Chicago's 2016 pitch hits a home run

There wasn’t a bad seat in the house during Chicago’s recent crucial pitch to the International Olympic Committee. Chicago’s 2016 Bid Committee spent four days presenting the City’s plan to host the Olympics, and not one detail was left to chance. For several months, Chicago Scenic’s Senior Project Manager Gary Heitz and Design Manager Tom Ryan worked directly for Chicago 2016 Executive Producers Patrick Moloney and Carrie Kennedy, Presentation Producer John Stapleton, and Culture 22, the marketing and design consultant, to create the venue environment.

Chicago’s posh Fairmont Hotel served as headquarters for the events. Starting with a standard meeting space at the Fairmont, Ryan’s designs turned the boxy ballroom (about 60 feet by 48 feet) into a sharp showpiece for the all-important “pitch room”. The result left the room completely transformed, with the central design element of curved walls and curved tables ensuring that all participants had equal viewing of the presentations.

CSSI built the long curved walls that masked the ballroom’s own walls, including two side walls covered in graphics, the front wall that served as a screen surround for the seven-foot-tall by 30-foot-long rear projection screen, and the curved graphic back wall. Ryan also designed the three rows of tables, which were up to 41-feet wide, at which the IOC members and the City’s committee members were seated. The tables were a joint project of McHugh Construction of Chicago and DeLeer’s Millwork of Wisconsin.

While originally hired just for the pitch room design, Ryan noted, “Chicago Scenic quickly became instrumental in suggesting other touches.” In order to extend the Olympics theme throughout the hotel, for instance, Ryan suggested wrapping the lobby’s columns in Olympics-themed graphics and hanging huge transparent graphics in the hotel’s front windows. Ryan also contributed the layout for the IOC’s private meeting suite.

Patrick Moloney even asked CSSI to redesign and produce the IOC’s nameplates the night before the meetings began. CSSI quickly booted up its CNC machine and produced approximately 20 custom Plexiglas® nameplates that helped welcome IOC visitors to their seats.

Architect Ammar Eloueini’s projects span the globe with Chicago Scenic’s assistance

Several architectural pieces started at Chicago Scenic’s expansive shop before their installation at locations around the world. All pieces were designed by architect Ammar Eloueini who has offices in Paris and New Orleans.

Eloueini has entrusted Chicago Scenic with execution of his designs over the past several years. The first project was scenery for a dance show; since then he continues to send work to Chicago Scenic. Many projects start with Eloueini creating computer-generated shapes that he breaks up into smaller pieces. CSSI takes his designs and uses its CNC machine to cut them from materials Eloueini provides, then packages and ships them to their final destination for assembly.

Most recently, CSSI produced hundreds of clear polycarbonate triangles that come together to form a huge art piece that fills a 7,000-sq.-ft. barrel-vaulted ceiling for an exhibition devoted to the Paris’ new tramway, the T3 line. The art piece, which has been compared to a giant chrysalis, was recently featured in “Interior Design” magazine. Other projects include building the fixtures for a retail store in Berlin, Germany, which won American Institute of Architects Chicago Chapter awards in the categories Interior Architecture and Divine Detail. Other completed projects include retail fixtures for a store in Paris, the back wall for a fashion show, the ceiling for an art gallery, and decorative wall panels for a restaurant. Project Manager Nate Combs said, “Through the course of these projects, we have developed a language to work with Eloueini, ensuring that we craft, pack and deliver everything in the precise manner he wants it done.”