Krueck & Sexton Architects have elevated Herman Miller's 25,000-square-foot flagship showroom in the Chicago Merchandise Mart to the "status of an exhibit gallery" through innovative use of glass, beginning with a 200-foot-long exhibit wall of sand-blasted, faceted glass panels that playfully skirts around displays. As fitting to a showroom—or a gallery—the architects employed a flow of open space as the major design element that invites customers to join in the game.

Inside the showroom, the architects created a transparent foil for the strong forms of Modern furniture that have become the Herman Miller trademark. Glass plays another starring role in the form of pivoting panels (like sideways venetian blinds) that direct light and enhance views of the Chicago River and the Loop in a variety of patterns.

The other star of the space is the 3D-grid ceiling, lighted from above with suspended fixtures sheathed in color gels projecting soft auras of pinks and blues. The undulating horizontal plane dips and sways to highlight the sentinel presence of the existing building's columns and other structural elements throughout the showroom space.

The Herman Miller Showroom has garnered the 2000 AIA Chicago Honor Award as well as a 2000 International Interior Design Association's Grand Award. Last month, it earned its architects a national 2001 AIA Honor Award for Interiors, which was presented at the AIA convention in Denver.

The Herman Miller Company plans to use the showroom as the kickoff point for its "Start with Herman Miller" campaign at the Merchandise Mart's annual Neocon convention June 18–20. Among its wares, the company will display its new "Red" line, designed specifically for fast-growing startup firms. For more information, visit the Herman Miller Web site.

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.