Schuler Shook provided exterior lighting design services for the renovation and adaptive reuse of the Carbon and Carbide Building on Michigan Avenue. Now the home to Hard Rock Hotel, this Art Deco masterpiece originally opened in 1929 as an office building and was designated a Chicago Architectural Landmark in 1996.

The exterior is composed of black granite and dark green terra cotta, a challenge to illuminate. Our designers used on-site mockups to test fixtures against the dark cladding and worked to highlight the gold terra cotta and gold leaf trim. The 40-story building is now a 381-room hotel with restaurant, bar, conference and meeting rooms.