Chicago Cultural Center Mock-Ups

Chicago, IL

EverGreene produced replicated mock-ups for the historic finishes in four rooms, including Entry, Theatre, Domed Lobby, and Memorial Room. The mock-up scope of work included creating exposure windows of the original finishes in specific areas to help determine the colors and application techniques of glazes identified in the Historic Finishes Report (as prepared by BCA).

In each of the four rooms, an area approximately 16” wide was outlined with low-tack painters’ tape, incorporating a swath containing each surface type from the uppermost ceiling flat to the top of the marble wall cladding. Elements of each room were specified to receive aluminum leaf gilding. In these, the surface was base painted in the specified bole color, then sized and leafed with aluminum. When paint and leaf bases were complete, glazes were made to match the exposed original finishes of each surface in color, opacity, and handling characteristics. An un-tinted glaze base was first mixed then modified for each area with varying admixtures to approximate the differing apparent viscosities of the original targeted glaze.

Finishes treatment and restoration recommendations target different existing conditions of the historic surfaces were provided to the client along with the on-site mock-ups.