Category: Architecture, design
A sub-optimal residential feel
Optima Old Orchard Woods is a stunningly detailed architectural feat. If you only drive past it on the Edens Expressway you'll miss the impressive s [...]
Antique market in West Loop
The Chicago Antique Market returns to Randolph Street in the West Loop on June 25, and on the last Sunday of every month through October 29.
An indoo [...]
Westward Development building 86-unit condo project in St. Ben's
Brand new condos in St. Ben's are about as common as new office towers in downtown Detroit, so the fact that Westward Development Company is buildin [...]
East meets west at Thymbria condos on King Drive
We're always fascinated by the arcane names on vintage buildings, and "Thymbria," the condo conversion at 5001 S King Dr, especially piqued our intere [...]
McKenzie Place's nicely integrated balconies overlook King Drive
In the recent debate over the ideal balcony, we couldn't help but put forth McKenize Place, at 5750 S King Dr, in Washington Park, as an entry. Rath [...]
Attention developers: here is an object lesson in good design
The construction barricades are down at 156 W Superior, and the building looks really great. Noting the flower boxes on a few of the balconies, it app [...]
Fallingwater from the Edens
Every time I pass Optima Old Orchard Woods on the Edens — and I pass it twice a day — I think of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.
In [...]
Historic district residents parry with LaGrange over new high-rise
The Tribune reported today that residents near the Prairie Avenue historic district are complaining about plans for a development that will include tw [...]
Drive-by: Optima Old Orchard Woods shaping up nicely
If you drive the Edens Expressway with any regularity, the Optima project at Old Orchard Road is an ever larger presence in your consciousness, and [...]
Work in progress: Noble Corners brings the funk
It may not look like much now, but we can't wait to see the realization of Garafalo Architects' funky contemporary design for Noble Corners, located [...]
Bucktown house says, here's looking at me, Chicago
You don't have to be a voyeur to appreciate the bold exhibitionism of this house in Bucktown. We considered a lame line about people living in glass [...]
Saving graystones, building homes in North Lawndale
The Chicago Tribune made North Lawndale the poster neighborhood for urban blight back in 1985 with its "American Millstone" series, and despite at l [...]
Courtyard on the Park: open views, open house
Ok, so it's no Aqua, but on a much smaller scale, Courtyard on the Park, at 5936 S King Dr, also offers a multitude of unique views as the jutting f [...]
New homes from Jacobs make parenting a breeze
If you guessed this photo was of the cloakroom at a local grade school and not part of a new single-family house, you might be forgiven. To cut down o [...]
New Homes Magazine names Beverly Place Chicago's best new townhouse
New Homes Magazine has named Beverly Place Chicago's best new townhouse. "This year our vote for the best townhouse development went to Beverly Plac [...]
Grand Crossing's Gary Comer Youth Center opens to rave reviews
Grand Crossing, on Chicago's South Side, has had its share of problems over the years as housing stock deteriorated, schools declined, and violence [...]
Old Town's Crilly Court converting to condos
Good ol' Hank, our man in the Old Town Triangle, reports that sales are underway at historic Crilly Court, a well-known 19th century apartment compl [...]
Architectural historian discusses Frank Lloyd Wright and modernism June 7
If noon rolls around on Wednesday and the thought of seeing your coworkers' faces in the cafeteria makes you want to dine at your desk, head instead t [...]
New Homes Magazine names Odyssey Lofts Chicago's best new loft development
New Homes Magazine has named Odyssey Lofts Chicago's best new loft. "Odyssey Lofts, 775 W. Jackson Blvd., first grabbed our attention with the marke [...]
Sleek and chic remodeling on Elston
You've gotta appreciate bold design, particularly in bleak locations, so it's a pleasure to point out the almost-finished remodeling [really more of [...]