Swedish designers Front have created a lamp shade where circular holes in the reflective inner layer project spots of light onto the outer diffuser. (more…)

Paris designer Lee West has designed an extra-tall teapot that has no handle but instead has a removable cork sleeve to stop you burning your hands. (more…)

© Ramiro Ramirez

Architects: ELEMENTAL
Location: Monterrey, Mexico
Client: Instituto de la Vivienda de Nuevo León (IVNL)
Engineering: Area of projects and technological innovation, IVNL
Urbanization & Specialization: Area of projects and technological innovation, IVNL
Site Area: 6,591 sqm
Initial House Area: 40 sqm
Expanded House Area: 58.75 sqm
Initial Duplex Area: 40 sqm
Expanded Duplex Area: 76.60 sqm
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Ramiro Ramirez

Restrictions

Santa Catarina is a city of 230,000 inhabitants, located in the state of Nuevo León, in the northwest of Mexico. This project is Elemental’s first outside of Chile.

site plan

The Government of Nuevo León, México, commissioned us to design a group of 70 homes on a site of .6 hectars in a middle class neighborhood in Santa Catarina. The required density suggested the application of the typology we developed for Iquique. However, the climate in Santa Catarina is very different from the northern dessert climate of Chile. The 600 mm of annual rainfall required us to adapt our proposal to this new question.

© Ramiro Ramirez

The commission to develop this middle class neighborhood with the financing of US$20,000 per dwelling (almost double the funds we had for the housing projects built by Elemental in Chile). However, the construction standards and building codes significantly raise the construction costs. In this case, it was pertinent to use the strategy of investing state resources to build “the difficult half” of the home, especially given the capacity do-it-yourself building observed in Mexico, ensuring a promising future for the expansions.

The Project

ELEMENTAL Monterrey consists of a three-story continuous building that in section superimposes a home (first floor) with a two-story apartment above (2nd and 3rd story). Both units are designed to technically and economically facilitate the final middle class standard of which we will hand over the “first half” (40 m2). In this sense, the difficult parts of the house (bathrooms, kitchen, stairs, and dividing walls) are designed for the expanded scenario, that is, for a home of more than 58 m2 approx. and an apartment of approximately 76 m2.

© Ramiro Ramirez

Secondly, given that almost 50% of the m2 of the complex will be self-built, this building is porous so that the growth can occur within the structure. On one hand we want to frame and give rhythm (more than control) to the spontaneous construction so as to avoid deterioration of the urban environment over time, and also make the process of expansions for each family easier. The proposed continuous roof above the volumes and voids protects the expansion zones from rain and ensures a definitive profile of the building toward the public space.

section

© Ramiro Ramirez

Third, experience tells us that in lower class neighborhoods the green spaces tend to be “earth spaces,” due to the scarcity of maintenance and the distance that exists between green space and the home that makes it difficult for neighbors to take care of. What we did in this case was to surround the green space with building, reducing the distance between communal space and the home to a minimum. This permitted us to define a collective space with secure Access that gives space to the social network and generates favorable conditions for maintenance and care.

All the apartments have direct Access from the public space and parking, a condition especially relevant in a country where every family can have access to an automobile.

Condominio Don Tristán en Maipú. www.flickr.com/sara_corleone

Tras el terremoto del 27 de febrero, grupos de diversa naturaleza se han organizado para ayudar, catastrar, organizar, e informar a la población del país, inmersa en situaciones de precariedad, desamparo, escasez, y también de impotencia en la búsqueda de culpables por lo ocurrido. Si bien el terremoto no tiene culpable, las negligencias en coordinación y el colapso físico de estructuras, si lo tienen. En ese sentido llama es imposible no ver que junto con antiguas y en algunos casos precarias estructuras de adobe u otros materiales, los mayores daños se hayan registrado en estructuras de menos de 10 años de antigüedad, como son algunas autopistas y edificios de recientes negocios inmobiliarios. CIPER Chile publicó en su web la información de las inmobiliarias y constructoras de los edificios más dañados en Santiago, información que agradecemos profundamente.

