Lincoln Yards Visitor Center
Custom map
Custom light art installation
Leather used for parks + public spaces
Salvaged wood from a water tower used for buildings
Brass used for bridges
CORTEN steel, rusted, used for railroads
Hot rolled steel, distressed, used to depict roads
Steel + gloss powdercoat used for rivers
About the project
Design: Sterling Bay
What we made: custom map wall, light art installation using salvaged materials
Description:
One of our most unique projects to date! Lincoln Yards is a large, mixed-use development in Chicago led by Sterling Bay.
A visitor center was opened and Sterling Bay partnered with Icon Modern to bring to life two very unique architectural elements:
- A light art installation that was fabricated using salvaged firehoses, paying homage to the building’s historic function as a firehouse.
- A custom map wall, featuring the Lincoln Yards area, that uses a combination of salvaged and mixed materials to depict various aspects of its geography
Details of map wall:
- Buildings are made from a reclaimed water tower, salvaged from River North Chicago in 2015, a weathered cypress material that is chocolate brown in color.
- Roads were laser cut from hot rolled steel and distressed, then hand finished with a matte clear sealer.
- Rivers were laser cut from steel, then finished with a gloss clear powdercoat.
- Railroads were laser cut from CORTEN steel and left to rust, then clear-coated.
- Parks, trails & public spaces were made using leather, as a nod to the Horween leather tannery that operates nearby.
- Bridges were machined from brass; new bridges have a milled sheen and historic bridges received a hand-applied patina.
Photography: Ross Floyd
Architectural Elements
Custom map wall featuring salvaged wood, steel, brass and leather
Custom light art installation featuring salvaged firehoses
Leather was used for parks + public spaces, as a nod to the local leather factory nearby.
Salvaged wood from an old water tower in the River North neighborhood was used for the buildings.
Different finishes for the brass were used to depict the new and historic bridges.
CORTEN steel was used, and rusted, to depict the railroads
Roads were laser cut from hot rolled steel and distressed, then hand finished with a matte clear sealer.
Rivers were laser cut from steel, then finished with a gloss clear powdercoat.
Light art installation featuring salvaged firehoses
Light art installation featuring salvaged firehoses
