Big Monster Toys
Location: Chicago, IL
Work area: 18,000 square feet
Architect: Pappageorge/Haymes, Ltd.

Big Monster Toys, a leading toy designer in the Midwest, relocated offices to 21 S. Racine Ave in Chicago’s West Loop area. The company is well known for having the best front door, which is constructed to look like a giant monster.

Project description:
• Relocation of offices to a very narrow 18,000-square-foot structure with a bowstring truss roof and sky light that runs the length of the entire building

Project highlights:
• Replication of a train caboose for the break area/kitchen: Interior of the caboose houses typical cabinets and appliances, while the outside replicated the caboose’s cupola and includes lights from a real train

• Sandblasting the wood ceiling, trusses, and masonry walls to expose their original finishes

• New offices in the front of the building, an open-office plan implementation in the middle, and a mezzanine for storage and to operate machinery at the rear of the building

Services provided:
• General contracting
• Budgeting
• Estimating
• Value engineering
• Self-performed Carpentry; General labor and demolition; Millwork