Norcon honored at AIA Chicago Design Excellence Awards

The Norcon-constructed project, Blu Dot, was recently recognized at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Designight 2017. This annual event honors exceptional work from Chicago architecture firms for projects designed and constructed globally. The design and construction won a Divine Detail Citation of Merit award for its aluminum-piping screen façade.

Blu Dot, a Minneapolis-based furniture company, known for its contemporary designs, materials-based and finely crafted furniture worked with John Ronan Architects to design and convert a former strip mall diner into a contemporary gallery in Chicago’s Clybourn Corridor. The windows along the exterior were enlarged to reveal the furniture gallery within and a custom aluminum-piping screen was installed to surround the exterior and “float” off the masonry structure. The 7,200-square-foot interior was designed and constructed to reflect and showcase Blu Dot’s contemporary ethos and product by adding eight skylights, grinding and covering the floor in a high-gloss epoxy, and exposing the steel structure.

The Norcon team was led by Principal Jeff Jozwiak and managed by Gary Wang, Mike Flanagan, and Mark Hadden.

The 62nd annual Designight was held at Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom on October 13, 2017.