Located in the suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, this mixed-use transit-oriented development replaces a one-story vacant convenience store with a modern three-story, 13-unit apartment building with ground floor retail and private parking off the street. Nearly half of the existing site was, and remains, covered with a mature stand of trees. The building was conceived as a "treehouse" in a preserved natural landscape, floating above the ground and placing its inhabitants in the tree canopy.
The building’s size, neighborhood, and street presence were important aspects in the project, based on early community input.
A series of staggered balcony insets break down the overall building scale and serve as green color accents around all sides of the building.
In this new development, emphasis is placed on a warm, familiar material palette, contextually blending into the surrounding neighborhood fabric, while still being able to stand on its own.
Much like a treehouse, the overall building appears to “hover” over the darker prairie-style brick at the ground floor – a subtle contextual nod to the site’s “mini-forest.”
Site plan
Elevation Sketch
The site strategy allows for the preservation of the extensive green space that preceded this development. The vegetation creates a natural barrier to some of the surrounding single-family residences and serves the community as passive open space.
Floor plans
Sun studies
The building’s upper floors use a series of wood finishes with two different horizontal slat styles, playfully introducing variations in shadow. Two larger balconies with integrated wood screen walls and trellises are integrated at the south end facing the preserved green space.
