More Nintendo-inspired condos in West Rogers Park

2140-52 W Devon AveI stumbled on this West Rogers Park development by accident yesterday and can’t seem to get it out of my head. It haunts me. Designed by Hanna Architects, the building was a 2007 entrant into the Illinois / Indiana Masonry Council’s Excellence in Masonry competition. (No, it didn’t win any prizes.)

2140-52 W Devon Ave smallSunrise Equities, the group behind the West Loop’s Pure, is the developer of this colorful project at 2140-52 W Devon Ave. According to their Web site, prices start in the $270s and the building is more than 70 percent sold. The Sunrise Web site also features a very small artist rendering, which, contrasted with the finished product, is one of the more extreme concept / execution comparisons we’ve had in a while.

The brick balconies bear an obvious resemblance to the “weird cracked out tetris things” we encountered at Pulaskiview and Chicagoview II, but I haven’t been able to link Hanna Architects to either of those projects.

Regardless of who started it, this Tetris-style architecture seems to be taking Chicago by storm. What is the appeal of this peculiar design, and why has it become a standard for mid-rise condo developments on Chicago’s North Side?

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