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Nov 03
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Panelist Patricia Saldaña Natke at AIA Build America Summit

By Panels, Staff Happenings

Patricia Saldaña Natke, UrbanWorks’ Principal, will participate in an AIA panel discussion titled “Opportunities, Obstacles and Economics” at the Build America Summit, held in New York City on November 30, 2016. The summit, hosted by the American Institute of Architects on November 29th and 30th, will serve as “a critical conversation to renew and rebuild America’s social infrastructure—the public buildings and spaces that are the heart of our communities” and will conclude with “recommendations to the incoming Presidential administration and elected officials across the country.” Other panelists include Kermit Baker, Chief Economist of the AIA and Christopher Leinberger, Chair for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at George Washington University. Moderated by Alan Greenberger, Drexel University Distinguished Professor, Department of Architecture & Interiors, Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation. Read more

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Oct 26
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Pablo Jones Joins UrbanWorks

By Staff Happenings

UrbanWorks is pleased to welcome Pablo Jones to our team as Project Manager.  Pablo brings over a decade of architectural design, site planning, code review and project management experience to the firm. His design philosophy of synthesizing complex design challenges into simple, yet functional and elegant spaces has been reflected in a portfolio spanning a variety of sectors, including medical, industrial, commercial, mid-rise residential, restaurant, single-family housing, office interiors and sound abatement. Prior to joining UrbanWorks, Pablo served as a Senior Project Manager at a commercial architecture firm here in Chicago. Read more

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Sep 21
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Robert Natke to Present at NeoCon East

By Lectures/Presentations, Panels

Robert Natke, UrbanWorks’ Principal, will present “It’s Not Business As Usual: Academic Places Go Through Compression and Change Providing Design Challenges and Successes” at NeoCon East on November 9, 2016. NeoCon East is the “premier design expo and conference for interiors on the East Coast” and will include 25+ CEU seminars and 200+ exhibitors over two days, November 9th and 10th, in Philadelphia, PA. Rob will be joined by Dr. Lennie Scott-Webber, owner & principal at INSYNC Education Research + Design, in a discussion moderated by Dr. Holly Cline, professor and department of design chair at Radford University. Read more

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Sep 20
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UrbanWorks’ Galewood Elementary School Wins a 2016 American Architecture Award

By Awards, Exhibits

Galewood Elementary School in Chicago was one of 74 buildings awarded the 2016 American Architecture Award. This award program, organized by the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, highlights “the best new buildings designed and constructed by American architects in the U.S. and abroad and by international architects for buildings designed and built in the United States,” and includes projects of every type, from skyscrapers to parks. This year’s awards program will culminate in an Awards Presentation/Gala Dinner in Chicago, an exhibition of winning projects in Athens, Greece and the publication of all winning projects in New American Architecture, published by Metropolitan Arts Press. Read more

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Aug 23
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UrbanWorks Joins Architects Advocate

By Community

UrbanWorks is proud to join 68 design firms as part of Architects Advocate. We support the group’s mission statement that “As architects dedicated to healthy and livable communities, and guided by scientific consensus and reason, we advocate for action on Climate Change.” Architects Advocate seeks to design “healthy spaces and livable cities” as well as speaking out publicly on the issues and enacting “meaningful legislation to mitigate Climate Change.” Read more

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Aug 19
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UrbanWorks in World Architecture Festival Award Shortlist, as Associate Architects on Ross Barney Team

By Awards

UrbanWorks served as Associate Architects on the Ross Barney Architects team for the CTA Cermak-McCormick Place Station, which previously received two 2015 AIA Chicago Design Excellence Awards. The project is now shortlisted for a 2016 World Architecture Festival Award under the Transport – Completed Buildings category, and is competing against projects from France, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. Winners will be announced during the festival, held in Berlin, Germany, in November 2016. Read more

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Aug 19
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Robert Natke to Present at PechaKucha Vol. 39

By Lectures/Presentations, Staff Happenings

Robert Natke, UrbanWorks’ Principal presents “A2: Automobiles + Architecture” at PuchaKucha Vol. 39:  20×20 on September 6, 2016 at Martyrs 3855 N. Lincoln in Chicago. 8pm – 10:30 pm. PechaKucha is a presentation style which began in Tokyo. 20 images are shown, each for 20 seconds. They are informal gatherings where creative people get together and share ideas, works, and thoughts. PechaKucha Nights happen in over 900 cities. Rob will highlight the intrinsic links of automobiles and architecture in his life. Read more

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Jul 10
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A Safe Haven 5K RUN! To End Homelessness

By Community, Staff Happenings

The UrbanWorks team participated in the 6th annual A Safe Haven Foundation’s 5K RUN! To End Homelessness. The race was held in Douglas Park, located in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, and included teams as large as 120 runners and as far away as Boston’s Harvard University.  All proceeds from the event went towards the “mission of A Safe Haven Foundation, one of the nation’s leading non-profit organizations dedicated to transforming lives from homelessness to self-sufficiency with pride and purpose.” Read more

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Aug 11
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TEDx Talk Video

By Lectures/Presentations, Staff Happenings

Patricia Saldaña Natke was a speaker at TEDx UChicago, on April 30, 2016 at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Hall. The theme of this year’s conference was On the Margins, which focused on “the grey area between established knowledge and new theory”. Pat’s lecture, “Architecture & Design: Renewing the Social Agenda”, spoke to her view that architectural solutions can be, and ought to be, societal solutions. Her talk included highlights of UrbanWorks’ Pilsen Master Plan,  La Casa Student Housing, and Re-Imagining the South Branch of the Chicago River. Video from that presentation can now be accessed online HERE.

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Aug 02
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Concordia Day Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Press

By Milestones, Projects, Publications

UrbanWorks’ design for Concordia Day Ravenswood was unveiled today at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the 6,000 square foot childcare center. Located in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, the market-rate center intends to use its net revenue to underwrite subsidized programs at its other locations. Design features include classrooms that mimic a field of daisies, low height partitions between learning spaces, and acoustic ceiling panels which provide acoustical control between spaces as well referencing the petals of a flower. The project has also been featured in recent articles in The Chicago Sun Times as well as Crain’s Chicago Business.

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