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 | Sep 4, 2018
Heatherwick-designed shopping district set to open at London’s King’s Cross
The district is slated to open on Oct. 26.
Retail Centers | Aug 2, 2018
Retail's age of experimentation
New technology, changing customer expectations force retailers to rethink their businesses from top to bottom.
Retail Centers | Jun 21, 2018
Driving change in automotive retail
We talk a lot about how the retail landscape, particularly in the realm of shopping malls, has changed in this world of clicks versus / and / or bricks. But at the core of all this change is the consumer.
Retail Centers | Jun 5, 2018
The shopping mall value chain - fixing its weakest links
Old malls have three weak links in their value chain. Each weak link affects the mall’s surrounding community, and if one link breaks, the value chain is broken.
| May 24, 2018
Accelerate Live! talk: Security and the built environment: Insights from an embassy designer
In this 15-minute talk at BD+C’s Accelerate Live! conference (May 10, 2018, Chicago), embassy designer Tom Jacobs explores ways that provide the needed protection while keeping intact the representational and inspirational qualities of a design.
Retail Centers | May 21, 2018
How men’s stores are influencing the entire retail sector
The growth in men’s retail worldwide is projected to outpace women’s retail by 2020.
Retail Centers | May 16, 2018
New tap room and brewery in Ghiradelli Square designed specifically for millennials
BCV Architecture + Interiors designed the space.
Retail Centers | Apr 19, 2018
Miami International Airport is home to the first Johnnie Walker store in the U.S.
The store will be a permanent fixture in the airport’s North Terminal.
Retail Centers | Mar 12, 2018
The Hershey Company moves into new 7,800-sf flagship retail location in Time Square
FRCH Design Worldwide designed the space.
Retail Centers | Mar 5, 2018
Eataly heads to the West Coast
The Italian marketplace’s first West Coast location includes a clean room for mozzarella and gelato preparation.
