After designing the Landmark West Loop tower, MA was commissioned to design a second building in Chicago—this time in the heart of the historic Fulton-Randolph Market District. The 480-foot-tall, mixed-use multifamily building seamlessly responds to the historic texture and scale of the immediate neighborhood while reinterpreting recognizable industrial motifs that relate to the larger context of the city.

With a small footprint, deep setbacks, and a podium that matches the height of the existing streetwall, 900 Randolph maximizes light and air at the street level and preserves the pedestrian experience along Randolph Row and Peoria Street. The addition of sidewalk planters and vegetation along Peoria, and the landscaped roof atop the podium, add much-needed green space to the neighborhood while also reducing the building’s carbon footprint.

The podium integrates residential units on the Peoria Street elevation above ground-floor retail, activating the frontage while concealing parking behind. The sides of the podium that do not face Peoria Street are clad in brick to provide continuity to the neighborhood’s urban fabric while screening the off-street parking behind. The brick is framed by a dark metal superstructure that also becomes the defining element of the tower. In its detailing and articulation, the superstructure references the work of Mies van der Rohe and the muscular, yet elegant structure of Chicago’s ubiquitous “L” tracks, defined by steel beams and curved brackets.