The Langham, Chicago

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe died in 1969, before his last American building was finished. That tower, built for IBM on the north bank of the Chicago River at 330 North Wabash Avenue, now houses The Langham, Chicago on its lower floors, and the hotel's design takes its cue from the dark steel and glass grid that Mies drew.

History

IBM commissioned the building for its Chicago offices, and the tower was completed in the early 1970s by the office Mies had led, working from his design. It was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2008. In the early 2010s the building was renamed AMA Plaza after the American Medical Association moved its headquarters into the upper floors, and the lower floors were converted into a hotel. The Langham opened in 2013 as the group's first hotel in Chicago. The brand takes its name from The Langham in London, which opened in 1865 near Oxford Circus and was among the first grand hotels in Europe.

Architecture and design

The tower is a tall, dark grid of steel and bronze-tinted glass set back from the river on an open plaza, its proportions typical of late Mies: regular, calm and without ornament. The conversion respected that discipline. The lobby is on the second floor, finished in stone and dark wood behind full-height glass, and the public rooms use the building's windows to frame the river and the towers of the Loop on the opposite bank. Furniture in the spirit of Mies appears in the public spaces, and the palette stays close to the building's own: black, bronze, travertine and grey.

Rooms and suites

Rooms are large for a city hotel, with floor-to-ceiling windows set between the building's steel mullions, and most look over the river or the city. Bathrooms are generous, with separate tubs and showers. The suites have living rooms facing the water, and the largest are laid out like apartments.

Dining

Travelle, on the second floor, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with views of the river. The hotel also serves afternoon tea, a ritual the Langham group ties to its London house, which claims to have been among the first hotels to serve it in the nineteenth century.

Wellness

The Chuan Spa, the group's own spa brand, draws on traditional Chinese medicine and the five elements in its treatments. Alongside it is an indoor pool and a fitness centre, both with views over the city.

Weddings and events

The hotel has a ballroom and a series of smaller rooms on its event floors, used for weddings, conferences and private dinners, many with the river and the Loop as a backdrop.

Location

The hotel stands where Wabash Avenue meets the Chicago River, on the edge of River North, with the Loop directly across the water and the Magnificent Mile a few blocks to the east. The Riverwalk runs along the south bank below the Loop towers, and the architecture boat tours, which pass the building, leave from docks nearby. Millennium Park, the Art Institute of Chicago and State Street are all within reach on foot. As a luxury hotel in Chicago, it makes the city's architecture its main attraction, starting with the building itself. The State/Lake and Lake stations are across the river, the Grand Red Line station is to the north, and O'Hare and Midway airports are reached by car or train.