515 North State Street in Chicago is a modernist skyscraper by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, who won the Pritzker Prize in 1987. Built in 1990 as the American Medical Association Building, it blends contemporary styles of its time, traditional influences and minimalist lines in an architecture Tange described as ‘basic forms, spaces and appearances’ arranged in a ‘logical’ way, uniting technology and humanity. Now, the 20th-century building, one of the city’s prized landmarks, has a fresh addition to its main lobby: a design-led, sleek new Chicago coffee cart courtesy of architecture studio Norman Kelley with architect and educator Spencer McNeil.
A Chicago coffee cart's minimalist architecture
The project, simply named ‘Cart’, was conceived as a retail cart to offer locally roasted coffee and a seasonally inspired takeaway menu on the ground floor of the 29-storey office building, which is owned by an affiliate of Beacon Capital Partners. ‘In keeping with Tange’s architectural legacy, Cart is an abstraction of a traditional form,’ says the design team. Just like the surrounding lobby (a minimalist mix of stainless steel and polished granite), the new structure is a composition of sleek, stainless steel geometric shapes.
The cart – at 5m long, 2m wide and 3.4m tall – draws on a stationary yatai cart, a mobile food stall dating back to 17th-century Japan. Offering a modern twist on the historical typology, which traditionally had two wheels, this particular cart sits on six stainless-steel cylinders.
The stainless steel refrigeration equipment (four refrigerators, one cooler) and an array of jatoba wood shelves are arranged on top of this base. An open ceiling structure featuring a four-sided continuous LED ribbon completes the design, crowning it with a dynamic banner, which can be paired with a nearby 7m tall media wall, to display stills, text or moving image for passers-by.
‘Although Cart is stationary, its abstracted metallic form is designed to imbue the lobby and adjacent public plaza with the image of movement,’ say Kelley and McNeil.
-
This nostalgic exhibition dives into a century of British surfingCornwall's National Maritime Museum charts the history of waveriding on England's south coast
-
Waiheke Island is a must-visit for oenophiles and aesthetes alikeDiscover what to do during this New Zealand destination's annual Walking Festival and beyond
-
Bold colours and tactile textures: inside Bottega Veneta's second fine jewellery dropThe collection is composed of two parts: Enlaced and Alchemy
-
Heritage and conservation after the fires: what’s next for Los Angeles?In the second instalment of our 'Rebuilding LA' series, we explore a way forward for historical treasures under threat
-
Why this rare Frank Lloyd Wright house is considered one of Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ buildingsThe JJ Walser House has sat derelict for six years. But preservationists hope the building will have a vibrant second act
-
Buy a slice of California’s midcentury modern history with this 1955 Pasadena houseConrad Buff II Residence has been fully restored and updated for the 21st century
-
Step inside a writer's Richard Neutra-designed apartment in Los AngelesMichael Webb, invites us into his LA home – a showcase of modernist living
-
Join our world tour of contemporary homes across five continentsWe take a world tour of contemporary homes, exploring case studies of how we live; we make five stops across five continents
-
The Architecture of Seduction: how Horace Gifford built a modernist, queer paradiseFire Island is explored through a new edition of Christopher Rawlins’ seminal architectural and social history book on the life and work of Horace Gifford
-
Step inside this furniture gallerist's live-work space by Steven Holl in upstate New YorkDesigned by Steven Holl for modern furniture gallerists Mark McDonald and Dwayne Resnick, this live-work space in upstate New York is a midcentury collector’s paradise
-
Remembering architect Ricardo Scofidio (1935 – 2025)Ricardo Scofidio, seminal architect and co-founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has died, aged 89; we honour his passing and celebrate his life
