Transforming an iconic lobby

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Decades after its original unveiling, the stately Lobby at Tishman Speyer’s Chicago CME Center has been given a fresh new identity. Spanning three addresses on South Wacker Drive, the redevelopment project delivered a brighter, more inviting Lobby, complete with high-performance distributed audio system designed & integrated by USIS AudioVisual.

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Part of the redevelopment of Tishman Speyer’s Class A building with LEED Gold for Existing Buildings certification, the focus was on making a modern place to meet, relax, and work; Tishman knew that creating the intended atmosphere would require an audio experience as well. The renovated CME Lobby circles the entire ground floor including entrances at 30 South Wacker, 10 South Wacker, and the CME Entry Concourse at 20 South Wacker Drive, encapsulated within a 24 foot-high glass curtain. The USIS AudioVisual design/build distributed audio system provides audio coverage throughout the entire 45,000 sq.ft. Lobby space with foreground and background music applications.

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The multi-phase project included a mix of line array speakers specialty-mounted to interior columns, wall-mounted compact speakers, column-mounted speakers, recessed low-profile in-ceiling speakers, floor-standing ultra-compact subwoofers deftly hidden behind planters, and recessed in-ceiling subwoofers.