In the late 1970’s, McDonald’s purchased a heavily wooded 80 acre site outside of Chicago and held an architectural competition; Lohan Associates was selected to design the new corporate headquarters. Three buildings, a training and meeting center, a lodge, and a corporate office building, were nestled in among the trees, separated by newly created retention lakes and connected by covered bridges. Indoor underground parking has been utilized to minimize site disruption, and the landscaped grounds are open to the public with paths for walking and biking throughout. The conservation of the existing trees was paramount; all construction workers were required to participate in a landscape protection seminar, and the lodge was sited to preserve a large Ohio buckeye tree in its courtyard.

Completed: 1980
Architect and Planner: Lohan Associates
Awards: Society of Landscape Architects Honor Award