El listado de éstas es el siguiente:

Paz Corp (en Ñuñoa)

Ebco y Banmerchant (en Ñuñoa)

Sigro y Viva (en Ñuñoa y Macul)

Ingevec y Simonetti (en Ñuñoa)

Vital y Penta (en Ñuñoa)

Concreta y Santiago Tres (en Ñuñoa)

Novatec y El Bosque (en Santiago)

DLP y General (en Santiago)

Mujica y González Limitada, Francisco de Aguirre e Independencia S.A. (en Maipú e Independencia)

Origen y Konhill (en Maipú)

Francisco Lorca (en San Bernardo)

FGS S.A. (en Huechuraba)

Echeverría Izquierdo y Altos de Huechuraba (en Huechuraba)

Jahuel Ingeniería y Quinched (en Huechuraba)

Nollagam Limitada (en Independencia)

Viviendas 2000 y Fe Grande (en Conchalí)

Planes y Los Vilos (en Maipú)

Hermanos Carrera (en Maipú)

Esta completa lista se puede visitar en un mapa elaborado por CIPER sobre Google maps en este link. La información contempla sólo los proyectos afectados en Santiago, a lo que habrá que sumar luego la información levantada en regiones, donde seguramente inaugurará la lista la constructora Socovil, a cargo del edificio Condominio Alto Río que se desplomó el día del terremoto en Concepción, y cuya publicidad de venta es la siguiente:

Pinche aquí para ver el vídeo

La investigación sobre la organización de cada una de estas empresas está muy desarrollada en el sitio de CIPER. Quisiéramos detenernos aquí en el caso particular del edificio Altos de Huechuraba, a cargo de la constructora Echeverría Izquierdo, no porque haya sido especialmente desastroso en relación al resto, sino porque involucra a actores relevantes de la futura reconstrucción de nuestras ciudades. El caso de esta constructora es presentado en CIPER de la siguiente manera:

El 4 de noviembre de 2008 se modificó el Consorcio de Ingeniería y Construcción VEI Limitada, sociedad que data de 1996 y en la que participa la empresa “Echeverría, Izquierdo, Ingeniería y Construcción S.A.” así como “Echeverría, Izquierdo S.A.”, además de “Ingeniería y Construcción Vial y Vives Limitada” e “Icafal Ingeniería y Construcción S.A.”. El capital social aumentó a $2.487.965.171, aportado en proporción de un 33,33% por cada una de las empresas asociadas. Como representantes de Echeverría Izquierdo S.A. aparecen Fernando José Echeverría Vial o Álvaro Gabriel Izquierdo Wachholtz. Esta constructora tiene además otra sociedad, “Echeverría, Izquierdo, Montajes Industriales S.A.”, la que en diciembre de 2006 constituyó la sociedad de responsabilidad limitada “Consorcio Echeverría Izquierdo, Parés y Alvarez Limitada” o “CONSORCIO EIMI – P&A LTDA.”, siendo representada por Darío Arturo Barros Ramírez, Bernardo Alberto Echeverría Vial y Álvaro Gabriel Izquierdo Wachholtz. Su socia, “Parés y Alvarez Ingnieros Asociados Limitada”, está representada por Javier Álvarez Pérez.

Pues bien, Fernando Echeverría Vial será, a partir de este jueves 11 de marzo, el intendente de la Región Metropolitana. Echeverría fue, además, presidente de la Cámara Chilena de la Construcción en años anteriores. Junto con él, en la lista de los 5 intendentes ya anunciados en la página oficial del nuevo gobierno, se nombra a Rodrigo Galilea, de la constructora Galilea S.A., como intendente de la región del Maule.

En el proceso de reconstrucción que se aproxima, las inmobiliarias y los intereses de la Cámara Chilena de la Construcción sin duda que van a jugar un rol importante, y si en las últimas semanas ha habido denuncia por parte de algunos sectores respecto a evidentes conflictos de interés de miembros del nuevo gobierno, sin duda estos nombres vienen a ser parte de eso mismo, y de manera absolutamente evidente.

La destrucción de los centros de ciudades intermedias, así como el aumento del déficit habitacional, abre un importante debate en torno a cómo se reconstruyen las ciudades, y sobre todo de quién se hace cargo del proceso y se apodera de las ganancias; entendiendo que la emergencia puede hacernos querer actuar rápido, parece importante también detenerse a pensar en las consecuencias a largo plazo de aquello que se construya. En un modelo desdcarnadamente neoliberal en que el suelo es un bien de cambio más, la actual situación presenta un escenario de eventual expulsión importante, que reabrirá y agudizará un debate sobre segregación y derecho a la ciudad que en la práctica nunca se ha cerrado, teniendo como principal protagonista la importancia del suelo. Las inmobiliarias como juez y parte, incluso con edificios a medio caer, hacen que sea imperioso construir esta agenda desde la propia ciudadanía, organizada e informada, desde ya.

