800 West Fulton, Chicago, IL

The distinctive style of the newly constructed 800 West Fulton building welcomes visitors to Chicago’s West Loop Fulton Market, a bustling district of new businesses and trendy restaurants. It’s one of the hottest parts of the city for new office, hospitality, and residential construction.

But 800 West Fulton stands out. Its 19-story bracing is the subject of local radio show. Its design by Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) is featured in a Chicago Architecture Center exhibit. And its terrazzo was recognized by the National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association (NTMA) in its 2022 Honor Awards.

From the beginning, the team working on the project wanted the building to blend into the overall aesthetic of Fulton Market. To achieve this, a predominantly brick façade was installed to match the area’s long-time industrial architecture. The designers opted for wide, open floor plans to attract a range of commercial tenants.
That also left space for iconic terrazzo work. The glass and brick walls are complemented by a matte-finish Palladiana terrazzo installation. The installation is made up of 12,889 marble inserts mounted in a monochromatic charcoal-pigmented terrazzo frame in an 800-square-foot grid. Each 3-by-5-inch insert was manually placed by hand. The sophisticated pattern mimics the space-framing effect of a series of well-placed area rugs, though with far less maintenance than carpet.

In addition, the project is LEED Platinum Certified, Wired Score Platinum, Smart Score Platinum & WELL Gold Certified, all certifications that mark 800 Fulton Market as a leader in advancing tenant health and wellness standards.

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