By Susan D. Turner, AIA, PMP, LEED AP
Developer: Matt Phillips, Integrated Design Development Group LLC (IDG)
Architect: Larry Booth, Booth Hanson (Chicago)
HVAC Consultants: Deirdre McDaniel, WMA Engineering (Chicago)
Interior Design Bonnie Mason, Interior Design Associates (Nashville)
Estimated Cost: $ 150,000,000
Designed in 1924 by Jarvis Hunt, the former Lake Shore Athletic Club is a twenty story, 370,000 square-foot Beaux Arts building, built of masonry [...]

By Kathleen Johnson
When a large design firm with sustainable values needs a new home, it’s not going to move into just any typical office space. The design has to make sense on every level, and celebrate the talents of the firm. This past January HOK moved into such a space, building out 27,700 [...]

By Susan Turner
One of the purposes of establishing a green rating system such as LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is to reduce the consumption of the earth’s resources. Historic buildings are one of the largest repositories of embodied energy. This project, located at 2620 W. Washington, retains the embodied energy of the entire [...]

By Susan Turner
Architect Jessie McGrath and developer Sylvan Shank, like many others in their field, have gotten into the spirit of Chicago’s green movement, beginning restoration of a project located on 1927 N. Honore. The building, constructed in 1907, was developed during the Chicago’s Garden Movement (c1900-1941), and is located on a street with many [...]

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.”

This a project designed by an architect as his own family residence. It is another example of a budget-conscious but reasonably responsible design. Most of the green investment goes into energy-saving, but easily achievable features - rigid exterior insulation with spray foam insulation between studs, high-efficiency mechanical systems, and an Energy Star roof.