PROJECT DETAILS
LOCATION : Chicago, Illinois
MARKET : Residential
AREA :
Chicago Housing Authority
As part of the Chicago Housing Authority's comprehensive redevelopment of the Henry Horner Homes neighborhood, Westhaven Park is the first affordable, market-rate residential midrise in the city of Chicago. Creating a large multi-resident building with a "sense of place" was the focus for this project as well as providing safety, durability, and efficiency in a cost effective, high quality design.
The nine-story building incorporates a mix of affordable rent-assisted homes and market rate homes in a cohesively designed environment. The residences consist of one and two-bedroom units that feature high ceilings, generous storage, and a contemporary aesthetic. The building also includes many amenities associated with more expensive residential midrise developments, such as onsite management, 24-hour security, an exercise and fitness room, a social and meeting room, recycling center, ground landscaping, private parking, and separate private storage areas for each residence. All units have a comfortable, contemporary design, and feature abundant natural lighting and outdoor terraces.
The design for Westhaven Park prominently features green architecture, including a planted cornice overhanging the entrance and trellises above the upper balconies. Inspired by the Mayor's commitment to green design, this is among the first public buildings to incorporate living plants as a major architectural feature. The rooftop plantings help to naturally cool the building and are sustained by collected rainwater and condensate from the rooftop condensers.
Although the building is a block long, the façade articulation and articulation of the masonry and cast stone visually reduces its scale. The abstracted green-stain cast-stone, loosely inspired by Wright's Midway Gardens, flanks the entrance and is reminiscent of wall ivy, a plant which will eventually overtake it.
Cordogan Clark & Associates worked closely with the development team, the Mayor's Office, and the CHA to create this design that will enhance people's lives and the surrounding neighborhood. Westhaven represents a shared commitment to highest-quality affordable housing design.
Westhaven received a 2008 PCI Design Excellence award for "Best High -Rise Multifamily Building".
