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Visually connecting open spaces with a minimalist, suspended light system

Location: mHUB, Chicago, Illinois

Lighting System: PureEdge Lazer Line DIY Suspension System

Lighting Designer & Architect: Gensler

Electrical Engineer: Syska Hennessy Group

Sales Representatives: Chicago Lightworks

Photography: © Christopher Barrett, Design by Gensler

One of the nation's leading innovation and collaborative workspace centers focused on fostering product development, entrepreneurship, and manufacturing innovation, mHUB set its sights on a decommissioned 1920s manufacturing plant in the Fulton Market district of Chicago. After transforming the long-vacant space, mHUB now serves as a hub for startups, inventors, and businesses striving to develop, accelerate, and thrive.
Gensler was tasked with designing and revitalizing the new center for mHUB to create a collaborative environment centered around manufacturing, with an emphasis on efficiency and creativity. The design team skillfully blended historic elements with modern tools and technology to support product innovation and empower collaboration among mHUB members.
According to Gensler, several workshop sessions were conducted with mHUB members and staff to ensure the design plan aligned with their needs to work efficiently and creatively. As a result, the overall design focused on five aspects of the manufacturing process: ideate, iterate, showcase, assemble, and celebrate.
"mHUB members collaborated with Gensler on the branding, fabrication, and coordination of the Spark spaces, the reception desk, the Members' Wall, and the bar in the event space. Not only did this engage mHUB members in the design process, but it also provided money-saving, high-impact design solutions."
GENSLER
Source:Office Snapshots
Gensler noted that a new vestibule at the back of the building leads visitors into mHUB's active first floor where all the shops, labs, and training rooms are located. These common areas feature PureEdge Lighting's Lazer Line Lighting System in multiple lengths from 11 to 20 ft throughout the exposed ceilings of the Press Room, Workshop and as guests enter the Reception area.
The multi-level office space includes workstations and offices for ideation; shops and labs for prototyping and iteration; and a flexible assembly space, visible from the reception area, for the final stages of the process, with integrated conference rooms. A display wall beautifully showcases finished products and a 5,000-square-foot event space hosts ongoing programming and celebrations.
Gensler's design situates all collaboration spaces in the middle of the floor to facilitate meetings and teamwork. The design team recognized that manufacturing is a dynamic process, so they created a design that avoided defining spaces with unnecessary walls, allowing mHUB future flexibility to grow and evolve as its members actively shape the next wave of Chicago manufacturing.
The hyper-resourced environment features a modern, yet minimalist aesthetic amidst an industrial manufacturing open ceiling environment. To illuminate these spaces, the design team utilized PureEdge's Lazer Line DIY Suspension System in 3500K to deliver a fluid line of light that floats just below the unfinished ceiling with multiple points of connection.
PureEdge's Lazer Line DIY Suspension System is tensioned from wall to wall with turnbuckles and anchors that allow Lazer Line to be positioned 0-90° relative to the mounting surface, creating a 3-dimensional look that is as functional as it is visually interesting.

Lazer Line Suspension DIY

Project Details

  • 11' - 22' luminaire lengths
  • Universal Dimming
  • Low Voltage, Class 2, 24VDC
    Remote Power Supplies
  • 5W/ft Direct | 3W/ft Indirect
  • 3500K
  • Single, Double, and Triple
    Turnbuckles in Black finish
PureEdge's Lazer Line DIY Suspension System is tensioned between walls or ceilings using turnbuckles, allowing it to be positioned at any angle from 0° to 90° relative to the mounting surface. This innovative design creates a striking 3-dimensional effect that seamlessly combines functionality with visual appeal.
Lazer Line DIY Suspension offers multiple turnbuckle options, with canopies that mount to a standard 4-inch square junction box. Choose between a 4-inch round canopy or a slim 2-inch round canopy, which is supplied with a plaster ring for easy installation and a seamless aesthetic.
Single, double, and triple turnbuckle configurations provide ultimate customization for virtually any environment. For compact shipping, Lazer Line coils like a retractable tape measure. Once uncoiled, the 0.6-inch wide stainless steel tape easily spans surfaces. Both the tape and Lazer strip are field-cuttable for precise customization. For extended runs, power can be fed from both ends.
Interested in the possibilities of PureEdge Lighting's Lazer Line DIY Suspension System or your next project? Designing with PureEdge is simple—just share your sketches or ideas with us, and we’ll provide you with a customized layout and detailed bill of materials.