Conceptual Silo Hotel Design Wins Prestigious AIA Chicago Honor Award

We are thrilled to announce that our conceptual design project, the Silo Hotel, has received an AIA Chicago Honor Award in the Unbuilt Category at this year's Designight ceremony. This prestigious award celebrates the most innovative and forward-thinking architectural concepts, and we are incredibly proud to see our vision for adaptive reuse recognized by the American Institute of Architects.

“We believe that inventive design can transform the way people experience space," said Patrick Carata, Associate Vice President and Design Director. "This project was about crafting moments of connection, hospitality, and discovery within an existing structure. Adaptive reuse challenges us to look beyond what is and imagine what could be, and that spirit of transformation is at the heart of this work.”

This award-winning project is a powerful demonstration of how thoughtful design can breathe spectacular new life into industrial structures, transforming a former mill factory in Chicago's vibrant Fulton Market district into a stunning landmark destination that respects and celebrates its rich past.

A Vision of Industrial Archaeology

Our design for the 2.2-acre site—which includes historic brick loft buildings and a colossal concrete structure housing over a dozen silos—approaches the factory not just as a building, but as an archaeological find. The core vision was to expose its inner components, turning the industrial machine inside-out to educate the public on its rich history while creating a truly unique experience.

This was achieved through several dramatic and thoughtful design moves that reveal the building's layers:

• Peeled Away Façade: The east side of the building is partially “peeled away” to insert new modular residential and hotel units, creating a public viewing area that showcases the building’s hidden cross-section.

• Repurposed Silos: The unique bundled drum geometry of the silos is sliced horizontally and repurposed as the ceiling for the lobby and amenity spaces, creating striking architectural features.

• Sunken Plaza: An excavated plaza on the east and west sides reveals the existing steel grain funnels and conveyor belts. This area doubles as bleachers, offering unique views and providing access to a lower-level restaurant and bar.

• Green Lung: A penthouse-level greenhouse with hydroponic gardens is introduced to purify and oxygenate the air year-round, acting as a “green lung” for the building.

• Modular Construction: To facilitate efficient construction and preservation, residential duplexes and hotel rooms are designed as modular units, constructed offsite and stacked into the existing silo drums, each with its own structural system.

The Silo Hotel concept is a tribute to Chicago's industrial heritage and an exciting glimpse into the future of adaptive reuse architecture. We extend our sincere gratitude to the AIA Chicago judges for recognizing the innovation and potential of this vision.