CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Project History
The Center on Halsted serves as a comprehensive gathering
place for Chicago’s LGBT citizens. Seventy-five percent of
the building facade is glass, designed to create a sense of
open community. The city offered a former municipal garage
as a space for development. The garage, built in 1924,
featured a polychrome terracotta facade with a winged
wheel motif. Preservation efforts would save the terracotta,
and earn the green building credits towards a silver LEED
rating. The terracotta tiles were catalogued and numbered,
taken apart, then housed and restored offsite. MIMIC TR
was used on tiles requiring only thin coating repairs, while
Matrix (which is colored matched on-site) was used to rebuild
missing pieces. The tiles were restored to their original
bright colors using M3P mineral silicate paint. M3P is a water
based, low VOC coating, offering long term protection from
water and contaminants while remaining environmentally
friendly. Unlike most coatings, M3P reacts with the substrate,
changing its color without changing its character.

Time Frame – Summer 2005 - Spring 2007

Architect
Gensler,
Chicago, IL

Preservation
Architect
McGuire Igleski
& Associates, Inc.,
Evanston, IL

Contractor
Berglund
Construction,
Chicago, IL

Distributor
The Glenrock
Company,
Northlake, IL