NeoCon 2013 is only 143…142…141… days away. Yeah, we know…

m+ believes in using the power of design to challenge convention and ask ‘what if.’ That is why we practice interdisciplinary design. Tells us what you need for NeoCon 2013 and we will do it better than you anticipate. We are not constrained by mediums or design disciplines.

We will make NeoCon easier for you. You will have one firm to work with (us!), instead of coordinating multiple firms with your internal departments. To streamline your project, we assemble a personalized team with the right professionals for your project’s size, all under one roof because design is our passion, not the size of the project.

Just need something simple like an email blast? We can do that. Need AOR services and an interior revamp for your showroom? We can do that with our alliance partner Gridwerk Architecture. Or, do you need an exhibit designed to travel to NeoCon, NeoCon East, IIDEX, and more? We can do that too. Need help creating your brand strategy, message, and then applying it to your space, website, and print collateral? Not a problem, we can do that with our alliance partner Studio PinPoint.

NeoCon is more than a 3-day show, it is your opportunity to build pre-show anticipation, develop new leads, and use them to increase sales long after NeoCon is over.

Call, message, tweet, or send smoke signals, whatever you have to, just reach out to us today.

Will you be an early bird this year?

Please contact Lauren Haras to discuss your project needs for NeoCon 2013 and beyond by email or at the studio at 773.227.0007.

We are proud to announce that our partner firm, Gridwerk Architecture has won 3rd place in the 2012 Chicago Prize Competition: Future Prentice.

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The Chicago Prize Competition occurs every other year and is an open, single stage, international competition run by the Chicago Architectural Club with the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects. This year there were 71 entries from 13 different countries. This years challenge, Future Prentice, was to study Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital and explore solutions for the historic site that set the stage for modern hospital design, even today.

The team was led by James Wild, founder and principal of our partner firm Gridwerk Architecture, with Ashley Wendela and Andres Lemus. Overall rendering by Saman Moayer. Presentation layout and entourage by Lauren Haras and Katelyn Smith. Additional support by Katherine Lee, Pedro Melis, Kerry Rutz, Tom Marquardt and marquardt+.

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Gridwerk’s design strategy looks to preserve Prentice as a center for community education with learning labs and science focused galleries, while creating a state-of-the-art laboratory research center connected by an open green roof ‘park’, accessible to the surrounding community, in the center of the NW campus.

Prentice and the adjoining site are ideal for promoting the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Coalition (STEM), which promotes the pursuit of careers in the sciences and technology.

The new, state of the art 500,000 sf lab building houses research labs and offices for NW, and supports the community with a needed public green space and knowledge resource center.

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A subtractive design approach was taken with the existing Prentice structure. Removal of floorplates opens the volumes and creates a large central atrium to connect programs, allow natural light, and create an open terrace garden. These moves celebrate the sculptural qualities of the building and create a sequence of slow ascent.

The top level of the existing plinth is transformed into an elevated public street and park that provides the community with a much needed green space and respite to NW patients and staff, while creating an intimate relationship between Prentice and the community.

Nestled between the lake and Michigan Avenue, and adjacent to public thoroughfares, the site is often overlooked. This new program and design strategy makes Prentice and the new plaza a destination for the world and provides NW a visible signal of health, wellness and community.

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