Architecture + interiors, Chicago
Old masonry,
new use.
A seven-person studio of licensed architects and interior designers. We renovate homes, fit out shops and offices, and find new uses for old brick buildings, from the first feasibility study to the last site visit.Chicago architects and interior designers for homes, shops, offices and old brick buildings.
- 01Residential renovation
- 02Interiors
- 03Small commercial
- 04Adaptive reuse
ExistingNew work
- 01Residential renovation
- 02Interiors
- 03Small commercial
- 04Adaptive reuse
- 01Hoyne Two-FlatResidentialUkrainian Village2025
- 02Kedzie Stable LoftsAdaptive reuseLogan Square2024
- 03Armitage BakeryCommercialLincoln Park2024
- 04Wolcott CottageResidentialBucktown2023
- 05Pilsen Print WorksAdaptive reusePilsen2023
- 06Greystone on WashingtonInteriorsGarfield Park2022
- 07Ashland WorkroomsCommercialWicker Park2022
- 08Ravenswood Coach HouseResidentialRavenswood2025
- 09Fulton Freight HouseAdaptive reuseFulton Market2021
- 10Lawndale Corner StoreCommercialNorth Lawndale2021
- 11Hermosa Bungalow KitchenInteriorsHermosa2024
- 12Bridgeport FirehouseAdaptive reuseBridgeportIn design
Practice
Four kinds of work, one way of working.
Most of what we do is inside buildings put up between 1880 and 1930. The work changes in scale; the care for the existing building does not.
How we workResidential renovation
Two-flats, greystones, workers’ cottages and bungalows: new layouts, additions and rooftop rooms that respect the street side.
02Interiors
Kitchens, baths, built-ins, finishes and lighting, inside our own projects or on their own.
03Small commercial
Bakeries, shops, clinics and small offices, from a lease review to opening day.
04Adaptive reuse
Stables, print shops, freight houses and a firehouse, turned into homes, offices and workshops.
Process
Feasibility to construction administration.
- 01Feasibility2 to 3 wks
- 02Schematic design4 to 6 wks
- 03Design development4 to 8 wks
- 04Construction documents6 to 10 wks
- 05Permit and biddingvaries
- 06Construction administrationthe build
We measure the building, check zoning and the budget, and tell you plainly whether the idea works on that lot.
Two or three options as simple massing and plans, priced roughly, so you choose a direction early.
The chosen scheme gets real windows, stairs, structure and finishes. Interiors start here.
Drawings and details a contractor can price and build from, and the city can review.
We file for permit, answer the reviewers and help you compare contractor bids line by line.
We stay on the job: site visits, contractor questions, pay requests and a punch list at the end.
Detail 4 / A-501
Where new meets old.
The name of the studio comes from the gap left on purpose between two materials so each can move. Most of our decisions happen at that joint: what stays, what is new, and how the two meet.
- 1New steel lintel where an opening is widened
- 2New window set inside the old masonry opening
- 3Open, sealed joint between new frame and brick
- 4Existing timber joist pocket, checked and kept
- 5Existing brick, repointed with a matching lime mortar
- Since
- 2013
- People
- 7
- Licensed architects
- 3
- Most of our buildings
- 1880to1930
“At the feasibility stage they told us the bigger addition would not pay off on our lot, and showed us why. What we built instead came in close to budget and still feels generous.”
“They knew which questions the city would ask before the city asked them. We opened two weeks later than hoped, not two months.”
Start here
Have a building in mind?
Start with a feasibility study: a fixed fee, two to three weeks, and a plain answer on whether your idea works on that lot and that budget.
PrincipalsMaren Kowalczyk, AIA and David Okafor, AIA. Licensed architects who stay on the job through construction.
