Entering Gensler’s office in the Carson Pirie Scott building designed by Louis Sullivan, visitors cross a wall of “cubbies,” each owned by an employee. Taken together they represent the collective power of all. Over time the cubbies are refreshed to indulge the joy of creation. Gensler is rendered in the everyday language of a design firm. The name emerges in a mosaic of floor plans from buildings the office has touched over a decade of practice in Chicago. A gate, designed to close the office after hours, showcases the Sullivan-designed ornate stair. A large-format photo on the gate “reveals” the stair behind the adjacent wall.

A wall in the open workspace is transformed monthly. Each Velcro-attached disk, represents one of six levels of gray. A wall covering of numbered circles creates a placement template. The first composition on move-in day was President Madison, as the official address changed from Monroe to Madison Street. Quotes from Sullivan and Daniel Burnham adorn the glass on conference rooms. Glass fronts on private offices and huddle rooms display abstracted enlargements of patterns derived from the celebrated Sullivan column capitals that were preserved throughout the office.

This is what happens when a graphic designer takes the space. It is a true multidisciplinary collaboration. There is a good separation between the old and new. We love the interaction button wall! A great invention!