Commercial

We were pleased as Pinot when our friends Emily and Steve asked us to design their wine shop in Winnetka. It was Emily's dream to have her own wine shop and it was our pleasure to help her puzzle out the best layout for her storefront shop in downtown Winnetka. We worked with Emily, the building owner, the Village of Winnetka and our crack team of tradespeople to help them realize their goal with a minimum of waiting; wine might be better with age but building permits...not so much. Visit Emily at 726 Elm Street or at http://winnetkawineshop.com/ Cheers!

They say there is no 'I' in team...but there are three in Lickity Split. The owner of a new frozen custard and sweet shop asked our friends at Studio Nigro Architecture + Design to design their delicous new storefront shop in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood. And they asked us to partner with them as architect of record because of our commercial experience and our ability to navigate the building code and permitting process.

A former client and owner of a cutting-edge interactive media company needed to expand, reorganize and generally invigorate their loft office. We helped them establish a 'need-list' and a 'wish-list' of ways to make their work flow better within their budget. The result was a series of office plan alternatives and design 'events' to organize the large, open space. We designed a mobile 'think pod' which provides acoustic privacy and a place for a small number of people to brainstorm. It also had to be cool.

The owner has a sign in his office that reads, "This isn't Burger King, you'll get it my way." So we designed the 11,000 square foot office building/distribution center his way. And because we did, he invited us back to design two other projects and others are in the works. The office building is the corporate headquarters for the twelve businesses he oversees and is oriented to maximize natural lighting. The executive suite includes wood paneling and water features flanking a wall-sized aquarium between his office and private conference room.

The third project on the suburban business campus involves the complete internal renovation of the owner's existing 9,800 square foot office and maintenance facility. The owner requested that the building be given a "facelift" so that it could be easily recognized by visitors as part of the business headquartered in the new building we designed across the street; cement board panels and translucent glass provide a visual link between the two buildings.