German design studio RAUMINRAUM designed the interior of the Jackie Su Restaurant located in Bremen, Germany.

The asian street kitchen character with a contemporary and clear interior is used for this small restaurant in Bremen’s city center. Concrete walls with an artwork presenting a smiling Jackie Su, bring red Asian characters while the large suspended acoustic ceiling and unclad air-conditioning ducts emphasize the urban ambience.

Photos by Nikolai Wolff

Via Contemporist

© Toshiyuki Yano / Nacasa & Partners

Architects: Suppose design office
Location: Hiro, Kure city, Hiroshima, Japan
Site Area: 78.34 sqm
Building Area: 37.39 sqm
Total Floor Area: 66.46 sqm
Project Year: 2009
Photographs: Toshiyuki Yano

This spacious house is a home that has two gardens.

ground floor plan

© Toshiyuki Yano / Nacasa & Partners

The site is located in a shopping district alongside the main highway, a harsh place to satisfy the demands of a client desiring a home with bright gardens. There are no outdoor gardens here, so we decided to plan outthe kind of place that you could almost call a real garden, by bringing to the indoors materials that evoke – elements of the outdoors – garden-like elements such as light and raw materials. By setting up garden rooms that at first sight make you feel as if you are in a real outdoor garden – despite being indoors – we have created a distinction between the indoors and outdoors, and by putting characteristically “outdoor” things such as plants and bicycles in the rooms, as well as books, artwork, and pianos, we have portrayeda life in which these elements are all mingled. We struggled to achieve this new outdoors-like form by changing the way we looked at things just a little bit, by unconsciously recognizing these “inside and outside” elements. The garden rooms, where the indoors and outdoors mingle, show that rather than being a home that cannot allow the sort of metamorphosis it has seen thus far, this home is comfortable with these changes.

© Toshiyuki Yano / Nacasa & Partners

By participating in putting the finishing touches on the buildingﾕs interior design, we think that we have created such a home.

Peter Pichler Architects, a young team based in Bolzano, Italy, have worked with well known names such as Zaha Hadid and OMA, and now, their studio’s first building will be realized in a few months. The client, the German photographer Cellina von Mannstein, will now reside in the northern part of Italy, surrounded by the Alps. With the intention to keep the two dominate trees on the site and to capture one of the them within the volume of the building, a “green atrium” was created between the built volumes that cuts the building in two parts.

More images and more about the residence after the break.

Clad in black aluminum panels to resemble an old and edgy camera, the residence is comprised of a main housing element and, of course, a photo studio.  The housing areas are distributed on two levels which are slightly shifted to create a canopied entrance on the northern part of the first level and a balcony on the south side of the second level.  An open floor plan on the first level bleeds into a south oriented terrace with pool.  The entire floor is framed by a platform and is lifted from the ground to provide better views.

The tree in the atrium is visible and accessible by large sliding glass windows.

The photo studio, which rests on the west side, is characterised by a great glass facade that filters light.  The facade can alternatively be transformed into a vast projection wall (provided by an integrated projection surface) to be used as a “drive-in-theatre” for presentations.

The winners of eVolo’s 2010 Skyscraper Competition were announced today. After several years of organizing, this annual competition has become a renowned architectural prize around the world. The main idea of the contest is to examine the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world, the skyscraper and the community, and the skyscraper and urban living. The competition asked to push our imagination to redefine the term skyscraper through the use of new materials, technology, aesthetics, programs, and spatial organizations. Globalization, environmental warming, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution are just some of the multi-layered elements that were in the focal point.

First Place: Vertical Prison by Chow Khoon Toong, Ong Tien Yee, Beh Ssi Cze, Malaysia (project info)

Second Place: Water Purification Skyscraper in Jakarta by Rezza Rahdian, Erwin Setiawan, Ayu Diah Shanti, Leonardus Chrisnantyo, Indonesia (project info)

Third Place: Nested Skyscraper in Tokyo by Ryohei Koike, Jarod Poenisch, United States (project info)

Here’s a selection of Special Mentions we especially liked (for the complete list, click here):

