a rooftop meadow of purple wildflowers in chicago

February 19, 2024

Picnic in This Meadow Atop Chicago’s Old Post Office

2023 Best of Year Winner for Commercial Landscape

Thanks to an adaptive reuse initiative, Chicago’s Old Post Office, a monumental art deco structure that was once the center of the city’s postal system now has the capacity to house 16,000 office workers, thanks to a massive renovation by Gensler. A key offering the now mixed-use property lacked pre-renovation was outdoor space, so developer 601W decided to take advantage of the sprawling 3 ½-acre rooftop, calling on Hoerr Schaudt to create an alfresco amenity. Footpaths meander around major structural beams where the roof is strongest; everywhere else, perennials and grasses are planted in a custom ultra-lightweight soil mix. The garden—one of the nation’s largest private green roofs—brings a vibrant natural beauty to the building and helps it meet sustainability goals to boot.

See Interior Design’s Best of Year Winners and Honorees

Explore must-see projects and innovative products that took home high honors.

2023 WINNERS

the chicago skyline from the roof of the old post office

Projects
Drive into This Award-Winning Car Showroom in Shanghai
For the launch of a new Chinese electric automobile with advanced-robotics capabilities, the carmaker teamed up with a sci-fi franchise.
Projects
Inside an Award-Winning Hotel With a Millennial Twist
See the 2023 Interior Design Best of Year Awards winner for Budget Hotel, Hotel Avante in Mountain View, California by BHDM Design.
Projects
Explore This Dark and Moody Cinema in Wuhan, China
Taking cues from an aerial view of a cityscape, One Plus Partnership designed a 90,000-square-foot cinema as a dark, marble-clad metropolis in China.