Founding Principal Mark Dewalt shared stories behind four of his projects.

As one of the founders of the firm, Mark Dewalt had a bold reputation for taking on some of VDT’s most complex projects and implementing creative solutions. We sat with him, in 2019, to discuss a few of his projects and some of the interesting stories behind the work. 

Originally Published 12/16/19

1. NBC Studios at the DNC

In 1996, VDT was asked to design a branded ​​news studio to house cameras and staff during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. NBC was interested in doing something different, that would make them stand out among competing broadcasters. With only three small skyboxes to work with, a long set of rules from the DNC and a total of six weeks to complete the entire project, the team had their work cut out for them. They were determined to make a statement. 

The skyboxes were completely cleared, carpets were torn out and the separating walls were swiftly demolished. Since the schedule left no time for shop drawings, Mark and Dave Rasche showed up in person to the iron workers' facilities on the southside of Chicago, and spray painted full size drawings on the floor of their warehouse. Days later as the steel arrived at the United Center, tools hit the floor and jaws dropped as the arena fell silent. A large crane rolled in and lifted a 50ft curved-steel truss that neatly slotted into a gap that once housed three sky boxes. Using a specialized honeycomb deck and aluminum sheets, the new booth cantilevered 5ft from its perimeter walls. 

In order to house 27,000 watts of television lights, the room needed to be kept cool, and of course, the window fog-free. This meant, installing a 30x8ft resin insulated, double glazed, seamless sheet of glass. Such a piece had to be fabricated in Florida, and with no time to spare, we ordered two just in case there was a mishap during delivery. 

To match the NBC logo, the large structure was covered in bright orange finish which now dominated the view at the Democratic Convention. There was uproar among competing news outlets, yet no rules had been broken. Sightlines were perfectly maintained yet a lasting impression was cast through a design that would only last a week.

“The booth's size, color and sculptural form make it look as if it's about to take off from its lower-skybox-level mooring. It also set off a serious case of booth envy among the other networks. After seeing NBC's sprawling home-away-from-home, ABC expanded its booth several feet with the addition of red and white banners. CBS added a colored frame.”

-Blair Kamin, the Chicago Tribune, 1996

2. 100% Plastic Building for Underwriters Laboratories

Imagine a plastic structure, entirely free of metal. It almost sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. But when we were tasked with creating such a building, the reasoning was decidedly more scientific, less fiction.

Why the need for a plastic building?

Due to FCC regulations, all electronic appliances have to be tested for electromagnetic interference. Any metal would interfere with test results. But surprisingly, VDT didn’t have any staffers with plastic building expertise. Inspired by the Chaparral race car, Mark turned to the best consultant he could find, Andy Corinne, an engineer in Texas known for his plastic race car shell. 

He called Corinne up and asked, "Have you ever designed any plastic buildings?" 

Even though the answer was “No,” he was intrigued enough with the idea to come to Chicago and collaborate on the effort.|

To begin, we started with the world’s simplest structure, the teepee. We designed a building where the beams leaned in on themselves, like a giant pup tent. Seventy feet on the side, and at a 45 degree angle, covered in plastic sheathing.

Needless to say, it was a breakthrough. Never been done before.

3. Underwriters Laboratory Fire Testing Facility

Traditionally, the architect’s role is to keep fire out of a building, so you can imagine Mark's surprise when he was first approached by Underwriters Laboratories who was asking for a facility that would allow them to intentionally burn things—inside.

At that time, new fire safety systems were being developed for businesses similar to Home Depot. These large warehouses store a range a merchandise, some of which can be extremely flammable. Commodities like lumber, or even chemicals such as paint thinner, are not only on display but are also stored in close proximity. All of this inventory needs to be insured and to do that, they wanted to make sure that if there was a fire, it wouldn't spread from one section of the store to the next. Safety systems such as fire sprinklers needed to be tested in a wide range of situations, and UL needed a building to do this. Of course, starting fires inside of a building is not exactly recommended by building codes, in fact, requirements for something like this didn’t exist. It was clear that Mark and the team would need to figure this one out themselves. 

The final design included office areas along with various satellite facilities where the testing would take place. The largest room was a 120x120x60 foot high container, capable of withstanding up to 1,200 degrees. Within the box was a 100 ton ceiling that could be raised or lowered to accommodate the scale of the test. This structure incorporated flexible points of attachments for sprinkler heads and could be raised or lowered by four hydraulic elevators. When the test was set, UL workers would observe from a blast-resistant control room and monitor thermal sensors that would indicate the effectiveness of the sprinklers.

In addition to the temperature resistant quality of the container itself, the building was designed with a massive water delivery system, fed by an underground cistern that would hold 150,000 gallons of water. This system could deliver up to 5,000 gallons of water a minute for 30 minutes in the event that a test must be aborted. Should that fail, the upper portion of the walls had chain secured removable panels that would allow for quick pressure release in the case of an explosion. Of course, testing combustion with chemicals can emit harmful gases into the air. To fix this, discharge chambers, known as thermal oxidizers, were incorporated to remove particulate from the smoke before releasing it outside. 

This building took an entire year of design before even starting to think about construction. Since it had never been done, the team was forced to design for the most extreme event scenario and working back from there. 

4. Chicago’s Art on theMART

Art on theMart displays the works of multiple artists on a nightly basis using a projector booth that hides in plain sight—on the opposite side of the river to the Merchandise Mart. Yet, what now seems like a simple projection, was actually the first of its kind, and required the efforts of many teams to see it through. 

Early in the process, Vornado Realty Trust began exploring the possibility of video art on theMart—with its nearly three-acre façade facing the Chicago River. Creating a permanent projection of this size had never been done before, which made solving the many challenges trickier. A series of operational and site-related complications meant that everything would have to operate with the precision of a Swiss watch. Having served as the Architect of Record for theMart for years, Mark and the team were soon brought on to help make this endeavor a reality. 

How hard can it be to set up a few projectors? Well, a typical conference room projector emits about seven lumens of light. Each of the projectors for theMart is the size of a suitcase, emits 30,000 lumens, and can project images measuring an estimated 80 feet by 80 feet.

Adjacent to Wacker Drive, the team designed an enclosure to fit into a small nook above the Chicago Riverwalk, nestling into an existing limestone balustrade, across the river from theMart. With minimal space to work with, the design team had to be extremely precise and make every inch count. The enclosure’s first floor holds the servers and other associated equipment. On the second floor, the 34 projectors are stacked on moveable steel frames, leaving just enough space for maintenance personnel to get inside a few times a year.

Instead of adding large refrigeration units to regulate temperature, the projectors attach to individual ducts that blow air out of the space. Since the room won’t be occupied, and projectors don’t overheat and shut down the way computers do, the ambient operating temperatures on that floor can safely reach 90 degrees without failing. For the enclosure’s glazed front, the team tested various types of glass with low iron, to ensure that it wouldn’t affect the color of the artwork. By using insulated double layers, we could prevent condensation from forming on the glass. The steel structure is thick enough to support the projectors, each of which weighs 300 pounds, and also eliminate any potential for vibration. We clad the enclosure in zinc, which will develop a patina over time, transforming from a silvery color to a nickel gray.

Since nothing like this had ever been built, the team had to run through every scenario where things could go wrong. That meant holding meetings with various city departments as well as the Coast Guard, to make sure that imagery wouldn’t distract drivers or affect boats navigating the Chicago River. 

Art on theMart, is now solely dedicated to digital art, both static and moving imagery, with no branding, sponsorship credits, or messaging of any kind. Next time that you’re downtown check the schedule on the website and enjoy the show!

Watch the Making-of ‘Art on theMart’