An 18-unit residential building built within the Elston Avenue warehouse district takes its vernacular from the adjacent commuter train line. The program required the design of three identical six-unit buildings. This direction was enhanced by connecting each building to create one long structure with each floor defined by a distinct façade vocabulary, similar to the train/ track organization. In doing so, nearly identical floor plans take on individual spatial experiences. The units on the first floor have two monolithic primary windows in a masonry wall. The second floor employs floor to ceiling glass for the width of the unit. Finally, the third floor has vertically oriented floor to ceiling windows whose rhythmic pattern was appropriated from the commuter train schedule. Materials include burnished block, cast stone and a rigid metal panel exterior wall cladding.

Illinois Considered an updated form of the classic row house, this project included the design and development of nine, 7500 s.f. homes adjacent to the River North/Montgomery Ward Campus. The design started by creating a vocabulary of façade elements that could be manipulated from building to building to develop unique exterior compositions for each residence. Variations of stone with square reveal details, deep masonry openings with a vertical emphasis and metal accents give individual identities to the homes while allowing the project to read clearly as a whole. A large central interior light court and terrace bring ample light into the middle of the row house and provide a substantial outdoor room on the building’s interior.

This 34-unit residential loft building sits on one of the oldest streets in Evanston at the juncture of an historic landmark residential neighborhood and the edge of the city’s urban center. The design sets out to ease this juncture. The two-story addition above the existing two-story industrial building terraces away from the residential district with 20 ft. setbacks, minimizing the addition’s intrusion on the residential neighborhood while creating roof terraces. Additionally, the existing residential tree canopy continues across the building with 24 roof top trees and a continuous balcony covered with Green Screen, a product used as an integrated architectural armature for plant growth. The building becomes an architectural and green berm to the urban center. In contrast, the city facing elevation deliberately addresses the urban core. This elevation takes its cue from the existing street façade as well as the prehistoric shoreline of Lake Michigan on which it is situated. This city façade has floor layers which cantilever over the existing building with an undulating facade that is derived from the city’s historical shorelines. The project employs many sustainable strategies including passive sun shading from the planted roof top elements, balconies planted with deciduous ivy, semi-impervious paving in the parking areas, bamboo flooring and a ventilated fiber-cement façade system.

The project includes the adaptive re-use of Association House, an existing 100-year old structure in Chicago’s landmarked Wicker Park district and the development of seven adjacent lots with new construction mixed-use buildings. Situated a block from Wicker Park’s primary commercial intersection, the site has strong commercial value as well as strong residential potential. To respect the historic integrity of Association House and the neighborhood, a voluntary front yard zoning setback was created to preserve the historic site line of the existing building and to provide public green space. An interpretation of the hip roof was employed to soften the presence of a fourth floor, reducing the street wall effect and to further assimilate with the neighborhood. Historic materials such as zinc coated copper and red brick are used in a decidedly modern approach to be contextual without replicating the surroundings. NA saw the construction of these three new buildings as an opportunity for a collective experience. To add vitality to each building and create a distinctive whole, IIT Architecture Professor, Randy Kober and Sarah Dunn and Martin Felsen of Urban Lab were invited to serve as design architects for the 3-unit and 6-unit building.

Site requirements