the first two floors have hosted public retail for some time, as well as the building’s Chicago Transit Authority train station, the new River Park, main lobby and level-two circulation transform the property from a place people walk through to a place people gather. Similarly, the tenant amenity spaces create impactful environments for tenants to interact and create a broader sense of community. This one-of-a-kind destination will cement THE MART as an important lifestyle center for decades to come.
A logical refresh to an iconic, evolving Chicago structure. As someone who uses this building fairly often, it is wonderful to be in.
Kenneth DeMuth, AIA, partner, Pappageorge Haymes Partners
Retrofit Team
Architect: Gensler (Chicago)
Owner: Vornado Realty Trust, www.vno.com
General Contractor and Construction Manager (Interior): ?Skender
General Contractor and Construction Manager (Exterior): ?Bear Construction
Structural Engineer: Pease Borst & Associates LLC
MEP/FP Engineer: IMEG Corp.
Landscape Design: Hoerr Schaudt
Acoustic Consultant: Shiner Acoustics LLC
Traffic Consultant: Kimley Horn
Materials
Ceilings: Armstrong World Industries
Carpet: Interface
Solid Surface: Corian
Laminate: Wilsonart
Tile: Daltile
Wall Protection: Acrovyn from Construction Specialties
Metal Mesh: McNichols
Glass: Bendheim
Window Treatment: Stria Blackout from Lutron
Turf: PerfectLawn 82 from Perfect Turf