Tras ocho días de la catástrofe que abatió a más de siete regiones de nuestro país, han surgido una serie de soluciones iniciales e inmediatas que se enmarcan en extensos procesos necesarios para renovar y restablecer las condiciones de habitabilidad. En este escenario de inestabilidad, miles de familias desalojan sus viviendas a la espera de asesoría técnica en caso de reparaciones, demoliciones, relocalización o simplemente el aviso de que no hay riesgos en volver a habitar sus viviendas. En localidades abatidas por tsunami en las regiones del Maule y Biobío como Iloca, ya se está analizando la posibilidad de una relocalización sobre la cota mínima de seguridad. Mientras dentro de la Región Metropolitana, destacan conjuntos como la Villa Portales, donde cientos de familias se encuentran desalojados hasta obtener el informe de evaluación sobre la habitabilidad de sus viviendas.

Se trata de un periodo de acción técnica y operación estratégica, determinante a distintas escalas de afectación: tanto a nivel habitacional como en el futuro desarrollo y renovación de distintas localidades de nuestro país.

Redes de Acción Inmediata: Catastros de Daños

Como todo sismo de alta intensidad, viene acompañado de réplicas que han pronunciado los daños en los días posteriores a la catástrofe: las fallas estructurales han aumentado en el tiempo el número de desalojos y de solicitantes por evaluar la habitabilidad de sus viviendas.

Quienes han sufrido daños de importancia en sus viviendas tienen diversas vías para ingresar al sistema de catastro de daños: acudir a su municipalidad respectiva o a través de distintos medios web como Plataforma Arquitectura. Sin embargo, la revisión técnica de emergencia no se ha limitado a revisión de viviendas, sino que cualquier tipo de construcción o infraestructura que pueda significar un riesgo para las personas.

El trabajo de catastro es una respuesta inmediata para tomar las precauciones necesarias según el grado de afectación que tiene el inmueble. La Dirección de Obras Municipales con el apoyo de profesionales deciden tras un diagnóstico si la vivienda debe ser demolida, puede ser habitada o qué tipo de reparaciones deben realizarse.

Resultados Iniciales

En tres días de catastro dentro de la Región Metropolitana, 480 correspondientes a un 20% de las 2.338 construcciones inspeccionadas, se declararon inhabitables. Los desalojos se demandaron tanto para aquellos casos donde se afirmó la necesidad de demoler completamente los inmuebles como para los que deben desmantelar sólo sus sectores más críticos. En las 1.710 construcciones restantes no se encontraron fallas mayores que ameritaran su abandono.

La siguiente imagen grafica las cifras preliminares del primer catastro de la región, señalando las construcciones desalojadas:

Fuente: minvu, a través de emol.

Soluciones Inmediatas: Desalojos colectivos, Nuevos Escenarios

Un sinnúmero de familias vive una situación similar a los últimos acontecimientos en la Villa Olímpica. En estos momentos, la Unidad Vecinal Villa Portales está rodeada en las zonas proyectadas para uso comunitario por carpas e improvisadas instalaciones tras ser desalojados durante el viernes y ayer por orden de la Municipalidad de Estación Central. Ingenieros de la municipalidad y del Centro de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación de Estructuras y Materiales (Idiem) analizan el edificio y elaboran un informe para determinar la habitabilidad de los departamentos de los blocks 1, 2 y 4. Las inseguridades frente a los daños visibles, que se replican en distintos puntos de la ciudad, han sembrado un temor colectivo: una serie de habitantes espera la respuesta de los especialistas mientras otros aseguran no volver a vivir en el histórico conjunto.

Izquierda: Campamentos Villa Portales; Derecha: Sitio próximo a departamentos en Conchalí

Más hacia el sur, la seguidilla de localidades costeras en el Maule y el Biobío fueron devastadas no sólo por el azote del terremoto, sino también por el tsunami debido al riesgo de existir franjas de construcciones a pocos metros de la playa. Sus habitantes esperan la evaluación y levantamiento de estos sectores que revelará posibilidades de relocalización. El gobierno encargó a la Universidad Católica un estudio y diseño de Plan Regulador para toda la zona costera de la región, que determinará una nueva estructura urbana. Sin embargo, se trata de poblados altamente establecidos en el tiempo en una interdependiente proximidad al mar, principalmente debido a su tradición pesquera, por lo que cualquier decisión de reubicación debe ser óptima y no significar una amenaza en términos sociales y de seguridad.

