71 S Wacker

A new visual identity for a sleek, Downtown Chicago corporate property

Revitalizing Downtown Chicago’s 48-story office tower once known at the Hyatt Center required more than a new name: 71 S Wacker needed a new visual identity. To herald the beginning of a new chapter, KBAA commissioned two large-scale lobby art moments by local artist Katie Meuser for this corporate property. The result is a pair of modern abstract murals that flank the 36-foot-high twin halls, giving visitors and tenants a gorgeous first impression. 

From the outset, our art advisors knew that this was not going to be your typical mural commission. Choosing to work with an artist who employs a watercolor technique to her acrylic works required us to be creative about how to execute such large pieces of art. Painting a mural with a watercolor technique directly onto a wall is a technical challenge, so Meuser worked on the two 78” x 38” murals in pieces off-site. She later brought the murals in sections to install seamlessly onto the lobby’s walls. In the process, she added hand-painted embellishments to really make the artwork’s colors pop. Katie Meuser took particular care to bring out the pieces’ contrasting orange-red color by layering extra paint. Adding additional texture to other areas of the mural was accomplished in a similar fashion. The finished product is a set of modern abstracts that were executed and installed using creativity on the part of both the artist and the art advisor— a truly winning combination.