CHASE TOWER, Chicago, IL (2003)
Specifier: Gensler, Architect / Chicago, IL
Installer: ATI Design / Elmhurst, IL
Project: The interior renovation of the Bank facility within the Chase Tower includes a second-floor office area with a 60-foot high ceiling.
Gensler’s ceiling design required a highly light-reflective material to maximize both the natural daylight from the large glass panels surrounding the area and the light generated by the suspended fixtures below the ceiling. Other requirements of this ceiling system, located in an extremely high and therefore inaccessible area, were that it have both longevity and be maintenance-free.
Newmat M15/white matte membrane, chosen for its light-reflective quality, was used as a double-layer system to ensure that no debris, dust, or other particles could be deposited and possibly seen on the finished layer. A custom framing extrusion was created to receive both layers and to withstand the tension of both membranes with little bracing.
In addition, each of the 240 panels used in this installation is surrounded by a custom fascia, which gives the panels the required thickness, joins some of the panels together and houses the sprinkler heads.
The clean and monolithic aspect of the Newmat Stretch Ceiling System creates a distinctive feature for this renovated space.