The Drawing Room at the Arts Club of Chicago

Chicago – For more than a century, The Arts Club of Chicago has been committed to the advancement of contemporary art and arts education. Recently, the institution sought to activate its space and give members and visitors a new place for gatherings and conversation. Lead design architect Vinci Hamp Architects, in collaboration with SOM, met this need by shaping an intimate and flexible meeting room and bar space—known as the Drawing Room—to underscore the Club’s important role as a connector and meeting ground for the Chicago’s arts community.

Founded in 1916, The Arts Club was an early venue for the avant-garde of the 20th century, commissioning and acquiring works by Brancusi, Calder, and others, and hosting pioneering exhibitions of the works of Picasso, Miró, and their contemporaries. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, an Arts Club member, designed the interiors of the Club’s previous home, including the revered “floating staircase.” These sensibilities were referenced in John Vinci’s 1997 design for the purposebuilt 201 E. Ontario St. building — a 19,000-square-foot, two-story masonry and glass building clad in Norman brick.

The current building, which houses The Arts Club’s numerous exhibitions, lectures, and events, contains the original Mies van der Rohe–designed staircase as well as the commissioned mobile Red Petals by Alexander Calder. To better serve its members and bolster its role as a meeting place for those who make and appreciate art, The Arts Club conceptualized the Drawing Room, a private venue that could function both as a conference room and as a bar for members.

The recently completed Drawing Room opens out onto The Arts Club’s garden on the building’s southwest side. As members and visitors pass through the full-height, 13-foot-tall doors, they enter the airy, refined space. High ceilings create a sense of a vertical room, while rich, dark built-ins infuse the space with a cozy library feel. Large mirrors above the bar reflect The Arts Club’s gardens, where currently is found an outdoor installation by the Chicago-based duo Luftwerk.

Black terrazzo floors and carpets, frosted glass tables flanked with bespoke upholstered bench seating, and classic Hannes Wettstein Hola chairs work in concert to create an interplay between light and dark, adding drama and luminosity to the Drawing Room space. The Drawing Room, seating up to 40, references the heritage of The Arts Club and the Vinci Hamp design to complement the Club’s gallery and event spaces. The space creates a new gathering place for appreciators of the arts in Chicago, adding additional dynamism and energy to the Club’s Streeterville building.

SOM - Skidmore, Owings & Merrill