320 N Sangamon is a modern take on the traditional loft-style building in Chicago’s Fulton Market. The 13-story speculative office and life science building features floor plates between 23,000 and 26,000 square feet with lofty ceiling heights and exposed concrete. 

The building features two exterior expressions. The brick, loft-style façade reinterprets the industrial character of the neighborhood with faceted precast panels and large protruding bay windows that create depth found in traditional brick buildings. A narrow volume of fritted glass is carved into the brick façade, visually connecting the ground level to the top floor amenity space on axis with Wayman Street. The building’s innovative DOAS ventilation system with high-efficiency chillers saves both energy and floor/ceiling space within each tenant floor. The building is LEED Gold. 

Following completion and in response to the city’s growing life sciences market, SCB was retained to retrofit the building to meet the needs of research-based tenants. Additional mechanical units and lab support rooms were added to the ground floor, while chemical exhaust shafts were added to existing black iron locations. These modifications, as well as the use of redundant electrical power and chilled water, now allow for the two lower floors of the building to support lab space.

Tenant amenities on the top floor include a fitness center, multi-purpose room, and an outdoor terrace with lounge space. A private terrace on the sixth floor steps the building back from the smaller scaled buildings of the historic district. The project also includes 5,000 square feet of retail and 41 indoor parking spaces.