In Western Springs, Illinois, a young family aspired to create a modern, light-filled suburban residence that would integrate the openness of their previous urban loft with a seamless transition to the outdoors. It was then the award-winning, full-service, architectural design firm of dSPACE Studio in Chicago was tapped for the residential new build. The team sought to leverage minimal thresholds…
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Healthful interiors
The International Interior Design Association’s eighth annual IIDA Healthcare Design Awards continue to honor and celebrate the originality and excellence of current designs shaping interior healthcare spaces around the world. Beside those based in the southern and eastern United States, this year’s winning firms and projects—announced in late September—also bring the Great Lakes region into the spotlight. “With this annual…
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Beautifully designed
In most professions, portfolios are intended to make a statement. They showcase, highlight, and define the artistic, while at the same time convey technical details and experience. For the more design-related fields—especially interiors—it is a presentation tool often as carefully curated and compelling as the spaces themselves. To the careful eye, it reveals intimate and significant details about the designer…
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Mi Tocaya
“I don’t give people what they want. I give them what I want to give them and what I want to share,” said Chef Diana Davila, who is the mind behind Mi Tocaya Antojeria, a renowned Chicago antojeria, Michelin Bib Gourmand selection, and 2018 semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s award for Best New Restaurant. Upon opening in 2017 in…
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Layer and texture
Amy Kartheiser, principal designer at Amy Kartheiser Design in Chicago, Illinois, discovered a love for design while working on a personal project. Though her background is in business, Kartheiser grew up with design in her blood and when working on her first condominium—involved in designing an entire interior from floor to ceiling with the help of her mom, who is…
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Precious bonds
There is something both timeless and romantic to the narrative of precious stones and metals. It is an industry that has transcended as its artisans and designers instill their skill and passion into every polished diamond and each finely wrought metal. There is a story to be told, one of nuanced characteristics that make each stone and metal unique, and…
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Film, developing
David Alexander, a Chicago-based freelance-one-stop-shop filmmaker and videographer, has a background in everything from architecture and music videos to documentaries. Alexander has captured numerous high-income residential properties in the Windy City, including spaces like Lake Point Tower—a high-rise that houses condominiums overlooking Navy Pier and the rest of the cityscape—among others. It was about 10 years ago when Alexander was…
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Restoration icon
Since its establishment in 1889, the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago’s Grant Park neighborhood has been an integral piece of the area’s architectural record and community engagement efforts. Many know the theatre for its distinctive original architecture by one of Chicago’s most influential design pair, Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, but it is also known for an extensive restorative effort that…
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Orchestral light
For architectural lighting designer Gwen Grossman, LC, IALD, and IES, lighting is the design element that can finish an entire experience. Within any setting, it can shape and highlight details, create cohesion, and even alter mood. This, combined with the collaborative nature of designing with light, makes the process similar to theatrical production, which is foundational in Grossman’s background with…
