Located on the second floor of a turn-of-century downtown Chicago high-rise, a former banking hall was converted into office/studio for a graphic design firm.  The original structure of the building was exposed and white-washed, providing a neutral background for the display of ongoing graphics projects.

The program requirements included an open studio environment, conference spaces and office support space.  Support spaces are hidden behind a continuous ‘work wall’ used to display projects in progress.

The quiet material palette of cork, mill finished aluminum, glass and clear-coated MDF strengthen the design intent of a studio space that is secondary to the work generated in it.  The aluminum bar-grating is a unifying material throughout the office; used as a lowered ceiling plane to define reception, as a scrim to conceal mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems overhead as well as a screen enclosure for the perimeter radiator system.

General Contractor: H&R Johnson Brothers
Photography: Doug Snower