Architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has been hired to redevelop two floors once occupied by the Signature Room in the former John Hancock Center, which the firm designed in the 1960s.
Observation deck company 360 Chicago announced the hiring of SOM on Tuesday but said it is still deciding what to build on the 95th and 96th floors of the skycraper now called 875 N. Michigan Ave.
Whatever is built — the company said it won’t be a restaurant — should be completed in 2026.
“One of the strengths of bringing on a firm like SOM is that they’re very focused on research and strategy as well,” 360 Chicago’s managing director Nichole Benolken told the Sun-Times. “We’re deep in the planning process with them, and challenging both them and us what the best use of the space can be.”
She said “we’re focused on story telling in the space” but are still in the “early stages” of planning.
360 Chicago runs an observation deck on the 95th floor, directly below the former Signature Room. The company bought the floors earlier this year, months after the restaurant and bar Signature Room abruptly closed.
Benolken said she hopes the project honors the legacy of the building — which was revolutionary in its day by being the first mixed-use skyscraper. The building had 70 stories of apartment space and 45 stories of offices when it was completed in 1970.
SOM “will spearhead a complete renovation of the space with an interior design plan that will accentuate the original architecture of the building,” Chicago 360 said in a statement announcing SOM’s hiring.
In a statement, SOM partner Scott Duncan said the redevelopment was a chance to enhance the skyscraper’s role in revolutionizing urban architecture.
“It’s not just an observation point; it’s an opportunity to rethink its role as a premier destination in the city’s cultural and architectural narrative,” Duncan said in a statement.