Location
11045 S. Wentworth, Chicago, IL 60628  Map

Owner
Mercy Housing Lakefront

Architect
Harley Ellis Devereaux

11045 S. Wentworth

Wentworth Commons is a 4-story, 65,800 sf apartment building with 51 units and supportive services on the first floor. The building opened in June 2005, was designed to be green from its initiation, and is seeking LEED® Certification. Detailed case studies are available here and here, and there is a brief Blair Kamin review. Most case studies highlight the brightly-colored graffiti-resistant exterior.

The most obvious green feature is the rooftop photovoltaic array, which rather than being hidden away is celebrated as part of the building’s design. Like Rubloff Hall, the mechanical system is also considerably more sophisticated (and efficient) than often found in this building type, including a heat recovery unit and building automation system. The automation system, while common in large commercial buildings, is not always seen on this type of project but is a very important element in allowing the owner to maintain control of the energy use of the building systems.

This project achieved quite a bit without an out-of-this world budget. Unfortunately, that’s not to say going green didn’t have an impact on cost - additional funding was provided by the usual green affordable housing trifecta of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Enterprise Foundation’s Green Communities initiative, and the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation.

Other project team members include MEP engineer EME, commissioning agent Sieben Energy Associates, landscape architect Site Design Group, and structural engineer Matrix Engineering.