The Lincoln Yards Life Sciences Building houses biotech laboratories in an eight-story, 320,000 square-foot structure accented inside and out with Linea Light Rubber 3D. This building is the start of a multiuse development located along the Chicago River.

To achieve the client’s vision of a bright, open environment with an outdoor feel, AKLD collaborated with Gensler to design a building that emphasizes light and air throughout the space. Lighting is integrated into the architecture to enhance the building’s transparency and modern design.

A graceful, curved staircase connects the first and second floors of the lobby. Rubber 3D traces the sinuous lines of this stairway to add a dramatic effect and provide a subtle safety element. With the ability to bend 360 degrees in every direction, Rubber was the perfect choice to accent this sculptural feature.

Rubber 3D also illuminates a canopy overhang on the exterior of the building to fulfill the need for a recessed, flexible, wet-listed linear luminaire. A custom curved facia extrusion was manufactured to complement the surface-mounted product.

Linea Light Rubber is a broad family of flexible lighting fixtures created to resolve even the most challenging indoor and outdoor architectural applications. The use of Rubber 3D on this project resulted in a striking structure outlined in light and a showcase of a staircase.