Favorites

For the renovation of their midcentury ranch house in Chicago, Trey Berre and his wife, Maria Ponce Berre, compared bids from three contractors, ultimately hiring ABO Construction. The total budget for the project climbed to $174 per square foot after it was discovered that the roof had suffered rain damage and needed to be replaced for $40,000.

A perforated steel plate forms a wall between the staircase and the room.

DA Residence by deDraft

The stair features a steel balustrade and floating timber treads.

The first floor houses a storage room, guest room, gym and garage, all built around the lush inner courtyard.

The lounge is accessed via two long concrete steps. On the stair opposite, the continuous vertical balustrade timbers extend to the ceiling of the second floor to form a sculptural element that allows natural light and ventilation to flow between the levels.

Ashizawa’s background is in steelwork, so getting the staircase right was critical. It needed to be structurally sound, but not so big and bulky it would block the light from the patio. The clever use of a support rod in the middle of the structure allows for sturdy but lightweight steps.

The second floor is where all three generations come together to eat, play, work, and gather around the fireplace.

Chen designed circular copper bases for the Bluestone to create a coffee table with gravitas. The light is the Artemide Aggregato ceiling light with a counterweight.

Raj and Watts extended the fireplace column to the ceiling to highlight the room’s expansive scale, and had it coated in concrete plaster. It was important to retain the wood-burning fireplace—a rarity in the city—but “we wanted to re-clad it in a material that also spoke to the industrial past of the building,” says Raj.

“The main living spaces, flowing from the central courtyard, fold down with the stepped concrete floor,” says Fox. “Plywood joinery and an off-form concrete ceiling anchor and harmonize.”

Parlor floor living area