Situated across the street from a Trader Joe's grocery store on Lincoln Avenue in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, this project stands on the site of a former auto repair shop. Working closely with neighborhood groups and the local alderman, we were actively involved in obtaining the necessary re-zoning of the site to construct the project as designed. Thirteen condominium units ranging in size from two to four bedrooms occupy the second and third floors, while the ground floor contains 27 parking spaces, two commercial spaces facing Lincoln Avenue, and resident lobbies off Wolcott Avenue.
Taking advantage of the unique triangular site, the building concept expresses two contrasting façades. The first relates to the commercial and retail activity along Lincoln Avenue (fast), while the second embraces the more residential nature of Wolcott Avenue (slow).
The strong street visibility along the ground floor retail space on Lincoln Avenue inspired us to develop a continuous band of glass with little interruption from other programs.
An exterior courtyard provides the opportunity for the second-level residences to share a large common space. In addition to being used for socializing, this courtyard also acts as an acoustic buffer.
The residences and parking are accessed from the quieter Wolcott Avenue side. In response to the scale of the residential neighborhood, this side's façade is more formally and sculpturally articulated through the bending of walls at the entries, as well as through fully inset balconies with metal frames.
