Chicago
Krueck & Sexton Architects

Photography © Mariusz Mizera

Herman Miller, Inc., a leading furniture design and manufacturing company of such classics as the Aeron chair sought to redesign and expand their flagship showroom in the Chicago Merchandise Mart. Krueck & Sexton drew upon Herman Miller's traditions of economy, the honest use of materials and a distinctive attitude toward modern design.

Krueck & Sexton began with a 200-foot perimeter exhibit wall composed of faceted glass panels mortised into a terrazzo floor of recycled clear glass and white epoxy. Defying the conventions of the "showroom window", this dynamic and crystalline screen creates layers of space and light conveying Herman Miller's credo of flexibility and openness. The terrazzo floor flows from the edge of the public corridor under the faceted glazing, transforming upwards into low benches which engage free-floating island elements of a reception desk and open kitchen.

In a transitional area between the entry and the showroom itself, glass panels curve through the space forming the enclosing fronts on four conference rooms. Affixed with stainless steel pins, the panels are sandblasted with a pattern and overlapped creating different areas of visual density. A system of colored lighting is programmed so that, throughout the day, these glass panels slowly change color and intensity.
The design of the reception and conferencing area focuses on the possibilities of the floor and vertical planes. In the showroom proper, Krueck & Sexton continued the theme of the vertical with a battery of sandblasted pivoting glass panels in front of the oversized Mart windows. Like Venetian blinds laid on their sides they manipulate incoming natural light and dramatic vistas of the Chicago River and the Loop in a variety of ways.

A curved three-dimensional grid ceiling undulates across the broad expanse of the open display area, the geometry of which reflects the found circumstances of existing beams and building systems. Constructed of a common building material—painted particleboard—the complex curves went from the architect's computers directly to the fabrication machines. The grid is lit from above with suspended light fixtures, which are covered with gels, varying in color and intensity. Adjustable pin spots hanging below the ceiling at a constant height provides accent illumination for the furniture.

For more on this project please see the October 2001 issue of Architectural Record.

The Winners: Chesapeake Bay | Corning Museum | Dulwich Galllery | Kuhonji Temple Gate | LVMH Tower | Pedestrian Bridge | Phillips Plastics | Saitama Arena | SAP Headquarters | Chiller Plant | Wieden + Kennedy Headquarters

The Finalists: Allegheny Jail | Hansen Construction | Helmut Lang Perfumerie | Herman Miller Showroom | Lincoln St. Garage | TBWA/Chiat/Day | U.S. Courthouse | Westpac Stadium

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