The new McDonald's Chicago Flagship Restaurant celebrates the pure simplicity and enduring authenticity of McDonald's, welcoming both residents and visitors to a playful and informal gathering place in the heart of the city. The site is a full city block, just steps off Michigan Avenue, occupied since 1985 by the iconic “Rock ‘n Roll” McDonalds that emphasized drive-through services. The new design re-balances car-pedestrian traffic, creating a city oasis where people can eat, drink, and meet. Green space is expanded over 400%, producing a new park-like amenity for a dense area of the city.

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A generous solar pergola visually unites the restaurant into a single volume. Beneath this “big roof”, indoor dining areas, contained in a pure glass box, are seamlessly connected to outdoor spaces. The new kitchen reuses the footprint and structure of the previous store and comprises a second concrete-clad box. The dining room features a garden planted with ferns and white birch trees floating above a digital ordering “street”. From this vantage point, guests can experience the landscape beyond and above.

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VS-1 Curtain Wall System. VS-1’s highly engineered simplicity delivers remarkable aesthetics for architects, developers, and building owners. It is the only curtain wall system where the floating glass façade is held away from an attractive aerofoil shaped mullion without the use of obtrusive bolt fixings or transoms. Its relative simplicity reduces the risk of component failure, improves constructability, and reduces costs of program delays in both construction and post-construction phases.

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Window System: VS-1 Vertical Facade System Curtain Wall

Ceiling Height in Dining Room: 27 ft.

Total square feet: 19,420

Design to Completion: 13 months