Method’s new LEED® Platinum manufacturing facility will open on Tuesday, April 28th. The project was designed by William McDonough + Partners, working with Architect of Record Heitman Architects of Chicago. Architect at William McDonough + Partners, Roger Schickedantz, AIA, a Director at the firm, will be among the attendees of the opening day event.
Located in the Pullman neighborhood of Chicago’s south side, the facility contains sustainably advanced features for both outside and inside the plant, including a 75,000 sq. ft. rooftop greenhouse owned and operated by Gotham Greens.
The new facility aims to bring in 100 manufacturing jobs to Chicago. Additionally, Method plans to recruit residents of Pullman for the plant’s workforce.
William McDonough, FAIA, Int. FRIBA (design architect):
“Method and William McDonough + Partners, with the rest of the design, construction, and operations team, are modeling a new, clean industrial model. Instead of taking things from nature and returning pollution, this production facility for Method honors a positive relationship between people and the natural world—we all benefit from nature while we support nature in return. This century is bringing us ecologically beneficial design to add to the dramatic equity and economic advances of previous centuries and will reinvigorate our landscapes and our cities. Chicago always relied on and worked with the bounty of the natural world and now it works both ways. Chicago. Factory. Think clean.”
Adam Lowry, Method (owner/client):
“With Method’s factory, we wanted to become native to an urban community and create an example of what manufacturing can look like in the 21st century. I sought out William McDonough and his team to help realize this vision because, having worked with Bill for years on the product side, I knew that he has a great skill for helping translate our vision into a design brief and execution. People often start with the metrics of what they want to achieve, but Bill encouraged us to lead with our values. Method is built from a belief that business should play a leading role in creating good society.”
Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, as quoted in the media:
“The City of Chicago continues to attract companies looking to access our highly skilled workforce, transportation system and diverse business climate. Method choosing to build their state-of the-art manufacturing facility in Chicago’s historic Pullman neighborhood is a major economic investment for the south side of the City. Method has made a significant commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainability and I am proud they will open their doors in Chicago.”
Learn more about this project on the William McDonough + Partners website here.
