Morgan Street Live/Work

A couple lives and works in harmony in Chicago. The design of the buildings was driven by the desire to access the landscape on both the ground floor (office) and second floor (home). So the landscape was lifted by mounding (un-recyclable) debris and excavated soil from an on-site run-down grocery store that required immediate demolition. Then the residential “bar” was raised and rotated to access the crest of the prairie grass-planted recycled-materials mound, giving the residence a direct connection to the landscape. The second floor is a prefabricated structural bridge, which connects the mound to an extensive green-roof, which covers the office. The office “bar” is faced with a perforated Corten rain screen that allows for daylight and privacy, and provides a resilient material that can withstand the wear and tear of street life. Raw aluminum panels wrap the remainder of most facades - the panels fold cleanly around corners without additional detailing. The site is off the stormwater grid: rain filters through the roofs, flows onto and around the mound, and into a large gravel French-drain. Greenhouses operated by a neighborhood restaurant tap the drain.