Name: Northform
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McDonald's Chicago, Food, Retail, Hospitality, QSR, Landini Associates, Interiors, Graphics

"Wonderful as always."

Emily Peckhart, US Retail Designer, Global Restaurant Development and Design, McDonald’s

McDonald's, Chicago

The interior of the new McDonald’s Riverside in Chicago is an iteration of Landini Associates’ Ray Concept for McDonald’s, which has been rolling out across the globe since it was first launched in Hong Kong in December 2015.

This time, Landini Associates’ Project Ray design sits inside a brand new building designed by Ross Barney Architects.

Landini Associates’ scope included: interior and kitchen design, crew clothing, packaging and in-store graphics. As part of Project Ray, food categories have also been reviewed and developed as have the service and ordering models.

Ray uses classic materials and design that won’t date, thus using minimal “embedded energy” by extending the expected lifespan of the restaurant. Concrete, glass, stainless steel and oak form a palette of stylish simplicity. Mix these ingredients one way to tell an urban story, then another to localise. Either way it’s one brand and one vision talking; a holistic toolkit of parts, able to be fine-tuned by location.

Lighting and shadow, as always, play a significant role and are adjusted by day part and by location.
The colourful graphic environments, that became the signature for McDonalds internationally, are now replaced with a simpler, quieter and more classic approach. Called an experiment in "Non Design" the intention is to hero the food, the service and the people who come to enjoy it. To create a “recognizable neutrality” that allows this to happen.

Since 2015, Landini Associates’ new design format for McDonald’s has rolled out across Asia, North America, South America, Europe, the UAE and Australia.