The thick concrete panels of the old warehouse were ripped away and replaced with windows, creating an open, very light-driven, contemporary structure like sitting in a terminal at O’Hare Airport. The building was also equipped with an overhang protecting the glass walls from emitting too much light in the wrong areas. The orientation of the building takes advantage of morning sunlight. “I don’t really consider it a loss. We feel that considering this is the first Gold Certified Police building in the country, and that there were no renewable technology added to the building, we did very well.”

Location
1460 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL 60642  Map
Developer
Structured Development
Architect
Valerio Dewalt Train
Blackhawk/Halsted is a new 150,00 sf four story speculative retail and office buiding (two floors of each) with an adjacent seven level parking garage. The project is in the already-crazy North/Halsted/Clbyourn corridor, just north of the new British School and across the street from the soon-to-be-razed [...]

Location
3440 S. Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60616 Map
Owner
Wexford Equities
Architect
Cannon Design

Of the green buildings in Chicago I’ve covered so far, this may be the most low-key about its greenness. The developer’s website has no mention that the project has earned LEED®-CS precertification, which is remarkable considering that the intent of precertification is to boost marketing credibility. Of [...]

Location
610 S. Michigan, Chicago 60605 Map
Owner
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
Architect
Krueck + Sexton Architects
The Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies is a 10-story, 155,000 sf mixed-use building located in the landmark South Michigan Avenue streetwall. This project doesn’t boldly announce its green qualities to the world, but rather meets many competing and complex demands of the site, [...]