PROJECT PROFILE

9 Walton

Location: Chicago, IL
General Contractor: Lendlease

Challenge

Everything beyond the entry door was “customizable” at 9 Walton. American Direct was brought on to the design team by Lendlease to provide doors, frames, hardware, and some accessories.

Residents could choose the finish of the door hardware, the number of door panels, whether it was pocket or swinging, and, if it was pocket, then the number of panels in the pocket. The doors were 2-1/4 in. thick, as opposed to the typical 1-3/4 in, and were custom stile and rail doors with recessed panels inside the door and a raised molding profile. Many of the interior locks were provided by a vendor who had already been chosen and American Direct had to be sure that the locks the vendor was providing would perform with the door that American Direct was providing.

American Direct had to consider the style, finish, whether there were custom levers or not, trim plate style — everything about the opening to make sure it would work. Delivery of doors, frames, and hardware is typically sequential by floor in an apartment building, but with this project, the units were being customized as they were sold, which meant jumping around moving floor to floor. This required significant coordination regarding which doors were already and which ones were pending.

Solution

Collaboration was the key to making sure it all came together successfully. American Direct’s flexibility to provide value-added engineering, in addition to product procurement, created the perfect combination for total openings solutions at 9 Walton.