We’ve had warm feelings for Clybourn Point, 1322 N Clybourn Ave, from the start simply because the developer spelled “Point” without an extra “e.” Then we noticed – hard not to with the giant banners that recently went up on the building – that this was an “eco-friendly” condo development.
That usually makes us skeptical. We’re all for the environment, but everyone seems to want to jump on the eco-bandwagon these days, touting projects as “green” simply because they include bamboo floors or window shades that provide a little passive heat.
But Clybourn Point, part of the astonishing surge of residential development in and around Cabrini-Green, ain’t yellow when it comes to green, at least as far as we can tell. The very green Web site (this project might be easy on the environment, but the Web site’s tough on the eyes) devotes a page to green architecture.
As we’ve previously pointed out, the building includes photovoltaic panels that will turn sunlight into electricity, lowering reliance on the grid and transferring energy to it when an excess is produced. We’re not aware of another condo development of this size now on the market using solar energy in this way (if they’re out there, please click on “Comments” below – we’d love to check them out).
RADA Development and RADA Architects (earlier Yo interview with principal Rada Doytcheva) also are using recycled materials and are recycling construction waste. They’re using bamboo floors and low-VOC paints, and a variety of measures to save energy, from LED kinetic lighting to an “eco-elevator” that according to the developer, uses 60 percent less energy than a conventional hydraulic elevator.
Of course, there’s a green roof, which yields a variety of environmental benefits.
Now that the building is up, however, the architecture is clearly another perk. The point in Clybourn Point, at the corner of Larrabee Street and diagonal Clybourn, is dramatic, creating a great profile if you’re coming from the north or northwest. Using the point of the triangle for terrace space makes what could have been a bleak western wall lively, as does the tri-colored geometrical patterns in the masonry on Larrabee.
This is a friendly design in a neighborhood that’s much friendlier than it used to be, but still has a ways to go. RADA deserves credit for considering the future of the neighborhood and doing right by the streetscape when it might have taken a more insular approach.