citizenM, a global chain of affordable luxury hotels, has opened its first Chicago property—its fifth opening of 2022. Located on Michigan Avenue near the Chicago Riverwalk, the newly built, 47-story citizenM Chicago Downtown includes a 280-room hotel as well as 289 residential units and 25,000 square feet of retail space.
For the exterior 2,000-square-foot terrace and entrance walls, citizenM commissioned artist Nina Chanel Abney, who created an abstract artwork that pays tribute to the city while addressing race, gender, and politics. Other artworks throughout the hotel’s shared spaces include a neon piece in the bar area entitled Ding Dong Your Opinion Is Wrong by Daniel van Straalen, as well as works by Muntean/Rosenblum, Yngve Holen, and Rainer Fetting.
The hotel rooms and interiors took inspiration from the local community, with a mix of contemporary art, photography, and objects by Chicago artists. The hotel chain curated the in-room art in partnership with ArtLifting, a program for artists that have traditionally been underrepresented in the contemporary art market. ArtLifting enables artists who face a variety of challenges, from disabilities to homelessness, to secure income by selling their original paintings, prints, and products.
Designed by Chicago’s bKL, in collaboration with citizenM’s longstanding architecture partner, Concrete, the building features furnishings by Vitra, citizenM’s furniture partner. The guestrooms offer king-size beds, rain showers, widescreen HD TVs with streaming, and room controls (the blinds, temperature, TV, and lights) via an iPad. citizenM Chicago Downtown also has a 24/7 gym and three meeting rooms.
citizenM, which launched in 2008, now has 10 hotels in the U.S. and 27 worldwide, with plans to have 40 operational properties globally by 2024.
On the Building Team:
Owner and developer: Sterling Bay and citizenM
Design architect: Concrete (citizenM component), bKL (overall 300 N. Michigan Ave. building)
Architect of record: bKL
MEP engineer: Hill Group
Structural engineer: WSP
General contractor/construction manager: Linn-Mathes
![citizenM Chicago Downtown ext 2](/sites/default/files/inline-images/citizenM%20Chicago%20Downtown%20exterior%202.jpeg)
![citizenM Chicago Downtown int](/sites/default/files/inline-images/citizenM%20Chicago%20Downtown%20interior%201.jpeg)
Related Stories
Greenbuild Report | Dec 14, 2015
Sensible sustainability: The new standard for hotels
In October 2008, The Proximity, a 147-room hotel in Greensboro, N.C., became the first LEED Platinum–certified hotel in the U.S. Since then, only two other hotels have earned LEED Platinum.
Multifamily Housing | Dec 7, 2015
Are long-term apartment rentals Airbnb’s next target?
Some developers are thinking about that possibility, says one West Coast real estate consultant.
Architects | Oct 27, 2015
Top 10 tile trends for 2016
Supersized tile and 3D walls are among the trending tile design themes seen at Cersaie, an exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings held in Bologna, Italy in October.
Hotel Facilities | Oct 23, 2015
A visa-for-investment program will be extended through mid-December
EB-5 financing has been a boon to the hospitality sector.
Hotel Facilities | Oct 19, 2015
Dubai's Rosemont Towers will have an artificial beach and rainforest
The two 47-story high-rises will stand on a five-story podium that will house retail units, entertainment options (including bowling alleys, a cinema, and a skydiving simulator), and welcome lobbies.
Airports | Sep 23, 2015
JFK Airport's dormant TWA terminal will be reborn as a hotel
After 15 years of disuse, the Googie architecture-inspired TWA Flight Center at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport will be transformed into a hotel. Gizmodo reports that the city’s Port Authority chose a renovation proposal from Jet Blue this week.
Giants 400 | Sep 15, 2015
HOTEL SECTOR GIANTS: Gensler, AECOM, Turner among nation's largest hotel sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest hotel sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report.
Office Buildings | Aug 24, 2015
North America’s real estate market is close to stabilization in cap rate pricing
The latest CBRE survey, covering the first half of the year, finds retail and hotel sectors experiencing the greatest compression.
Hotel Facilities | Aug 19, 2015
Plan to demolish historic Riviera Hotel & Casino approved by Las Vegas tourism board
The project is the first step toward a $2.3 billion expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Hotel Facilities | Aug 11, 2015
Snoozebox launches competition for designers to create pop-up hotels
Designers can leave their mark in the international hotel design industry.