Wood House
Chicago, Illinois
2013
The traditional residential architecture of Chicago’s densely built fabric often sacrifices privacy for light, or the reverse, in the name of economically efficient development. Wood House, on the other hand, is a very deliberate exercise in the balance between openness and privacy, transparency and opacity, in a tight urban setting. Views and light are calibrated throughout to provide moments of comfort, introspection, and calmness. The second floor is washed with northern and eastern light, perfect for sleeping, while the third floor takes advantage of access to terraced outdoor green spaces with views of the Chicago skyline. Wood House provides a specific level of solitude and discretion, without turning its back on the city of which it is an integral part.
Sustainability was a high priority in the design of this house. Skylights and clerestories promote passive solar energy, while mechanized sunshades, a geothermal well, radiant heating, and storm-water runoff systems add to this project’s environmental responsiveness.
Project Type
Houses
SIZE
7,900 square feet
CONTRACTOR
Goldberg General Contracting
CONSULTANTS
Coen + Partners, Landscape Architect
Goodfriend Magruder, Structural
Moshe Calamaro & Associates, Civil
AA Service Company, Mechanical
AWARDS
2018 AIA Chicago Divine Detail Award – Honor Award
2016 Copper Development Association Inc. North American Copper in Architecture Award
2015 AIA Chicago Interior Architecture Award – Honor Award
2014 Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design American Architecture Award
2014 Residential Architect Design Award – Citation
PUBLICATIONS
Allen, Cindy, Georgina McWhirter, Jen Renzi, Peter Webster, Annie Block, and Nicholas Tamarin, eds. Interior Design: Best in Design (Boca Raton: Sandow, 2021).
Lynch, Brad, David Brininstool, and Reed Kroloff. Brininstool Lynch: Making Architecture. (New York: The Monacelli Press, 2019).
Coen, Shane. Contextual Minimalism: Landscape Architecture and Urbanism. (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2018).
Pridmore, Jay, and George A. Larson. Chicago Architecture and Design. Vol. 3. (New York: Abrams, 2018).
Kunz, Gerold. “A City is Established.” Modulør, 2017.
“Wood House.” Architecture & Culture: House with Brick, May 2015.
Libby, Brian. “Urban Oasis,” Luxe Interiors + Design, Summer 2014.
“Madeira Urbana.” Revista Décor, June 2014.
Design Exchange, January 28, 2014.
Domus Online, January 2014.
Bey, Lee. “Wood House.” Residential Architect, November/December 2013.
Architectural Record Featured Houses, December 2013.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Christopher Barrett