25 E Washington Atrium Club: Finding New Ways to Breathe Life Into Old Buildings

One of the most rewarding parts of working on the Atrium Club at 25 E Washington was that the project was happening inside the same building where our Forefront office is located. It gave me a unique opportunity to watch the work progress firsthand and, now that it is complete, to actually use a space that I helped create.

The project transformed an underused lightwell filled with mechanical equipment into a new indoor and outdoor amenity for building tenants. The finished space provides a place to grab a quick coffee, step away for lunch, hold an informal meeting, or simply spend time outside during the workday. What had once been largely inaccessible and utilitarian is now an inviting extension of the building.

Although Forefront’s structural scope was relatively focused, the work required careful analysis and intricate detailing. Creating the outdoor terrace involved removing the roof of the existing lightwell and opening portions of the exterior wall to connect the interior amenity spaces with the new courtyard.

The original building was designed in 1913 by D.H. Burnham and Company as an annex for Marshall Field & Co. Since then, it has undergone numerous renovations and modifications. We were fortunate to have relatively good original documentation, including structural drawings, but old buildings rarely tell their entire story on paper. As construction progressed, several discovered conditions did not match the existing drawings, and portions of the design had to be adjusted in the field.

Being located in the building made responding to those conditions much easier. When questions arose, I could walk downstairs, review the construction directly with the project team, and work through potential solutions in real time. That proximity allowed decisions to be made quickly and helped keep the project moving without compromising the design.

One of our primary goals was to avoid extensive reinforcing of the existing structure. Conventional solutions could have added considerable cost and complexity, potentially making portions of the project financially impractical. We had to sharpen our pencils, study the existing load paths carefully, and look for less obvious ways to make the new openings and terrace work within the capacity of the building.

That process required close coordination with the architects at geniant and Eastlake Studio. The structural limitations were real, but we did not want them to dictate the character of the finished space. By working collaboratively and evaluating options early, we were able to develop details that supported the architectural vision while respecting the constraints of the existing structure.

Projects like this are a reminder that meaningful transformation does not always require an entirely new building or a dramatic structural intervention. Sometimes, a relatively focused scope can unlock space that has been overlooked for decades and give it an entirely new purpose.

Redmond Construction brought the design to life while navigating the challenges that come with working inside an occupied historic building. The completed Atrium Club feels intentional, comfortable, and fully integrated into the building, even though it occupies a space that was never originally intended to function this way.

As structural engineers, we do not often get to regularly inhabit the projects we work on. Being able to walk into the Atrium Club for coffee, lunch, or a meeting is a particularly satisfying outcome. It is a daily reminder of how thoughtful design, careful coordination, and a little creative problem solving can breathe new life into an old building.

Owner: 25 E Washington

Architect: geniant + Eastlake Studio

Contractor: Redmond Construction