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
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