The Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Public Space Renovation involved updating the guest experience by modernizing the interior finishes in the Ballroom, Board Rooms, and Meeting Spaces of the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. Specific updates included custom carpet, extensive wallcovering, new millwork, amenities for a modern meeting experience, and artwork from prominent local artists. The design was inspired by the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair which can be seen in design aspects such as the carpet and artwork installed throughout the space. The Regency Ballroom featured a complex prefabricated drywall baffle ceiling with integral linear lighting. The project prioritized creating a positive community impact and was successful in exceeding the MBE/WBE requirements. The project team celebrated the diversity of those involved in the project through events such as the Women in Construction Luncheon held in the Regency Ballroom upon its completion. The project, completed amongst a bustling McCormick Place backdrop, was executed with maintaining a perfect 0-0-0-0 safety record.

The aesthetic design of these spaces was geared to supplement the guest experience. As the largest convention space in North America, the user experience was of the utmost importance when considering the design elements. Therefore, aspects such as sound quality, lighting, and impact on Audio/Visual experience were figured into every design decision. A collaborative design process between the design team, engineer, general contractor and Ownership was utilized to balance the desire for meeting aesthetic, functionality, budget and schedule requirements.

The Walsh team took a proactive approach to quality, working to address the largest challenges prior to onsite construction. The most challenging aspect of this project was the Regency Ballroom ceiling. The original specified material for the baffles was GFRG. GFRG is sourced from Canada which resulted in quality, cost and schedule concerns. To solve this issue, the Walsh team, in coordination with ownership and the design team, proposed to switch to a prefabricated drywall baffle. This switch allowed the baffles to be manufactured at the trade partner’s shop, in the Chicago-area, which alleviated the quality concerns involved with the complicated baffle layout. It also provided schedule benefits shortening the lead times. Lastly, the change resulted in a cost-savings while ensuring the quality of product and design intent remained the same.

There were no safety incidents throughout the duration of the project. The importance of safety and quality was emphasized through the implementation of our “Passport to Safety” program. During site orientation, each trade worker was provided a “passport”. Throughout the project, trade workers were given stickers with numbers that were used at a weekly raffle. Stickers were handed out for Good Catches, attending Stretch and Flex, and other stand out items. This program was designed to promote our safety culture. In addition, by switching to prefabricated drywall baffles and through our work planning process, we were able to eliminate overhead work in the ceiling design which resulted.

The project went above and beyond in community and inclusion involvement in three major ways. This project took part in the Walsh Pre-Apprenticeship program, which utilizes organizations, such as Revolution Workshop and Hire 360, to provide an opportunity of industry-based exposure and preparation for individuals to start a career in the construction trades. Our pre-apprentice on the project, Priscilla, gained exposure to the different trades on the project, as well as learned about safety and project management from the Walsh team. At our Women in Construction luncheon, the many female members of the project, from trades workers, Walsh team members, Gensler Design Team, trade partner project management, to Ownership were highlighted and honored. Lastly, the design of the project highlighted the community through the integration of artwork from local artists including Barbara Karant, Bob Faust, Christophe Gausparro, and Mayumi Lake.

W.E. O’Neil built Chicago’s newest hotel, a four-star, 28-story tower just off Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville neighborhood. Developed by The Prime Group, this stately hotel is one of only a few locations in the United States for the Spanish hotel brand RIU Hotels and Resorts.

Rising 345 feet, the base of the tower spans two floors with 23 floors of guest rooms above. Catering to both business and leisure guests, the resort has 390 guestrooms, a sky bar, one level below grade, and a ground-level bar at the southeast corner of the tower base.
Designed by renowned Lucien LaGrange, the classically styled structure is distinctive from most other new buildings in Chicago. Its unique material palette includes a mix of painted architectural concrete and aluminum-framed windows, rather than the more typical brick or glass curtain wall facades. This classic Chicago School architectural style facade will complement the building’s modern and functional interior.

Crafted through the collaborative efforts of Lamar Johnson Collaborative and lead architect Lucien Lagrange, the RIU Plaza Hotel Chicago stands as a 28-story neo-classical marvel in Chicago’s vibrant Streeterville neighborhood, renowned for its iconic landmarks and tourist attractions.

Revitalizing a mid-block vacancy near North Michigan Avenue, the hotel embraces a classic aesthetic that seamlessly integrates with its surroundings. Through meticulous planning, the team maximized the site’s potential, optimizing floor area and guestroom layouts.

