Located just across the street from Chicago’s riverwalk, at the intersection of Franklin Street and Wacker Drive, 225 W Wacker stands tall on a bustling urban corner. Originally designed by architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), the sturdy structure represents Chicago’s identity as a “City of Big Shoulders” with a granite exterior and robust footprint. Spear Street Capital acquired the building in 2020 and set a new course for this downtown highrise. Their desire to refresh the outdated interior spaces resulted in a partnership between two architecture firms. KPF served as Design Architect, and Valerio Dewalt Train served as Architects of Record and Interior Designers of fixtures, furnishings, and equipment. The lobby was transformed into an amenity for building tenants with a softened touch, while still maintaining much of the original architecture. Recognizing the importance of comfort, wellness and human connection in today’s day and age, VDT and KPF aimed to transform the space into a welcoming and energizing workplace experience with one holistic design vision. A careful repositioning of the lobby focuses on urban connectivity and increases access to the adjacent street corner.
While the original KPF design featured a monumental, marble-clad, half rotunda entrance off of Wacker Drive, 225’s West Wacker’s primary entrance has always been from Franklin Street due to its lengthy street frontage. A sundry shop located in the building’s northwest corner disjointed the Wacker entry from that of Franklin Street. A key objective of the new design was to seamlessly connect these two spaces, creating a gracious flow from Wacker to Franklin, while showcasing the tower’s enviable urban corner site and fabulous views of the Chicago River and “Art on theMART.”
Demolition within the Wacker Lobby was strategic, surgical, and highly complex. It required precise coordination by the full architecture, engineering, construction, and trades teams. Creating the continuity and grandeur envisioned required a significant increase to the existing footprint and volume. Second and third-story beams and a large portion of the third floor slab were removed from the Wacker entry, allowing the team to capture an additional story in vertical volume to match that of the Franklin Street entry. The entire Wacker facade curtain wall was demolished and replaced with a new system, complimenting the original design, but featuring oversized glass lites opening the building to the city’s riverwalk. The sundry shop was demolished and a new glazed feature-opening was created in the facade’s northwest corner, flooding the interior with natural light. This increased transparency between the interior and exterior street corners creates dramatic views of newer additions to the city skyline and invites the public into the space.
Entering the new Wacker lobby, one feels the dramatic impact of its increased volume and daylight, with enhanced connection to the Franklin Street lobby and exterior street corner. The “Cafe Verde” coffee bar anchors this Wacker lobby. Populated with comfortable lounge seating, the entry provides building tenants with a rich, warm space to socialize, while the Franklin entry remains primarily an elevator lobby and reception area. A ramp winds gently around the interior, increasing accessibility from Wacker Drive, adjacent to a monumental stair graciously stepping one down to the lower elevation of the refreshed Franklin lobby.
Lush, jewel tones in furniture paired with warm, natural material finishes evoke a sense of home and create intimate moments in the otherwise grand and expansive space. Furniture selections and their geometries speak to architectural features designed by KPF. Rounded edges in sofas and banquette seating translate to the curved stone walls and marble reception desks. In contrast, vertical geometries in communal tables and ribbed seating reflected in a suspended bronze grill separating the two entrances. A white Vlana Veneto and evergreen Verde Antique marble throughout the original Franklin lobby were largely maintained. Weathered components were replaced and implemented into the Wacker lobby, further marrying the two spaces. Irish green marble was then introduced to lighten up the color palette and offer a visual connection to nature.
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