The Magnificent Mile, also known as the Mag Mile, is the picture of extravagance and luxury in Chicago. Part of the city's Michigan Avenue, the Mag Mile earned its nickname in 1940 by real estate developer Arthur Rubloff of Rubloff Company, and it reflects a more upscale side to the Windy City. The district stretches approximately 3,100,000 square-feet and is home to many of the United States' tallest skyscrapers, helping to create Chicago's distinguishable skyline. Located among the buildings on the Mag Mile is the Water Tower Place, a 74-story mixed-use development that covers 758,000 square-feet.
On floors 15 to 30 of the Water Tower Place is the Ritz-Carlton Chicago. The builders of this elegant establishment opened the Ritz-Carlton in 1975, before the Ritz-Carlton chain was established. As a luxurious residence set in a posh section of downtown Chicago, not only was it important the architects at Lucien Lagrange Studio create a design befitting luxury condominiums, but also for high-quality materials to be used in construction. An asset of the structure that boosted the building's aesthetic and was classified as premium were the coatings used for the Ritz-Carlton's ornamental balconies. The balconies were protected with IFS Coatings' ifs 500 fp, a Lumiflon-enriched product.
Coatings with Lumiflon FEVE resin technology offer benefits that many other coatings do not. The fluoropolymer provides exceptional color and gloss retention and unmatched weatherability, which helps prevent against coating degradation. FEVE-based coatings also help reduce lifecycle costs, as their hyper-durability allow a coating to resist degradation in the face of UV radiation, salt, and water for decades.
Photos courtesy of Chicago Business
Categories Architecture