Why 8 Architects Chose Prefab and Modular Designs

Careful districting has made West Grand Avenue one of the last places in Chicago’s West Town where factories and family homes still exist side by side. Zoned as a planned manufacturing district (PMD) to bolster local commerce, the south side of the street is populated by brick warehouses, while the northern half is mostly residential. Despite the proximity of live and work spaces, incorporating both elements into a single building is practically unheard of in the area, as Daniel Staackmann and Nicole Sopko discovered when they began researching the arterial as a home for themselves and their vegan food company, Upton’s Naturals. The business, founded by Daniel in 2006, requires space for office and storefront operations, as well as manufacturing for their signature product, seitan, a protein-filled meat alternative made by rinsing the starch from wheat. Daniel knew he wanted to be close at all times, a decision that greatly narrowed their search.

“We could find plenty of industrial buildings that we could put a factory in, but they weren’t appropriate for retail and definitely not for living,” he recalls. A vacant lot across from the PMD met all their criteria but necessitated a fresh build. Looking to offset the cost of construction, Daniel and Nicole, Upton’s vice president, turned to architect Martin Felsen and designer Sarah Dunn of UrbanLab. The designers had used prefab elements to make their own live-work space, and set out to create a mixed-use building that wouldn’t shortchange any of Upton’s functions. Going completely prefab, the UrbanLab team reasoned, would mitigate cost but would also sacrifice flexibility. “Everybody’s dream is: You call and order [a home], and two weeks later it arrives,” Dunn says. “Our strategy is to prefab intelligently.”