Durante estos procesos de análisis técnico y operativo se espacializan acciones de emergencia determinantes en el futuro desarrollo de distintas localidades en el país. Esta primera instancia colectiviza una serie de casos, guiando a cientos de habitantes en las medidas a tomar según la evaluación de sus casos en particular: retornar a sus viviendas, efectuar las reparaciones correspondientes o en casos más severos, relocalización de las viviendas, generando en algunas zonas altos impactos en la estructura y composición urbana. Este ánalisis generará posibles nuevos escenarios de mayor escala, por lo que en este material es fundamental un trabajo estratégico que sea capaz de sostener criterios de seguridad sin sacrificar las posibilidades de un desarrollo urbano de calidad.

Architizer is happy to announce that on March 18th they will be hosting a parti in Los Angeles at the new A+D Museum space to celebrate Los Angeles architecture culture.

More info here.

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ISAR PS House - 29 DSC_0143s2, originally uploaded by cs@sf.

PS House in San Francisco, California by IwamotoScott Architecture, 2010.

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:: Join and add photos to the archidose pool, and/or
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West 8 in collaboration with Snoeck en Partners, Bas Dirk Jaspaert, ERM and Tritel, has won the competition organized by the City of Leuven, for the revitalization of the former industrial site Vaartkom in Leuven, Belgium.

Here’s a description of the project from West 8:

The Vaartkom is a unique location close to the water’s edge and within walking distance from the historical city center. Already this district offers an exceptional urban landscape, with its remnants of a rich industrial past. Inspired by these industrial artifacts, West 8 proposes a vibrant new urban center where living, working and production function in a healthy balance.

The area of the Vaartkom is characterized by a fascinating variety of features and scale. The original port operations are almost completely gone, what remains are the remnants of a rich industrial past. An attractive district will emerge where living, working and production function in a healthy balance.

This shift to a more human use also requires an adjustment to the design of public space. The accessibility of many homes and commercial spaces should be ensured, so the area will be better connected to the surrounding technical structures. The public space around the Vaartkom transforms from an industrial to an esplanade wharf, a lounge with numerous terraces.The hardness of a port makes room for warmth, for green, for a human habitat.

The Engelsplein is an important part in this transformation. The square plays a qualitative role as transit space. The presence of the viaduct, the bus platforms and the entrance ways to the public parking define the public space.  A maximum green character is created by gathering the necessary ‘hard’ surfaces under the viaduct. It is people and green who get all daylight.

Images: West 8

Desde el terremoto del sábado pasado, Plataforma Arquitectura ha hecho un intenso trabajo para informar sobre lo más importante relacionado a la vivienda y arquitectura en las zonas más afectadas. Hoy, David Basulto publicó una guía de recomendaciones elaborada por Elemental, para la instalación de vivienda de emergencia en los campamentos provisorios que se empezarán a levantar en las localidades afectadas.

La guía incluye temas desde accesos y distanciamientos (basadas en las lecciones aprendidas en Tocopilla), trazado, núcleos de servicio y ampliaciones (pensando que estos campamentos podrían estar incluso hasta 2 inviernos arriba). La guía viene explicada de manera sencilla y bien ilustrada, y puede ser de mucha ayuda para los equipos que ya están trabajando en las zonas de catástrofe.

Descargar “Recomendaciones para instalación de vivienda de emergencia en campamentos provisorios” (PDF)

Cartoon by arch.Maaik

• Greening an Icon: The Empire State Building.
• Photos of the exhibition Ron Arad: Restless.
• Riego van Wersch’s unique universe.
• The Franzen Lecture on architecture and the environment.
• Frank Gehry quits Museum of Tolerance Project.
• Fast Food Kiosque on the seafront at Saint-Nazaire, France.
• Smart and stylish Vertically Moving Floor that turns the surface of the pool into a usable floor.
• A video about the Design and Production of Lzf Lamps.
• Winners of the Brit Insurance Design of 2010.

Cemetery_Chapel_, originally uploaded by m_innit.

St. Mary of the Angels Chapel in Rotterdam, Netherlands by Mecanoo, 2001.

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The F club, image courtesy of PROGETTOSPORE

The F club, image courtesy of PROGETTOSPORE

Italian studio PROGETTOSPORE has designed The [F] club located in LIDO DI CAMAIORE [LU] Italy.

The plan’s aim is to build a structure which answers the needs of a beach Club and at the same time is not a visual barrier but a frame between people who walk along the shore and the seaside.

