Cannon Design
DMD Weathering Steel
For the new Echo Global Logistics headquarters in Downtown Chicago, the design team at Cannon Design brought Dissimilar Metal Design in to consult, engineer, and supply a unique entryway spatial divider.
The wall is composed of 3 large custom feature wall systems fabricated by Dissimilar Metal Design and finished with a unique directional steel patina. The wall system incorporates patinated 24″ extrusions which serve to create a sense of monolithic strength, with articulating depth that ties in Echo’s corporate branding.
The weathering steel patina features a directional patina developed by Dissimilar Metal Design, creating a directional texture in the surface. A section of the feature wall with CNC machined paths are designed to represent the interstate freight routes used by Echo Global Logistics.
Photos courtesy of Cannon Design, Christopher Barrett
1100 ft/sec = 110’/0.1 sec, the formula for an echo. Velocity=Distance/Time. This equation is the backbone of transportation logistics and the driving force of Echo Global Logistics’ expansion within former warehouse space.
“ECHO” sculpted in steel as four voids, is at a scale that is visible from the street and dominates the new lobby. The letters are set at different angles to create an experience for passersby as to how each is viewed. Perception changes with distance and time, with the letters most clearly seen when the viewer is perpendicular to each.
The ECHO is constructed from raw Cor-Ten steel, weathered with a technique researched and developed by the design team to achieve the optimal vertical striations to reflect the chemical changes of ECHO over distance and time.
Light and space are as important as the form itself. The design team studied scale models and mock-ups to achieve the appropriate lighting effect. The distance and effect of the light source falling out to the backdrop was critical in the perception for passersby to view each letter over distance and time.
