Background:
Cermak Fresh Market is a fast-growing regional grocery store with 14 locations in the Chicago and Milwaukee markets. Family-owned, the grocery chain specializes in providing fresh produce and meats, as well as ingredients prized by home cooks in Chicago’s immigrant communities.
In 2016, the grocer opened a 70,000-square-foot store that anchors The Fields, a 1.5 million-square-foot redevelopment on the Northwest side of Chicago. The buildings that make up The Fields were originally built in 1928 as a warehouse for the Olsen Rug factory. Marshall Field’s purchased the warehouse in 1965 for its own warehouse needs. Macy’s acquired Marshall Field’s in 2005, and the location was closed in 2008. 4K Diversey Partners bought it in 2014 with a vision to create a mixed-use development centered on a live-work concept.
Challenge:
The space that Cermak Fresh Market occupies is located on the ground floor on one corner of The Fields complex. A section of its roof is a single story sandwiched in between three five-story sections. The original building included ridge-style skylights to bring in light into what would otherwise be an incredibly dark space. These old skylights were in bad condition: discolored glass, rust, broken seals, energy inefficient and cumbersome hand-crank functionality.
The Cermak Fresh Market team wanted to include skylights in the design to provide natural light in the space, but they also had a budget and renovation timeline to meet.
Solution:
VELUX supplied two VELUX Modular Skylights solutions to incorporate natural light into the space both on time and on budget. Because they are factory sealed and factory glazed, there’s no need to wet-glaze glass on site, so VMS can be installed year-round, even in the rain.
VELUX 5-Star Skylight Specialist Houseworks Daylighting Solutions replaced four existing ridge-style skylights with VELUX Ridgelights 25-40°and an old single-slope, structural skylight with a VELUX Longlight. And they did it while it was snowing.
The VELUX Ridgelight 25-40°is a classic looking skylight solution consisting of two rows of self-supporting skylights that add natural light and openness to the areas below. It’s mounted on standard steel profiles that enables a fast installation and a safe, economical building process.
The VELUX Longlight 5-25°is a single series of Modular Skylights ideal for adding natural light to larger rooms, corridors and hallways. It has a low-pitch design for flat roofs where a low profile is preferred. The longlight also features plug-and-play installation that saves time.
