BauerLatoza Studio Project Featured in the Post-Tribune
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.
Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago Renovation
Built in 1927 by notable architects Rissman & Hirschfield, the Knickerbocker is a landmark luxury hotel located in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood near the Magnificent Mile. Working with the Los Angeles design firm, indidesign, BauerLatoza Studio has been retained to provide a preliminary analysis for the feasibility of an interior renovation. Following that analysis, permit drawings and construction documents will be developed based on the recommended approach for a new lobby, bar, and new restaurant which will include a working buffet. The majority of the work is scheduled to be complete by the hotel’s 85th anniversary in the spring of 2012.
University of Chicago Paulson Institute
BauerLatoza Studio is assisting the University of Chicago with the adaptive reuse of a 5,250 square foot, three-story building within the Hyde Park Campus. The former student housing facility will be converted into offices which will house the new Paulson Institute. The project encompasses a complete interior renovation to incorporate offices and conference rooms. The building will also receive a new elevator, ADA accessible restrooms, and related support spaces.
William J. Onahan Elementary School Annex
The Public Building Commission of Chicago, on behalf of Chicago Public Schools, retained BauerLatoza Studio to provide Architect of Record Services for the implementation of a new two-story Annex at the Onahan School on Chicago’s northwest side. The addition will serve approximately 300 students and includes nine classrooms, one computer classroom, a new elevator, offices, and ADA toilet facilities. The project scope also includes the renovation of select areas within the existing school as well as site improvements, a new playground, and a new permeable-paver parking lot. The project is targeted to achieve LEED for Schools Silver certification.
Two Architects at BauerLatoza Studio Earn Promotions
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.
Morton Arboretum Concept Design
BauerLatoza Studio was selected to develop concept designs for seven areas identified for future development as part of the Morton Arboretum’s 2011 Master Plan Update. The seven areas include: the Children’s Garden – Phase II; a new Tree Adventure Area; a new Events Pavilion; a Geographic Collections Visitor Station; a new Maintenance Complex; Main Entrance Enhancements; and a permanent Parking Expansion. BauerLatoza Studio is serving as the lead architect, working closely with the award winning landscape architect Warren T. Byrd, Jr., FASLA of Nelson Byrd Woltz, and the award-winning exhibit designer, Gallagher & Associates. BauerLatoza Studio first worked with the Arboretum twenty years ago on the master plan and design for the Thornhill Education Center.
The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized 1,700-acre outdoor museum with collections of 4,128 kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world. The Arboretum’s beautiful natural landscapes, gardens, research and education programs, and year-round family activities support its mission – the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world.
Former Mayor Richard M. Daley and Mayor Rahm Emanuel attend Grand Opening for BLS Project
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.
Creating Habitat at the Last Four Miles
July 18, 2011
BauerLatoza Studio Senior Landscape Architect, Michael Elsen, RLA, ASLA, LEED AP, and Erma Tranter, President of Friends of the Parks, presented at the Coastal Zone 2011 National Conference. The presentation discussed one of the major goals of the Last Four Miles plan, which is to create and establish wildlife and aquatic habitat along the engineered Lake Michigan Chicago shoreline. The addition of these new terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitats will contribute to the restoration of the health and biological diversity of the ecosystem of Lake Michigan, and thus the Great Lakes.
Project Rated as One of Chicago’s Best for the First Half of 2011
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.
Project Helps Promote Local Health
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.