This article first appeared in the 200702
issue of BD+C.
As part of an extensive renovation and expansion planned for the Hyatt Regency hotel’s lower levels, the design team, led by Gensler, is designing a geothermal system that will use the Chicago River to help cool the building in the summer months. The green approach ties closely with the project’s overall goal—form a closer relationship with the river and the surrounding urban fabric. The hotel’s Wacker Drive façade will incorporate wind turbines and a “living wall” fitted with vegetation.
