Performed in Chicago's historic Merchandise Mart, the 525,000-sq-ft build-out of Motorola Mobility's new headquarters required 650,000 labor hours and up to 480 construction workers during peak periods.
After concluding it was unsound to construct a crane atop the 84-year-old structure and that vertical conveyances could compromise schedule and safety, the project team deployed lifting helicopters to assist in installation of a new rooftop chiller plant for the facility. Helicopters performed lifts for 15 hours over a two-day period, conveying mechanical equipment and 184 bundles of steel beams from a barge on the Chicago River. Operations required the shutdown of four city blocks.