The choice of the materials included wood, brick, glass and hemp, which have a lower environmental impact because of their physical and production characteristics.

+ Project credits / data

Project: The [F] club
Location: LIDO DI CAMAIORE [LU] Italy
Year: 2007-2009
Architectural plan: PROGETTOSPORE
Buyer: Assonautica
Graphics: werkdesign

+ All images and drawings courtesy of PROGETTOSPORE

Related posts:

1. Parish complex – Ribbons in the space | PROGETTOSPORE + Samuele Calamai
2. Ferrari Factory Store | Massimo Iosa Ghini
3. Jesolo Magica | Zaha Hadid Architects

Architects Krueck & Sexton has completed restoring 860-880 Lake Shore Drive which was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1951. Widely recognized as one of the 20th Century’s most iconic residential projects, 860-880 Lake Shore Drive consists of two 26-story rectangular condominium buildings surrounded by an irregular travertine plaza. The steel and glass towers are connected by a covered walkway.

Over the years, the problems included corrosion of the building’s exposed steel frame, failure of the lobby glazing system and extensive cracking and discoloration of the travertine plaza. The restoration included recoating the steel frame facade and cleaning the original aluminum windows. In addition, new sandblasted glass in the lobby recreated the soft, velvety glow of the original. Finally, the plaza was rebuilt by replacing the original travertine slabs and recreating the original plaza lighting scheme.

One of the things I’ve learned from restoring these buildings is that, for Mies, there was never a final answer… He was always interested in what else could happen, what the other design possibilities might be. What’s fascinating is to watch his thinking evolve over the course of a project. At 860-880, for example, the early sketches show a scalloped exterior with large bay windows. This eventually changes to what is there today. There’s also a continual process of refinement in terms of the massing, the enclosures at the bottom and the way the plazas are laid out.

Krueck

860-880 Lake Shore Drive Restoration by Krueck & Sexton Architects

+ Description courtesy of Chicago Design Bureau

Krueck & Sexton Restores Mies Classic

860-880 Lake Shore Drive redefined highrise living for post-war generation

Architects Krueck & Sexton recently completed restoring one of legendary Modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s most celebrated commissions: 860-880 Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago.

860-880, which was built between 1949 and 1951, consists of two 26-story, exposed steel and glass apartment towers set at right angles on an irregular travertine plaza.

Based on ideas and theories Mies had been perfecting since his earliest days as an independent architect in 1920s Berlin, the buildings redefined highrise living for the post-war generation.

They were the most radical buildings of their time… They’re light and delicate and surprisingly sexy. They also prove that – contrary to what many people believe — it’s not so easy to design a glass box.

Ron Krueck

860-880, which is both a local and national landmark, is located just north of Chicago’s Loop central business district and steps away from Lake Michigan.

Many architects and critics believe 860-880 is the closest Mies ever came to achieving his goal of less is more “skin and bones” architecture.

According to the American Institute of Architects’ “Guide to Chicago,” “No other building(s) by Mies had as immediate or strong an impact on his American contemporaries, and the influence of these structures was to pervade much of modern architecture.”

860-880 Lake Shore Drive Restoration by Krueck & Sexton Architects

There’s not a lot to them… They’re mainly just steel and glass used in the most efficient way possible. By contrast, buildings today often have layer upon layer of materials.

Mark Sexton

In addition to more than half a century of normal wear and tear, the buildings had endured several restoration attempts over the years. The problems included corrosion of the buildings’ exposed steel frame, failure of the lobby glazing system and extensive cracking and discoloration of the travertine plaza.

860-880 Lake Shore Drive Restoration by Krueck & Sexton Architects

There were also aesthetic issues. The original frosted glass in the lobby had been replaced in the early 1980s by a laminate system with a translucent interlayer that created an historically inaccurate aquamarine tint.

The restoration included recoating the steel frame facade and cleaning the original aluminum windows. In addition, new sandblasted glass in the lobby recreated the soft, velvety glow of the original.

Finally, the plaza was rebuilt, a process that included replacing the original travertine slabs, designing a new drainage system and recreating the original plaza lighting scheme.

Designed to take advantage of a 2008 tax credit, the project began in the summer of 2007 and was completed in December. The cost was $9 million.

860-880 is the third and largest Mies commission Krueck &  Sexton, a firm more noted for its original work, has completed in recent years.

The other two – all are in Chicago – are Crown Hall on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology and the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.

