As the world’s largest commercial building with nearly 10 million visitors each year, the Merchandise Mart’s food hall and two of its corridors needed an aesthetic upgrade, as well as the addition of a Grand Stair to improve connectivity between the first and the second floors.
Client: Merchandise Mart
Location: 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago
Area: 35,000 sq. ft.
Construction Schedule: Varied
THE
WORK
FOOD HALL
The food hall renovations included concrete flooring, new exterior windows, and a reflective, brass-framed mylar ceiling. With concrete, marble, and brass finishes throughout, the updates created a bright, open dining hall that optimized the space and felt modern and welcoming.
CORRIDORS
Our team removed the floor between levels and built a temporary deck to allow for concurrent work on the second-floor ceiling and everything below. This included new lighting and floor finishes, as well as a ceiling made of materials sourced from Germany and a custom metal trim.
GRAND STAIR
To improve connectivity between the first and second floors, we installed a Grand Stair that was constructed with 68 tons of marble and 50 tons of steel. This intricate building process, as well as the sourcing of materials from around the world, required careful coordination.
THE
RESULT
These common area improvements were completed with minimal disruption in high-traffic areas, thanks to close collaboration among the projects’ numerous tradespeople, designers, and architects. As requested, the food court and the Grand Stair were completed in time for the annual NeoCon conference. These renovations helped further the Mart’s efforts to serve as the city’s leading tech center — helping drive Chicago’s economy in the process.