Located along an industrial corridor adjacent to the North Branch of the Chicago River, this adaptive reuse project transforms a series of former manufacturing buildings into a campus of collaborative social spaces for a new membership club.
Rather than pursue a strategy of strict preservation, a design framework using the architectural operations of addition, subtraction, and connection was employed to create a series of flexible rooms that celebrate the buildings’ rich manufacturing legacy while embracing its burgeoning future as a place for artisanal activity, craft and community.
A new metal-clad marquee and sawtooth-shaped addition “re-stitch” the remnant buildings back together while a series of custom-designed “articulated surfaces” and “social collectors” platform the act of making and new ways of being together. The facility includes a member lounge, teaching kitchen, workshop, event spaces and a new open-air courtyard to serve Guild Row’s dynamic membership-based community.
