Palmolive Residences
Chicago, Illinois
2008
Completed in 1929 by Holabird and Root, the Palmolive Building was the original Art Deco home of the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Corporation. Renovation work began in 2001 when Booth Hansen teamed with developer Draper & Kramer to transform the offices above the existing retail podium into spectacular high-end condominiums. Ninety-seven custom units emerged from the process, filling one of Chicago’s premier architectural icons with luxury urban homes. The sophisticated aesthetic of the original building permeates the renovation in its interiors and finishes.
To accommodate new building systems throughout the residences, we raised the finished floor at each level, effectively lowering the window sills for a more residential experience. Each floor plan is customized to the owners’ needs, with thickened demising walls in between to offer acoustical privacy. Many details and finishes are consistent throughout, giving a modern, high-end luster to the spacious layouts.
The historic Lindbergh Beacon atop the building, which for fifty years guided airplanes to Midway Airport, had been dormant since the early 1980s. Modified to rotate on a reduced arc to avoid shining into other downtown buildings, the beacon has now resumed operation, an icon in the Chicago skyline in its own right.