Inspired by traditional design principles, the RIU Plaza Hotel features a distinguished façade characterized by a harmonious blend of materials. Noteworthy elements include a majestic rooftop terrace with a cantilevered glass balcony, offering unparalleled city views.

This project holds particular significance for RIU Hotels and Resorts, a Spanish-based client, as it expands beyond their Mediterranean and Caribbean portfolio, marking their foray into urban and northern latitude hospitality. The RIU Plaza Hotel Chicago stands as a testament to architectural ingenuity, enhancing the visual character of the neighborhood and setting a new standard for hospitality excellence in the heart of the Windy City.

Innovative Building Design and Quality Assurance
One of the building’s most distinctive features is its cast-in-place concrete exterior, designed with intricate reveals to emulate a stone facade. Collaborating with our concrete contractor, we adhered to the highest quality standards to achieve the exceptional finish visible to the community. Our project team leveraged Building Information Modeling (BIM) extensively to ensure precision and minimize rework. Coordination with the design team in Spain was crucial for synchronizing the finish trades, ensuring seamless integration.

Advanced HVAC Systems and Efficient Collaboration
RIU’s specifications called for an advanced, energy-efficient HVAC system that surpasses typical installations in Chicago’s high rises. This necessitated meticulous coordination among all MEP-FP trades, the design team, and RIU to meet the rigorous standards. Our commitment to close collaboration and innovative problem-solving ensured the successful execution of this complex project.

The RIU Plaza Hotel project team demonstrated their commitment to safety as a core value throughout the life of this project. They started every week out by gathering the entire team, from the project engineer intern to the project executive, and conducting a safety inspection as a team to ensure our trade partners were conducting their work in a safe and healthful manner, helping them set themselves up for safe and successful week. These inspections were done in addition to the subcontractor-focused inspections which the team conducted along with our subcontractor management. The RIU team also had the pleasure of awarding two subcontractors with W.E. O’Neil’s “Safe Subcontractor” award during construction. This award is given to trade partners who go above and beyond to keep their workers safe and healthy every day. Upon award, each employee of that subcontractor is treated to lunch and outfitted with “Safe Subcontractor” branded shirts, and a plaque to commemorate their win. Our team also held numerous stand downs to bring awareness of safety topics, some vendors who assisted us with these included Radians, 3M, and WhiteCap. Our team’s thorough involvement in pre-planning tasks was crucial to the project, which presented numerous logistical challenges throughout. The safety collaboration between the W.E. O’Neil Project team and our trade partners provided us with a safe and successful job, which resulted in an overall DART rate of .51.

Our team engaged closely with the City of Chicago, Alderman Reilly’s office, Northwestern Medicine, neighboring buildings, and local community groups to create a comprehensive plan that minimized disruptions. Over the two-year construction period, our proactive measures led to nearly zero complaints. The local community group SOAR notably remarked, “Thank you so much, Mike…your efforts on this project have made it a model for construction projects in Streeterville.”

The Study at the University of Chicago is a 15-story Hotel offering guests the first on-campus Hotel option open to the public. Located between the David Rubenstein Forum and Keller Center, the Study is ideal for prospective and visiting students, their families, guest scholars, and additional clientele. The Study features 167 rooms in a range of layouts to meet varying needs and preferences, all with outstanding views to campus, Lake Michigan, and Downtown Chicago. Amenities include meeting and event spaces, a 24-hour fitness center, roof terrace, and Truth Be Told, a tavern-style restaurant. Construction included a stone façade, creating a repetitive guestroom module of precast concrete, dark brake metal, vision glass, and operable windows. The project had an excellent safety record, with Zero Lost-Time Incidents. The project met the University’s workforce goals with 26.13% MBE and 5.52% WBE participation and many Hotel employees reside in nearby communities.

The Midway Plaisance at the University of Chicago yields the impression of being a carefully curated architectural collection. With this perspective in mind, the Study at the University of Chicago becomes a very natural addition to this collection, as its principles are parallel with those of the University.

The Study distinguishes itself from other hotels in that it is uniquely designed as an authentic and high-quality environment for the lifelong learner – the imagery of a pair of glasses set down on the nightstand after a day’s end reading captures this intent in the Study’s Brand Logo. The building design is simply a physical manifestation of these principles, crafted with forward architectural thinking.

The guiding principle of authenticity makes a strong entrance in the massing of the building. The massing is a division of parts, each expressing the specific program housed beyond its walls. The tower, originating as a beautiful plinth of stone, is fissured in places to send natural light into the corridors, and wrapped in other places by a tapestry of the repetitive guestroom module, both functions implicitly understood by the onlooker.

