BauerLatoza Studio

December 9, 2011

BauerLatoza Studio provided the City of Gary with master planning, architectural design, and historic architectural services for the Marquette Park Lakefront East project. This project included the renovation and restoration of the Gary Recreation Pavilion, the Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium, and the Father Marquette Statue. Joanne Bauer was interviewed about the progress of the Pavilion’s renovation featured in the Post-Tribune, a Chicago Sun-Times Publication.

August 25, 2011

Kirk Sippel, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP was recently promoted to Senior Project Architect. Kirk possesses a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has over 11 years of experience practicing architecture, five of which have been with BauerLatoza Studio. As a Senior Project Architect, Kirk is responsible for the design and daily administration of projects. He coordinates all participants including owner, sub-consultants, in-house design staff, and general contractors.

Emilio Padilla, RA, NCARB, LEED AP was recently promoted to Project Architect. Emilio has worked at BauerLatoza Studio for more than four years and recently passed the Architect Registration Examination (ARE). He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has architectural experience in residential, commercial, and institutional projects. At BauerLatoza Studio, Emilio works on every phase of projects from schematic design and planning through construction administration.

July 28, 2011

A Grand Opening was held Thursday, July 28 at 2:00 PM for the Richard M. Daley Branch Library (West Humboldt Chicago Public Library). This library is the prototype for 16,000 square foot facilities for the Chicago Public Library. BauerLatoza Studio provided site and landscape architectural services for both this and the Greater Grand Crossing Branch Library, which is the prototype for 8,000 square foot facilities. The firm’s landscape design includes native and adapted plants creating a modern, low-maintenance, garden-like setting. A tree-shaded outdoor reading area incorporates permeable pavers, and a bio-swale was designed to cleanse and temporarily store stormwater runoff from the adjacent parking area. BauerLatoza Studio designed the green roof to utilize a continuous extensive system for maximum stormwater storage and favorable growing conditions. The prominent location of these libraries on major streets will provide positive sustainable design examples for their neighborhoods and the entire region. Former Mayor Richard M. Daley, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr., and others were in attendance at the Grand Opening.

June 28, 2011

Midway Crossings Rendering: AJSNY

Blair Kamin, the Chicago Tribune’s architecture critic, picks Midway Crossings as one of the best in Chicago-area architecture for the first half of 2011.

The Midway Crossings project for the University of Chicago is located along the Midway Plaisance, an historic park on the National Register designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and built in 1871. The project is inspired by the original concept of the Midway Plaisance as a water link between Washington Park and Jackson Park with bridges traversing the Midway. Key components of the Midway Crossings project include dramatic 40-foot lighting masts, railings and retaining walls providing sidewalk-level lighting, and landscape elements separating pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The project was designed in association with New York artist James Carpenter and lighting consultants Schuler Shook.

June 1, 2011

The Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) is a community-based non-profit organization located in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. They support the local area through activist programs aimed at promoting literacy, health, and growth within in the Puerto Rican/Latino community. To further these goals, BauerLatoza Studio, working with the PRCC, designed the new greenhouse to sit atop the award-winning alternative high school. It is the first to be realized in an ambitious community plan to install nine such growth oases throughout the neighborhood that has been classified as a food desert.

CBS Local Chicago visited the school to discuss the use of the greenhouse. Students are growing food to help battle exceptionally-high rates of Type 2 diabetes, and to foster healthier food attitudes in the area.

April 11, 2011

BauerLatoza Studio project, Marquette Park Lakefront East Master Plan, was recently recognized by the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ILASLA). The project was awarded the 2010 President’s Award in the Burnham Category. Each year, a jury selects only one President’s Award of Excellence.

The Master Plan identified the capital improvements for Marquette Park. Facilitated by a $28.2 million grant award from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA), the vision to restore and reactivate this historic lakefront recreational amenity is now being implemented. BauerLatoza Studio is providing architectural and historic preservation planning and design services for the project team, led by the Hitchcock Design Group in coordination with the City of Gary and the RDA. Click here for a pdf of the Executive Summary of the Plan for Marquette Park Lakefront East.

March 22, 2011

Joanne Bauer and Bill Latoza were featured in the March 21, 2011 edition of Northwest Indiana’s Shore Magazine. The article, entitled “World-class Architects in the Shore Region,” highlights the successes of their collaboration.

“…The notion that “two heads are better than one” is likely one of the more tired problem-solving clichés, but in the case of architects Joanne Bauer and Bill Latoza, it’s been the bedrock of success for more than two decades. The pair founded BauerLatoza Studio together in 1990 to develop their shared passion for creating buildings that become integral parts of the communities in which they are situated, developing a system that incorporates both of their individual styles into a seamless aesthetic whole—his joy in finding new uses for older structures, and her eye for adding modern flourishes within contextual designs…”

March 9, 2011

Midway Crossings Rendering: James Carpenter and Associates

The Midway Plaisance, located within Chicago’s Hyde Park and Woodlawn neighborhoods, was designed in 1870 by the celebrated landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. It was originally planned as grandly scaled boulevards along a recreational canal. Although the canal was never realized, the iconic mile-long green space continues to connect Washington Park and Jackson Park.

BauerLatoza Studio has been working with the University of Chicago to design and implement three enhanced crossings through the Midway Plaisance which is located within the heart of the University of Chicago Campus. This Midway Plaisance transformation has recently won acclaim from Pulitzer Prize winning critic Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune.

November 17, 2010

We are very excited to announce that John Arzarian Jr., AIA, Tim Vacha, AIA, and Joanne Behrens, AIA have joined BauerLatoza Studio to form a hospitality and residential-based practice area. The team brings many valuable years of experience in hospitality and new construction projects. This expertise, coupled with BauerLatoza Studio’s award-winning experience in architecture, preservation, site planning, building technology, and sustainability, strengthens the firm’s ability to successfully complete a wide variety of projects.

February 22, 2010

Principals Joanne Bauer and Bill Latoza commemorated the first twenty years since founding the firm.