Details

The Chicago Walk will explore how the idea of “home” is evolving in the heart of a dense and increasingly complex city. We will focus on two recently completed projects that offer remarkably different responses to urban living: one reimagines a historic building to provide much needed single-room occupancy housing, while the other creates a new model of high-density, mixed-use residential life. Together, they offer an opportunity to consider how architecture, development, preservation, amenities, and affordability can shape very different experiences of living in the city.

Lawson House, a 24-story Art Deco building completed in 1931 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the former Chicago YMCA headquarters. Its comprehensive rehabilitation transformed 583 single-room-occupancy units into 409 modern studio apartments, providing affordable housing while preserving an important piece of Chicago’s architectural and social history.

Across the street, One Chicago represents a very different model of contemporary urban living. The approximately 2.2-million-square-foot mixed-use development combines two residential towers with 812 residences, office and retail space, a grocery store, fitness and wellness center, and an expansive rooftop garden.

Two buildings. Two very different approaches to urban housing. One neighborhood—and an opportunity to consider a larger question:

As our cities continue to evolve, what does it mean to create a space called home?

Route

We will meet at the Poetry Foundation, 61 West Superior Street, at 4:00 p.m. and make our way through the surrounding neighborhood, analyzing how Chicago is changing and how these projects (both old and new) contribute to its evolving residential character.

 

Our stops include:

 

  1. Poetry Foundation – The first space in Chicago dedicated solely to the art of poetry, the Poetry Foundation building fulfills Harriet Monroe’s dream that Poetry magazine would help poets pursue their art, increase public interest in poetry, and raise the profile of poetry in our culture.
  2. Washington Square Park – In 1842, members of the American Land Company donated an approximate three-acre parcel of land to the City of Chicago for use as a public park. Now the park is an active community park and a popular wedding ceremony location.
  3. Newberry Library – An independent research library that has been free and open to the public since 1887.
  4. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams – A community staple nestled within Connors (William) Park, Jeni’s often has a line stretching through the park in the summer.
  5. Lawson House Apartments – Melinda Guerra of Holsten Human Capital Development will provide an in-depth look at the building’s transformation and the ideas behind its redevelopment.
  6. One Chicago – Joachim Schuessler, AIA, Principal at Goettsch Partners, will introduce us to the project and guide us through its amenity spaces, discussing the design process and the complexities involved in creating a development of this scale in the heart of Chicago.