In 2011 Studio/lab partnered with Krueck + Sexton Architects and the Lake Point Tower building renovation committee to develop graphics and wayfinding for the public spaces on the residential floors of this iconic Chicago landmark, built in 1968. Directional and typographic elements are custom-designed to reflect the geometry and modernist iconographic of the building, and graphic patterns express the ethereal forms and spectrum of color produced by the surrounding play of light and shadow, lake and sky. The scope of work includes signage standards, architectural and directional graphics, and improved life-safety graphics. The architectural components (floor-to-ceiling curtains of undulating finned light boxes designed by Krueck + Sexton) were a given; the intention being to open up, with light and structure, the otherwise ambiguous middle-point of each of the sixty-five residential floors. Unique, amorphous and energetic graphic patterns applied to the walls behind the angled fins not only illumine the space with a wash of reflective “natural” light but also energize it by creating a subtle kinetic effect driven by the graphic forms in combination with the angled fins. Organic forms drawn by hand, photographed in soft-focus, and translated into large-scale gradient halftone patterms produce a natural, airy, cloud-like effect. The result: a captivating graphic interpretation of the atmospheric conditions of air and water, light and sky. The true-to-nature color spectrum is an expression of the ever-changing light experienced by residents who enjoy unobstructed views of Lake Michigan and the city.

Published: January 17, 2013