Citation of Merit

• Division: Commercial
• Location: Chicago, IL
• Architect: Powell/Kleinschmidt Inc
• Client:
• General contractor: Clune Construction
• Consultants: Development Resources Inc. (Project Manager); Environmental Systems Design (MEP/FP Engineer); Shen Milsom & Wilke Engineers (A/V Consultant); Forcade (Signage); Charter Sills (Lighting Consultant); Romano Gatland (Food Service Consultant)

Overview

After an audit of their former headquarters and an analysis of trends in law firm design, the project team identified the facility requirements critical to the future success of Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw. The new space is composed of ten repeating floors and two amenity floors totaling 400,000 square feet. The architect provided significant impact on how the building performs for a global law firm, including identifying an efficient building module, perimeter column spacing, and elimination of corner offices, flexible work zones, collaboration space, and a conference center complex designed for present and future needs. Jurors liked the "character of the law library" and the "sense of style in the conference room." Another juror commended the architects on their "elegant interpretation of the floor plan."