Swissôtel’s Awkward Protrusion to Get Bigger

Written By Editor on August 28, 2018

Since Lakeshore East is in the news this week, here’s a little nugget of neighbor news: The Swissôtel at 323 East Wacker Drive is getting a small expansion.

The view looking down on the soon-to-be-erased outdoor seating area at The Palm. (Via Apple Maps)

If you’ve ever walked by the hotel, you may have noticed the awkward outdoor seating area next to the slightly-less-awkward annex that houses The Palm restaurant. That outdoor seating area is going away, to be replaced by an annex to the annex to the hotel in order to expand the restaurant.

Rendering of The Palm sun room with windows open.

While visually, the “sun room” will be at street level, it will be on top of the roof of the hotel’s lower service levels.  So, it’s not so much of a building footprint addition as, technically, a rooftop addition.

Last Monday the Chicago Department of Planning and Development gave a high-five to The Palm’s plan since it doesn’t actually technically expand the hotel’s footprint.  And technically correct is the best kind of correct.

Diagram of The Palm sun room

The Palm is a bacon-wrapped sea scallop’s-throw away from Lakeshore East specialists bKL Architecture.  So naturally, this addition was designed by Dacre and Youngquist in West Town.

To be fair, D&Y (may we call you D&Y?) has a history with The Palm, including renovating its Beverly Hills and Atlanta locations.  It also re-did the steakhouse chain’s Galleria Area location in Houston in 2013, the place where we learned that if the right person makes the right phone call it’s possible to be put on a list of people exempt from jury duty.  But that’s a story for cocktail hour.

Diagram of The Palm sun room