Bulley & Andrews, Chicago, recently completed a renovation and expansion that renewed the two-decade-old Swissôtel Chicago into a state-of-the-art facility.

Bulley & Andrews’ work on the all-glass triangular hotel at 323 E. Wacker Drive included upgrades to all 661 guest rooms, as well as the interior build-out of a 38,000-sq-ft, two-level event center with a 14,000-sq- ft ballroom and three junior ballrooms.

Work on the guest rooms began in December, 2007, with Bulley & Andrews starting from the fifth floor and working upward to the 41st floor, in groups of 10 to 15 floors at a time. Each group of floors had to be completed in just seven weeks. “We had to complete the 550 room renovations in four short months,” said Bulley & Andrews’ project manager Chris Knapp.

Renovating each room required removal of the furniture and carpet, repainting, installation of a new shower and vanity, and installation of new carpet and furniture.

All but 100 rooms were completed by April 1, 2008. Renovation of the remaining rooms started in December, 2008, and completed by February, 2009.

The renovation also more than doubled the hotel’s meeting and conference space from 27,000 sq ft to 65,000 sq ft. The renovation also includes 20,000 sq ft of lobby and service corridors on the first and second floors.

The project also converted the hotel’s third and fourth floors from meeting space into guest rooms, bringing the total room count to 661. Working on a tight schedule and in a fully operational hotel, Bulley & Andrews completed the event center in nine months. The new facility opened in spring 2009 and is now one of the largest event venues in Chicago.