UrbanWorks’ La Casa Student Housing design is featured in Making Room: Housing for a Changing America, hosted at the National Building Museum from November 18, 2017 – September 16, 2018. The exhibition highlights new housing models, which reflect America’s shift away from nuclear households and includes “alternatives at all levels of the market, from micro-units, tiny houses, and accessory apartments to cohousing, co-living, and beyond.” The exhibit explores cutting-edge typologies through case studies. La Casa is an innovative model in student housing run by The Resurrection Project in Chicago. Read more
UrbanWorks was honored to receive an Award of Merit from the Association of Licensed Architects Design Awards Program for our ICE CADE: Center for Architecture, Design + Education concept, a concept for the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s new welcome center, headquarters for the Council on Tall Buildings, high school, and youth programs. This ALA Awards competition celebrates designs and designers from all around the country in eight categories. The ICE CADE was submitted in the Unbuilt Category. Read more
On September 23, UrbanWorks was featured in the 2017 Chicago Architecture Biennial Chicago Women in Architecture Walking Tour, which highlighted sites in downtown Chicago designed by female architects. UrbanWorks’ restoration of Buckingham Fountain was among the six sites featured on the walking tour. The Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) is the largest architecture and design exhibition in North America. Read more
UrbanWorks collaborated with Lead Artist Lauren Pacheco to win First Place in the 2017 Downtown Gary Public Art Competition with the team’s Destination Gary: Art Park submission. The competition “has a commitment to work with both emerging and established artists to produce high quality, innovative, and creative art projects and exhibitions in public spaces in Gary, Indiana.” Destination Gary reimagines over two acres of vacant land into an art park, filled with a series of creative installations for the public.
UrbanWorks is pleased to welcome EJ Fernandez to our team as Project Coordinator / Designer. EJ comes to UrbanWorks with over six years of professional design and project management experience, with a portfolio ranging from residential to commercial, institutional and higher-education. He is passionate about holistic design, the cultural aspects of architecture and its social impact. Prior to joining UrbanWorks, he served as an Architectural Designer/Job Captain + Project Manager at an architecture firm in Culver City, CA. EJ will focus on continuing project and design excellence for the firm’s non-profit and higher education clients. Welcome, EJ! Read more
Jose Esquinca, a Designer at UrbanWorks since 2014, has been promoted to Design Associate. His new duties include overseeing the design aspects of projects, ensuring that the vision of our Principals and Project Architects translate seamlessly to the page. Congratulations Jose!
CPS CTE Intern Elynn Jensen, One Summer Chicago/Vamos Intern Oscar Hernandez, College Intern Corinth Jackson and High School Interns Alexis Roldan and Gabriella Finch were introduced to the field of architecture. The UrbanWorks Summer Interns attended meetings, visited projects under construction, and assisted with project drawings and material selections. UrbanWorks participated as Mentor Sponsors for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s One Summer Chicago program, which “brings together government institutions, community-based organizations and companies to offer over employment and internship opportunities to youth and young adults ages 14 to 24” and Host Firm for the Chicago Public Schools Career and Technical Education (CTE) College Prep Program which gives “ hands-on training and real world experience through internships”. (Top Row: Gabriella Finch, Corinth Jackson Middle Row: Alexis Roldan, Elynn Jensen Bottom Row: Oscar Hernandez)
UrbanWorks’ Sustainability Coordinator, Tej Varpe, volunteered for the USGBC Illinois Chapter Green Built Home Tour of +Plus House in Pilsen on Saturday, July 22. +Plus Houses are affordable, LEED Certified homes. Eleven High Performance Green Homes were featured, including those with high efficiency envelopes, foam insulated foundation, smart furnaces, CarbonCure concrete and radon venting. Each +Plus House was also solar ready. Read more
Ann Panopio joins the Advisory Board of Girls 4 Science, an organization dedicated to enhancing (STEM) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math literacy to 10-18 year old girls through hands-on laboratory and field experiences. Girls 4 Science is making science a reality for over 500 young women in the Chicagoland area. It is Chicago’s only all-girls science initiative in a peer-to-peer environment of encouragement. Go Ann! Read more
Led by Ameera Ashraf O’Neil, UrbanWorks hosted an On the Table discussion on May 16. Nine participants discussed Creative Solution to make Communities Stronger, Safer, and More Dynamic through Architecture. The Chicago Community Trust’s On the Table is an annual forum designed to elevate the civic conversation, foster new relationships and inspire collaborative action across the region. On Tuesday May 16, tens of thousands of Chicago area residents gathered in small groups to share a meal and discuss challenges and opportunities to make communities better. The Chicago Community Trust is the region’s largest community foundation, making grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve metropolitan Chicago. Read more