Set amid a row of iconic Greystone buildings along California Ave. in Chicago, Illinois, the grid-like façade of concrete and glass on the En Masse Architecture and Design Ltd. studio presents a bold juxtaposition with its environment at first glance. Its poured-in place, brise-soleil creates a patterned effect where vertical fins of concrete lend an added layer of complexity to the grey-hued limestone of the historic residential building style inherent to Chicago, and bring an energy and dynamic tension to the creative conversation within its architectural landscape. Minimalist in design, the studio is more than a composition of its brise-soleil—an architectural solution popularized and initially designed for climatic challenges by…
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Jackie Koo, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP, NOMA
Founder, Owner, Principal KOO | Chicago, Illinois In architecture, as in literature, arts, and other social sciences, there is a wealth of traditions, movements, applications, and analyses—avant-garde, thought-provoking, and otherwise—that have shaped their respective fields throughout time and have challenged scholars and practitioners alike to consider the world and communication around them anew. For many, architecture is a form of communication, a language written through form, function, and material—and for the deconstructivist, the exploration of tension and potential contradiction. For Jackie Koo, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP, NOMA, founder, owner, and principal of KOO in Chicago, Illinois, it was the combination of philosophy and the examination of architecture that first…
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In conversation: Jamie Jordan, NCIDQ
Davis & Davis of Farmington Hills, Michigan names new partner of the firm, becoming a majority women-owned business. Since its founding by Michelle Davis, principal and design director, and Howard Davis, principal and chief executive officer, in 1990, Davis & Davis, an architecture and planning firm based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, has proven a successful track record of designing visually stunning and equally functional interior spaces during their 31 years as a company. In September of 2021, the firm announced that Jamie Jordan, NCIDQ, managing director at Davis & Davis, has also been named a partner, becoming a majority women-owned business. Primarily specializing in corporate, public, and commercial interior spaces, Davis & Davis has been recognized for delivering compelling, timeless spaces that reflect their clients’ needs such as with the award-winning…
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The Georgian coastal
Built high into the white sand, wind-blown bluff on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan, this coastal Neo-Georgian retreat is an inspired dialect of classic vernacular language often found in Georgian—and its American iterative, Colonial Revival—and Atlantic, Nantucket style. Defined by its proportion, symmetry, and restrained classical ornamentation, this residence reinterprets the traditional with East Coast inspired shingle siding, large spaces, generous windows, and layering of natural materials in understated elegance. While distinctive in its neighborhood, it is contextual in its siting and scale while embracing its lakefront environment through award-winning landscape and design of lush greens, textural plants, and a mixture of white and subtle hues in its foliage.…
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Spirited exploration
The process of distillation is often a poetic one, speaking to age-old traditions spanning rich, diverse cultures, landscapes, and agricultural origins. Within its composition—from the herbal notes of gin and bright earthy flavors of tequila and the malted aroma of whiskey—a narrative unfolds of both planting and harvest, climate and soil, innovation and historical technique, and chemical equation and artful dedication. For Rich Lockwood, co-owner and head distiller of Motor City Gas in Royal Oak, Michigan, it is the latter that defines the award-winning, small batch distillery’s ever-evolving whiskey, bourbon, and moonshine portfolio as it takes a fresh take on the age-old trade. The distillery, led by the husband-and-wife team…
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Great Lakes By Design: Crafted Lodging
CONTENTS DESIGN CORNER 17 Finn | the solution in outdoor seating offering a durable, low-maintenance option for dining and lounging 18 Geoffrey Nesting Tables | the minimal and colorful companion for any space with a subtle, playful demeanor 19 Lollygagger | the chaise lounge fit for the modern lollygagger designed with sustainability in mind 22 Willa | the versatile and durable storage side tables with a textural aesthetic and multifunctional form DESIGN SPOTLIGHT 49 The precious craft | in a business of commitments, a father-and-son team is reviving the art and craft of jewelry design for their clients 57 X House | a residence on Lake Superior’s rocky bank performs an architectural contradiction FORM 29 Energy in…
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Sustainability Deep Dive
As a shepherd of product ideas and designs for the human environment, the industrial design industry has a huge impact on the climate crisis and outstretched waste statistics around the world. To unpack this reality and connect through solutions, the Industrial Designers Society of America, or IDSA, kicked off its inaugural Sustainability Deep Dive conference last year, which tackled the complexity of imbuing the product lifecycle with sustainable processes, strategies, and experiences. This month, the conference made its second annual trek across current themes and innovations in industrial design and sustainability, and the resulting programming was a rich exploration of concrete solutions, wonderous and science-backed products, hopeful-but-firm calls to action,…
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Crafted legacy
Despite the rise of industrialization in the 19th century and the technological revolution of the late 20th century, craftsmanship has endured. It is an art and craft of making; bridging the gap of alienation between maker and material left in the wake of growing assembly lines, mass-scale production, consumer culture, and an age of digital landscapes. Even as machines replaced hands, craft and craftsmanship has been celebrated—quietly, deliberately—alongside increasingly automated processes and systems. For craftsmanship and the custom-made object—whether functional or purely artistic—taps into a history and shared human narrative that has been told throughout time. Each piece of metal, wood, textile, and fabric touched by the hands of those…
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Coastal contemporary
Gazing through a glass expanse in the dining area of a newly renovated home by Mathison | Mathison Architects of Michigan, one gets the sense of being perched in a bright, southern forest canopy, where vibrant green shades gently ricochet through a hot breeze, and somewhere nearby the ocean breathes. This image isn’t far off for the reconfigured residence in Clearwater Beach, Florida, positioned in between the Gulf of Mexico and intercoastal waterways. What was a single-story, ranch-style, second home from the last century has become a contemporary 2,200-square-foot, two-level residence that successfully merges a complex utilities strategy with a clean style program to center it on the prime location.…
