In 2023, Optima, Inc., a family-owned, vertically integrated and design-driven real estate development firm based in Glencoe, Illinois and Scottsdale, Arizona, realized a multi-family, 100-unit apartment building in downtown Wilmette, Illinois, delivering rental residences and an amenity-rich development to the North Shore market. For the privately-held firm, the residential and commercial project is more than its visual composition of glass…
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Shannon Easter White, AIA, NCARB
Founding Principal, Owner FUNchitecture LLC | Flint, Michigan While considered simple in her own words, Shannon Easter White, owner and founding principal of FUNchitecture LLC of Flint, Michigan, is driven by an architectural philosophy that embraces an authenticity, a permanence, and an element of joy in both the process and the end result. Defined by a commitment to fun,…
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Social design
To Diego Olivero, an award-winning multidisciplinary designer whose portfolio transcends object, landscape, and installation in a rich study of people, place, and process, design can serve as a powerful catalyst. It is expansive and dynamic in its role as a vehicle of social change and impact, and a platform for sustainability and innovation. It can be deeply personal and steeped…
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The Caterpillar
In Core City, Detroit, urbanism is defined in unconventional terms. For the creative and technical minds behind the neighborhood development at the intersection of Grand River Ave. and Warren Ave., it is about investing in intentional and thoughtful ideas grounded in reality to create a place rather than a market or projects motivated by demand. It is about renovating and…
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Tower work
When heading south along the eastern banks of the Scioto Greenways trail toward the Scioto Mile Promenade in downtown Columbus, a structure clad in Imperial Red granite and bronze-tone glass comes into view set back from the Scioto River’s edge. Nestled into the built landscape, the 1984-built, approximately one-million-square-foot building soars about 512 feet into the air and is visually…
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Timeless estate
Upon approach, the French Chateau-inspired residence in Hinsdale, Illinois captures a certain je ne sais quoi in time. Beyond a set of restored, original 1926 iron gates and stone columns detailed with welcoming, ornamental pineapples, a long drive draws the onlooker down a path lined with statuesque trees to a front courtyard where an approximately 14,500-square-foot estate stands in warm…
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Embodied carbon
In May 2019, the overall value of construction work done in the United States totaled more than $1.29 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Value of Construction Put in Place Survey. In the same month, Michigan’s second largest city, Grand Rapids, spent $13 million on new construction alone and has undergone some measures to ensure a sustainable future in…
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Traverse City’s East end
Text: R.Collins During the last several years, downtown Traverse City has developed as both a local and tourist destination filled with an eclectic assortment of eateries, venues, shops, and bars, leaving areas like the city’s eastern side less noticed. More recently, the East side has grown into having a similar reputation for locally-renowned venues and businesses that showcase the best…