One of the things I’ve learned from restoring these buildings is that, for Mies, there was never a final answer… He was always interested in what else could happen, what the other design possibilities might be. What’s fascinating is to watch his thinking evolve over the course of a project. At 860-880, for example, the early sketches show a scalloped exterior with large bay windows. This eventually changes to what is there today. There’s also a continual process of refinement in terms of the massing, the enclosures at the bottom and the way the plazas are laid out.

Krueck

+ About Krueck & Sexton Architects

Krueck & Sexton Architects was founded by architects Ronald Krueck and Mark Sexton in 1991 and is a multi-disciplinary firm with a varied portfolio. In addition to its innovative Mid-Century restoration and renovation practice, it has completed numerous award-winning civic, commercial and residential projects. The firm’s Spertus Institute Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago received three AIA awards in 2008, including a Distinguished Building Award. The firm currently is working on a 25 acre expansion of Grant Park in downtown Chicago, the highlight of which will be a new home – also designed by Krueck & Sexton – for the Chicago Children’s Museum.

+ Project credits / data

Project: 860-880 Lake Shore Drive

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Date:

Original Completion Date: 1951
Restoration Completion Date: 2009

Client / Owner:

860 Lake Shore Drive Trust
880 North Lake Shore Drive
Chicago IL 60611
Marc Boxerman, Board Member & President

Building Management :

860 Lake Shore Drive Trust
880 North Lake Shore Drive
Chicago IL 60611
Kayla Ehrlich, Building Manager

Owner’s Representative:

Cotter Consulting, Inc.
100 South Wacker Drive
Suite 920
Chicago IL 60604
David Krc, Senior Project Manager

Architect & Prime Consultant:

Krueck & Sexton
221 West Erie Street
Chicago IL 60610
Mark Sexton, Principal in Charge; Ron Krueck, Design Principal; Tim Tracey, Project Architect

Preservation Architect:

Harboe Architects, P.C.
140 S. Dearborn Street
Suite 205
Chicago IL 60603
Gunny Harboe, Principal in Charge; Douglas Gilbert, Preservation Project Architect

Forensic Analysis, Structural Engineering

Wiss Janney Elstner Associates, Inc.
330 Pfingsten Road
Northbrook IL. 60062
Arne Johnson, Principal in Charge & Structural Engineer; Michael Scheffler, PE, Senior Consultant; Ken Itle, Forensic Project Architect

Wiss Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
10 South LaSalle Street
Suite 2600
Chicago IL 60603
Paul Gaudette, Concrete Quality Control; Joshua Freedland, Paint Forensics; Jason Aspin, Roofing

Lighting Consultant:

Schuler Shook
750 North Orleans
Suite 400
Chicago IL 60610
Jim Baney, IALD, LC

Chicago Landmark Review:

City of Chicago
Department of Planning and Development
Landmarks Division
33 North LaSalle Street
Suite 1600
Chicago IL 60602
Dijana Cuvalo, Director of Permit Review

General Contractor:

Bulley & Andrews, LLC
1755 West Armitage Ave
Chicago IL 60622
Paul Hellermann, President
Bruce Wance, Sr. Project Manager

Painting Subcontractor:

National Decorating Service, Inc.
2210 Camden Court
Oak Brook IL 60523

Travertine Supplier / Fabricator:

Mariotti Carlo & Figli S.p.A.
Via Tiburtina 287
00011 Tivoli Terme (Roma) – Italy
Primo Mariotti; Fabrizo Mariotti

Travertine Testing:

Corestone S.r.l
Via Delle Ciocche, 889
55047 Seravezza
Italy
Marc Heinlein

Travertine Installer:

Cleveland Marble Mosaic Company
4595 Hinckley Industrial Parkway
Cleveland OH 44109
Robert Zavagno Jr., President; Daniel Ulmer, Project Manager

Waterproofing Sub-Contractor:

Allied Waterproofing, Inc.
4205 Lawndale Ave.,
Lyons IL 60534-1131
Bill Leonhard

Landscape Contractor:

Landscape Maintenance Kinsella Landscape, Inc.
13821 South Harrison Avenue
Blue Island IL 60406
George Kinsella

Material Testing:

STS
750 Corporate Woods Parkway
Vernon Hills, Illinois 60061
Raul Dilig

Photographer: William Zbaren

+ All images and drawings courtesy of Chicago Design Bureau

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