ROOF at theWit
201 North State Street, Chicago
Tel: 312-239-9501
Designer: The Johnson Studio

On May 28, ROOF introduced the latest way to experience Chicago’s skyline: a 7,000-square-foot rooftop lounge on the 27th floor of theWit Hotel that offers a 360-degree view of the city, Italian cuisine, gourmet cocktails, and contemporary design by the Atlanta-based firm The Johnson Studio. “We wanted to create something that hadn’t been done or seen in Chicago before,” project designer Juliana Kerschen told AN. “The concept behind ROOF was to have more of a nighttime spot, even though it’s also for daytime. We wanted a modern-hip-urban feel.”

The boundaries between outdoors and indoors are blurred in a flowing space with an outdoor patio and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Layers of glass produce an aqua green color deployed as a theme throughout the space, while suspended lighting tracks create a cosier feeling to counterbalance the vastness of 20-foot-high ceilings. The sense of arrival is disrupted by moving the back bar to the front, forcing visitors to go around it in order to enter the space. Shadows and movements visible outside entice guests to discover what is inside this glittering glass box on top of the city.