Between the tower and podium, a transparent volume distinguishes itself as a more public realm for meetings and gatherings. The podium, by contrast, spills out from these upper levels as a collage of special moments, expressing itself as the quirky and inviting home that draws in the Hotel’s visitors to spaces such as the comforting living room, the frequented Truth Be Told restaurant, and the celebratory winter garden. This all-around honest expression of function can only be accomplished with homogenous forms, translating into a building that presents as much pleasure when perceived from the south, east, or west as when perceived from the north.

The guiding principles are further established in the guestroom design and its translation to the exterior elevations. Within the guestroom, quality of experience is prioritized by maximizing natural light and optimizing thermal comfort (with operable windows and deliberately placed heating and cooling units). At the same time, scholarly guests will find their happy place in reading chairs and ideally-sized desks positioned for both unobstructed views and modesty in relation to a large picture window. However, rather than allowing the ideal interior spatial dimensions of a guestroom dictate the proportions and scale of the tower’s vast exterior expression, a system was developed to allow the exterior demands to also be honored. By breaking down the perimeter wall of a guestroom into six (6) equal modules, a field is set up across the façade.

With respect to the interior, each module can be treated as the guestroom program demands (as a fixed window, an operable window, or a spandrel element). With respect to the exterior, the field acts as a constant across which a tall vertical element spanning two floors can jump to create a composition that is visually appealing from ground level. The vertical element lets the Study harmonize with the Keller Center’s timeless façade, while the composition as a whole embodies the spirit of the more current Rubenstein Forum or Campus North Residential Commons.

The podium, the portion of the façade that provides the most intimate and tangible experience for the Hotel’s guests, breaks itself down to a more human scale to create an enriching environment that sweeps visitors up in the here and now. Extra thought is given to fine-grain details, materials are broken down to a more absorbable size, and human life itself becomes part of the architectural language where glazed openings allow glimpses of the restaurant and living room activities within.

Overall, the design of the Study is rooted in the principles of authenticity, quality, ingenuity, and focus on the lifelong learner, making it a deliberate and welcomed addition to the University of Chicago campus.

The Study at the University of Chicago was constructed on a 0.89-acre site located between the University’s David Rubenstein Forum and Harris School of Public Policy (Keller Center). Site constraints posed a significant challenge during construction. General Contractor JT Magen developed a Site Logistics Plan to address safety and access to the site during the construction process. The Site Logistics Plan also addressed the timely delivery of materials to ensure all materials on-site at a given time corresponded to construction activities taking place and minimize clutter. Given the constrained site, all materials on-site at a given moment had a purpose for the construction activities taking place.

With the nearby David Rubenstein Forum being constructed concurrently with the Study, managing multiple stakeholder groups, and arriving at consensus for approvals and coordination was key to the project’s success.

The exterior cladding system – a stone façade design that creates a repetitive guestroom module of precast concrete, dark brake metal, vision glass, and operable windows – required extensive coordination between the envelope installation and rain screen to ensure correct detailing and a water-tight solution.

Lastly, Pull Planning and daily coordination between subcontractors ensured timely installation of materials throughout construction.

The project had an excellent safety record with over 140,000 trade hours worked and Zero Lost-Time Incidents.

Amongst the most significant challenges was navigating through COVID-19, with construction taking place during the height of the pandemic. JT Magen implemented its company-wide COVID-19 policy throughout the project, which was centered on safety. These standards were continually adjusted throughout construction to ensure compliance with all State of Illinois and City of Chicago requirements.

Like all JT Magen projects, the firm developed a site-specific Safety Plan for the Study. As part of this Safety Plan, all subcontractor team members were required to participate in site safety orientation and any subcontractor with more than 25 full-time employees was required to have a Safety Manager on-site during construction at all times. Weekly meetings with subcontractor Safety Managers also contributed to the project’s outstanding safety record.

The Hotel’s creation of 300 local construction jobs met the University of Chicago’s MBE and WBE participation and workforce goals. Specifically, 26.13% MBE and 5.52% WBE participation was achieved. Additionally, following one full year in business, over a half of the Study’s employees reside in surrounding neighborhoods.

On a more holistic level, one of the primary goals of the Study was to create a positive impact on the South Side of Chicago and neighboring communities. Prior to construction, no hotel options open to the public were located on campus. The Study is designed to draw more visitors to the surrounding Woodlawn neighborhood and keep more University visitors lodging, dining, and shopping within the community. Truth Be Told, the Hotel’s tavern-style restaurant, offers a nearby dining option for the community.