Chicago Renaissance Hotel A case study
Chicago being the central metropolis of the United States has always been the gateway and travel hub to west and home to entrepreneurs. In the mid-1800’s, Chicago was referred to by a British visitor the “lightning city” because it’s astounding growth due to the modernization of the US railroad systems. This deep history inspired the designers of the Gettys’ Group in their design of the Renaissance Chicago O’Hare.
Renaissance Chicago O’Hare is a fairly new construction which first opened in 2005 and is conveniently located near O’Hare Airport and minutes from the Blue Line rail that takes visitors straight into downtown Chicago. The hotel is also located near the most prominent office market in Chicago and frequently hosts business travelers.
In July of 2013, the Laurus Corporation, a private real estate investment and development firm acquired the hotel and immediately set plans to renovate. The 362 room hotel had been hosting an almost regal presidential look with crisp royal blue and traditional yellows throughout the hotel. When it came time to renovate, Maureen Cohen, VP of Development at Laurus Corp. hired the Gettys Group to design and totally transform hotel’s design into a modern chic yet warm and an inviting setting.
Meg Prendergrast, the Principal Chicago, worked with Nick Hernandez; the Project Interior Designer for Getty’s Group, to establish a contemporary color palette with their selections of warm eggplant purples and cream furniture in the inviting main lobby. They continued the warm aspect to their public areas, event rooms, and the main ballroom. Inspired by an abstract cityscape night view cascading its reflection across Lake Michigan, Hernandez worked with CM Hospitality’s carpet designer, Pennee Dedmon to interpret his image onto the floor. The main concern was having a flawless pattern repeat. There was an explicit request to CM to make the carpet not have a pattern repeat at all - even in the large 75’ ft wide ballroom. This type request was not unheard of in the industry, however most of the spaces are corridors or large public spaces not full ballroom areas. The pattern repeat ended up being 134’ x 84’. Standard pattern repeats are typically only 12’ x 12’ and seamed perfectly by experienced installers.
“These are the type projects we specialize in…” says CM’s CEO, Hugh McClain. “this project was a success for all parties involved. This is how CM stands out in the industry—our commitment to service - even when it is as in depth as this project was.”
The texture and colors were selected with neutral gray tonal variations and eggplant accent throughout. Scale was defined by the use of several rounds of large plotted simulations to determine the best size and flow. CM did numerous series of samples to insure that the designers were satisfied with their overall layout and custom design.
The construction of the carpet was manufactured on a CYP (computer yarn placement) machine with multiple 15’ panels so in reality this pattern repeat was really a progression of custom designed panels that actually seamed together to fit the 15,870 square ft space. Pennee Dedmon took each panel and proportionally made sure each side was designed to match each other all the way down the length of the 134’ pattern repeat. This could not be simply cut and pasted.
Planning and Estimating played a vital role in laying in the panels into the blue print with irregular walls and door drops and then advising Dedmon on the precise measurements to make each of the panels to fit. Each one was not the same in length so keeping the panels labeled and orderly was imperative throughout the production process. Chris Bennett, the Planning and Estimating Manager at CM, actually was on site in Chicago when they installed the carpet to oversee that this intricate plan was followed.
