Studio O+A and IA Interior Architects recently designed McDonald's new central office in Chicago's West Loop. The space speaks to an increasingly urban and health-conscious culture, blending corporate headquarters, a cultural center, a school and history museum, and a test kitchen.
The nine-story building accommodates a variety of workstyles, combining traditional work areas and meeting rooms with other work areas that offer the look and feel of hospitality venues.
A multidirectional staircase in the building's central atrium fosters casual interaction. Shared spaces up and down the atrium evoke a specific element of McDonald's success for each floor. One floor features a wall installation that turns the patterns of sustainably grown crops into abstract art. The lobby's massive sculpture, made of kitchen hardware, offers another take on the engineering savvy that made McDonald's what it is today.
Photography: Garrett Rowland