We are pleased to announce that Maria Pellot has been promoted to Associate Principal / Design Director and that Erick Roldan has been promoted to Senior Project Manager. Congratulations Maria and Erick!
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On November 12th, UrbanWorks’ President, Patricia Saldaña Natke, gave a guest lecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her lecture, titled “Architecture: Provoking Social Change,” shed light on Pat’s early years in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, which informed her career as a designer, and led Pat to focus both on design, and how design solutions can become societal solutions. Read more
UrbanWorks is excited to participate in the upcoming 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Chicago. Two of our LEED certified buildings are part of Greenbuild tours being held on November 16th and 17th. Galewood Elementary School (LEED Silver) will be toured as part of “Innovation in K-12 Education,” and Veterans Memorial Campus (LEED Gold) will be featured as part of “Charter Schools Raising the Bar”. Come and learn about the sustainable design features used in both of these buildings by participating in the tours. Below are links to register. We hope to see you there! Galewood Tour Link Veterans Memorial Tour Link
UrbanWorks teamed up with Tandem Inc. and BASE Engineering for the 2018 Canstruction Chicago design competition. The competition is a “design/build event which benefits the Greater Chicago Food Depository,” featuring “colossal structures made entirely out of cans of food.” The structures are then judged by a celebrity chef, members of the AEC industry as well as the public. UrbanWorks’ entry, DNA_Societies, consisted of 3,843 cans of food, and spoke to how the food we eat (and our access to healthy food) modifies human DNA over time. Go team!
This spring, UrbanWorks’ Project Architect Erick Roldan participated in the Rebuilding Together Community Revitalization program through the Arquitectos organization. With the help of donations, fundraising, skilled and non-skilled volunteers, Rebuilding Together helps disadvantaged home owners make the necessary repairs and upgrades to their homes and improve their living environment. Erick was a Co-captain for a home located in Bellwood, IL and UrbanWorks’ Ameera Ashraf-O’Neil and EJ Fernandez were team members.
Starting with a staff of three in 1993, UrbanWorks enters its 25th year invigorated for the future. We have designed thousands of units of housing, millions of square feet of buildings of every type, planned communities, and brought our socially and environmentally responsible designs to clients in both the public and private sectors. Our designs have won dozens of awards. We are proud of the more than 80 staff members and interns who have been part of the UrbanWorks team over our 25 year history. To celebrate this milestone, we have a new logo designed by Liska & Associates, creatively designed 25 year Anniversary swag, and a new home in Chicago’s loop at 125 S Clark Street, Suite 2070. Thank you for being a part of our quarter century in Architecture, Interiors and Planning. And now, if you’ll excuse us, we have some buildings to design.
UrbanWorks’ A Safe Haven: Affordable Veterans Housing received a 2017 AIA Chicago Design Excellence Award, Citation of Merit. The Design Excellence Awards is an “annual awards program which honors the best work by Chicago architecture firms found worldwide.” In 2017, Awards were given in four categories; the Distinguished Building Award, for which A Safe Haven: Affordable Veterans Housing received a Citation of Merit; the Interior Architecture Award; the Divine Detail Award; and the Ten-Year Award. Congrats to all the other winners!
On May 24th, UrbanWorks’ Principal, Patricia Saldaña Natke, participated in a panel discussion hosted by the Art Institute of Chicago, titled “‘Lost Chicago’: The Past, Present and Future of Historic Preservation.” The panel, which also included author and historian David Garrard Lowe, author and former AIC curator John Zukowsky, and SAIC professor Terry Tatum, focused on the genesis of Historic Preservation in Chicago and what its future may hold. Lowe also discussed his book “Lost Chicago”, and the library exhibit “Memior of a City” (April 10-June 15, 2018), which includes photos from his personal collection. Read more
UrbanWorks is a proud Project Team Host of Territory NFP’s first fundraiser, held on February 22, 2018. Territory NFP uses design as a platform for civic engagement for Chicago youth. Their programs allow young people to participate in “…urban design, public art and community planning in the neighborhoods where they live and learn.” Read more (Photo L-R: Helen Slade, Territory Exec Director; Tej Varpe, Ann Panopio, Robert Natke, Maria Pellot, Pat Natke; Mike Newman, Territory Board Chair)
Round of applause! Patricia Saldaña Natke is elevated to FAIA, The American Institute of Architects’ highest membership honor for exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society. This year, ten AIA Chicago members were awarded the honor, which spans five categories. Pat, recognized in Category One – Design, now joins the top three percent of AIA’s membership who have achieved this recognition. Pat will be inducted at the FAIA Investiture Ceremony during the 2018 AIA Conference in New York City on June 22, 2018. Congratulations Pat! Read more