THE MART is pleased to announce the completion of its boldest transformation yet. The building’s redeveloped spaces—which include a new suite of world-class tenant amenities and revitalizations to the South Lobby and River Park—will be unveiled during NeoCon (June 12–14, 2023), the world’s leading platform for commercial interior design and one of THE MART’s marquee design trade shows.
Owned and operated by Vornado Realty Trust, THE MART is an architectural icon in Chicago and the largest privately held commercial building in the United States, internationally recognized as a global innovator in culture, design, and technology. The latest developments, designed by Vornado in collaboration with Gensler, deliver the future of office space to some of the country’s most creative and forward-thinking companies. The highly visible transformation honors and challenges the building’s heritage and its existing Art Deco architecture to create an open and accessible meeting place, opening its doors as a marketplace of experiences, creativity and ideas.
The transformation follows an earlier phase of improvements to THE MART in 2016 that saw the introduction of the Grand Stair and Marshall’s Landing and a new food hall with robust and varied offerings, as well as a new reception and information desk.
Spaces and new amenities completed June 2023 include:
- A revitalized approach to the South Lobby, one of the city’s most iconic Art Deco interiors, that includes the installation of new lounge seating to create a warm and welcoming environment for the public, with furnishings sourced exclusively from design showrooms at THE MART.
- An extensive, centralized amenity experience on the second floor featuring a 23,000-square-foot health club with studios offering a full range of classes; an intimate tenant-exclusive speakeasy lounge overlooking the river; and a cluster of new curated retail offerings across beauty, health and wellbeing.
- 21,000-square-foot tenant-exclusive conference center and workspace with conference and meeting rooms, lounge areas, flexible programming space, and a private café, designed for quiet focus and productive collaboration.
- A reimagination of THE MART’s River Park public space with a plaza for pedestrian traffic and gathering, a lush central lawn for community celebrations and programming, al fresco seating activated by new food and beverage offerings, and a localized approach to landscaping that introduces foliage and perennials from the surrounding Chicago region, all conceived of by landscape architects Hoerr Schaudt. The new River Park is part of a larger approach to make privatized space public by bringing the rooftop amenities to the street level, creating a new front yard for Chicago and one of few dynamic spaces available to the public on the riverfront.
The unveiling of THE MART’s transformation coincides with two major public events at the building. ART on THE MART, the largest digital art projection in the world, displayed across 2.5 acres of the façade of THE MART, launched Building Light on June 8, a new projection by Gensler, which will run nightly through its summer program. Designed by Anna Nelson and Franklin Guttman of Gensler’s Chicago brand team, the commission explores themes of discovery, urbanism, and change through four abstracted time-lapsed vignettes. Aiming to evoke optimism and wonder, Building Light speaks to what design can do for our communities and relates to Gensler’s design approach to improvements throughout THE MART. Vornado’s transformation of the building will create a new experience for all who enter, and Gensler’s projection reinforces THE MART’s role as a true global destination for design.
From June 12–14, THE MART will once more open its doors to the design world for NeoCon, the most important event of the year for the commercial interior design industry since 1969. Comprised of nearly one million square feet of exhibition space, NeoCon features game-changing products and services from more than 400 leading companies and emerging players, providing unparalleled access to the latest and most innovative solutions in commercial space design. NeoCon is representative of THE MART’s rich past as a wholesale marketplace as well as its current position as one of the world’s largest hubs for design—the building is home to more than 250 design showrooms and nine internationally renowned design trade shows each year.
