Chicago’s flagship McDonald’s restaurant looks more like somewhere one would go to pick up the latest tablet or smartphone than to grab a Big Mac and fries. The steel and wood timber constructed restaurant is covered in windows and native plants to provide customers with a strong connection to nature and abundant natural light.
There are over 70 trees planted at ground level with an additional vegetated roof space and floating glass garden that consists of ferns and white birch trees. Additionally, living walls bring nature directly inside the restaurant. The landscape consists of native and drought resilient plants along with permeable pavers for the lot surface to minimize irrigation and reduce stormwater runoff. Other sustainable features include an on-site solar array, interior and exterior LED lighting, and energy efficient kitchen and HVAC equipment.
Courtesy McDonald's.
The 19,000-sf, Ross Barney Architects-designed restaurant is equipped with self-order kiosks, table service, mobile order and payment, and delivery in order to enhance the customer experience. The restaurant will be open 24/7 and serve both dine-in and drive-thru customers.
See Also: 43,000-sf Chicago Starbucks will be world’s largest
This flagship location is the most recent McDonald’s restaurant to undergo renovations as part of the company’s “Experience of the Future” campaign. McDonald’s EOTF restaurants leverage technology, such as kiosk ordering and mobile app integration, to create a new type of fast-food restaurant more in tune with modern customer expectations. McDonald’s estimates all of its freestanding locations will undergo renovations to become EOTF restaurants by 2020.
Courtesy McDonald's.
Courtesy McDonald's.
Related Stories
Retail Centers | Jun 17, 2020
New cannabis dispensary under construction in Northbrook, Ill.
The project will be a national flagship location for Greenhouse.
Modular Building | May 22, 2020
‘Cargotecture’ is coming to North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park
Boxyard RTP, made from 38 shipping containers, will serve as a community gathering and social space.
Coronavirus | Apr 13, 2020
COVID-19 alert: City conducts a 'virtual building inspection' to allow Starbucks and bank to open
Bothell, Wash., issues a certificate of occupancy to developer after inspecting the property online.
Retail Centers | Mar 27, 2020
New South Korean retail building looks like a molting insect
OMA designed the project.
Retail Centers | Feb 28, 2020
Eat with the Peanuts Gang in this new experiential cafe concept
The McBride Company partnered with Peanuts Worldwide LLC to design the concept.
Retail Centers | Jan 30, 2020
An all-glass roof hovers above a refurbished shopping mall in Montreal
This $200 million project provided the installer, Seele, with some valuable lessons learned working with large panels in colder weather.
Retail Centers | Jan 21, 2020
New Vienna IKEA will include green façades and no parking
The building will include 160 newly planted trees.
Retail Centers | Dec 16, 2019
KFC opens urban prototype in the Bronx
FRCH NELSON designed the project.
Retail Centers | Nov 13, 2019
World’s first drive-thru only restaurant in Australia
FRCH NELSON designed the project.
Giants 400 | Oct 24, 2019
Top 70 Retail Engineering Firms for 2019
Jacobs, Kimley-Horn, Henderson Engineers, and Core States Group head the rankings of the nation's largest retail sector engineering and engineering architecture (EA) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
