{"id":515300,"date":"2026-04-06T04:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T04:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/515300\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T04:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T04:50:12","slug":"ste-marie-designs-amenity-interiors-for-the-bell-offices-in-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/515300\/","title":{"rendered":"Ste Marie designs amenity interiors for The Bell offices in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Canadian studio <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/architecture-design-by-ste-marie\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ste Marie<\/a> has crafted interiors for amenity spaces within a renovated 1960s tower in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/tag\/chicago\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chicago<\/a>, which echo the &#8220;glamour and confidence of the mid-century office&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Recently overhauled by <a href=\"https:\/\/scb.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">SCB<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/onni.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Onni Group<\/a> to welcome new office tenants, the 32-storey building at 225 West Randolph Street in Chicago&#8217;s Loop was originally constructed in 1966 as the headquarters of the Illinois Bell Telephone Company.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2308152 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-bell_ste-marie_dezeen_2364_col_11-852x1277.jpg\" alt=\"Office amenity lounge with a geometric carpet and mid-century-inspired furniture\" width=\"1577\" height=\"2364\"   loading=\"lazy\"\/>Ste Marie used The Bell&#8217;s mid-century origins to inform the interiors of its renovated amenity spaces<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Conceived in the language of New Formalism, its cantilevered tower, marble curtain walls, and reflective glass embodied the city&#8217;s corporate confidence of the era, a time when ambition, visibility, and material presence defined business culture,&#8221; said Ste Marie.<\/p>\n<p>At <a href=\"https:\/\/225randolph.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The Bell<\/a>, over 100,000 square feet (9,290 square metres) of amenity interiors were designed by Ste Marie, which took cues from mid-century modernism and aimed at &#8220;reframing the corporate tower as a layered world shaped by hospitality, atmosphere, and identity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2308162 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-bell_ste-marie_dezeen_2364_col_21-852x568.jpg\" alt=\"Bistro and bar with banquette seating and low lighting\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1577\"   loading=\"lazy\"\/>A 200-seat bistro and bar named Solette connects the lobby and the street<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The project was approached as a continuous interior landscape, designed to connect lobby, restaurant, lounges, coworking, wellness, and terraces into a single narrative that extends from street to skyline,&#8221; said the Vancouver-based studio.<\/p>\n<p>The mid-century aesthetic is amplified through the various amenity spaces through layers of reflective metals, statement lighting and custom large-scale artworks influenced by the golden age of American advertising.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2308163 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-bell_ste-marie_dezeen_2364_col_22-852x568.jpg\" alt=\"Reflective and brushed metals are layered in an elevator bank\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1577\"   loading=\"lazy\"\/>Reflective and brushed metals are layered in the elevator banks<\/p>\n<p>Elements including backlit timber panels, brass pendants and linear fixtures emphasise the building&#8217;s proportion, while geometric furniture and patterns reference the work of designers Italian designers such as Gio Ponti and Ettore Sottsass.<\/p>\n<p>In the street-level lobby, the building&#8217;s original terrazzo flooring and Verde Guatemala marble are combined with mid-century-style art, textiles and rugs.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2308146 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-bell_ste-marie_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x1277.jpg\" alt=\"Brown pool table with a view of the Chicago skyline behind\" width=\"1577\" height=\"2364\"   loading=\"lazy\"\/>A variety of library and games rooms are provided for the building&#8217;s uses<\/p>\n<p>A 200-seat bistro and bar named Solette connects the lobby and the public realm, and features polished brass and reflective metal accents against custom banquettes and walnut millwork.<\/p>\n<p>Lounges, co-working areas and meeting spaces are integrated across the tower&#8217;s office floors, along with library and games rooms that &#8220;reference the social character of the mid-century office, where business and leisure once overlapped&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/11\/18\/ste-marie-designs-trio-of-atmospheric-hospitality-venues-in-edmonton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"191\" height=\"191\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/olia-mimi-and-va-caffe-at-citizen-on-jasper_ste-marie_dezeen_sq1-191x191.jpg\" class=\"excludeLightbox wp-post-image\" alt=\"Mimi by Ste Marie\" decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"   loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p> Ste Marie designs trio of atmospheric hospitality venues in Edmonton\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Facilities, including sports courts and wellness and fitness studios, are lined with wood and travertine, continuing the interior style into these spaces.<\/p>\n<p>The tower&#8217;s upper floors are occupied by the multi-level Clubhouse, which is linked by an undulating marble staircase.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2308161 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-bell_ste-marie_dezeen_2364_col_20-852x568.jpg\" alt=\"A sports court with a mid-century design\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1577\"   loading=\"lazy\"\/>Sports courts and fitness studios are amongst other recreation facilities int the tower<\/p>\n<p>Interior lounge and bar areas connect to landscaped cabanas and terraces overlooking the Chicago skyline, while the Apartment provides a more intimate club-like environment for private gatherings.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Bell is an endeavour of cultural revival, a reimaging of Chicago&#8217;s corporate landscape to integrate hospitality with a focus on connection, collaboration, restoration and play,&#8221; said Ste Marie. &#8220;Rooted in an iconic era of American design, the renewed Bell carries its legacy forward within the life of the contemporary workplace.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2308155 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-bell_ste-marie_dezeen_2364_col_14-852x568.jpg\" alt=\"Lounge on the upper level of a tower with a view of the Chicago skyline\" width=\"2364\" height=\"1577\"   loading=\"lazy\"\/>Lounges and meeting spaces on the upper levels enjoy views of the Chicago skyline<\/p>\n<p>The studio was founded in 2011 by principal and creative director Craig Stanghetta, and has completed a variety of commercial and hospitality interiors across Canada.<\/p>\n<p>These range from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/11\/18\/ste-marie-designs-trio-of-atmospheric-hospitality-venues-in-edmonton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">trio of restaurants in an Edmonton residential tower<\/a>, to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2025\/02\/09\/monos-ossington-toronto-store-ste-marie\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toronto luggage store<\/a> and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2024\/11\/16\/meo-bar-restaurant-chinatown-vancouver-ste-marie\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vancouver cocktail bar<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The photography is by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emapeter.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Ema Peter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canadian studio Ste Marie has crafted interiors for amenity spaces within a renovated 1960s tower in Chicago, which&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,802,1120,96,10978,32649,6176,40339,41654,111308,56,54,55,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-515300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-illinois","15":"tag-interiors","16":"tag-offices","17":"tag-sectionall","18":"tag-sectioninteriors","19":"tag-ste-marie","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-unitedkingdom","23":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}