The traditional approach to construction has been to hire a designer on the one hand, and a contractor on the other, and then hope that they coordinate and cooperate smoothly. However, there is a growing trend, especially since the 1990’s, towards the integrated approach of design/build firms. This movement has not skipped over Chicagoland. This is no surprise: building a home or commercial property is complex to begin with, involving hundreds of decisions and many different professionals and tradesmen. Add to that the challenges and obstacles unique to building in the Chicago area. By offering clients the cohesive, streamlined process working with only one company from conception through construction, design/build firms in the Chicago area are an attractive option. The best firms have effective organization and communication and collaborate closely with their clients from start to finish to deliver a superb final product. Many firms that embrace this process also see it as an opportunity for heightened innovation and creativity.

For this list, we look at dozens of design/build firms throughout the greater Chicago area. We picked the ten best firms, with a range of expertise from custom homes and historical renovations, to large high-tech high schools and highly sustainable nature centers. You’ll find firms that have been practicing design/build long before it hit the mainstream and younger up-and-coming firms that have quickly made their mark on Chicago’s built environment.

10) MB Design & Build

Website | (773) 610-8114 | Featured Principal: Martins Buka

MB Design & Build of Chicago is a boutique architectural design and construction company run by Latvian-born Martins Buka. The company works on complete home renovations, as well as kitchen, bath, living, and work-space remodeling. They are known not only for their beautiful designs and craftsmanship but also for the gorgeous custom furniture they make for most of their clients.

Photos Courtesy of MB

MB Design & Build decided that a design/build approach was best suited for their goals. With their strategy, they can integrate creative interior designs with quality construction and retain control over the creative process from conception to creation to ensure a high-quality. The practice specializes in interior/architectural design, renovation, and restoration of residences, including full gut renovations, and custom millwork.

At MB Design & Build we design for harmony and balance. Our extensive interior design experience enables our clients to visualize design ideas. Our personable approach ensures that our clients are comfortable and confident in our vision, talent and follow-through.”

Buka moved from Latvia to Chicago in 1997. Prior to starting his own practice, he had 18 years of construction experience and an education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has a unique vision for design, harmony, and balance that he applies to all of his projects. Buka takes a personal approach to every project and is intimately involved in the realization of each client’s dream home.

Photos Courtesy of MB

Featured Projects

MB Design & Build completely renovated a 4000 square foot penthouse apartment in the luxury Millennium Center at 33 West Ontario Street. Overlooking Millennium Park, this home takes up the entire 59th and 60th floor of the tower. Not only did the firm design a sophisticated and 21st-century space for their client, but Buka built and crafted most of the furniture as well: coffee tables, dining tables, credenzas and more. Buka’s furniture designs are sleek and modern. He used mostly exotic woods such as redwood, mahogany, and zebrawood. The penthouse’s doors are specially crafted to match the design aesthetic of the renovated apartment, as are the molding and garden beneath the staircase. This apartment was featured in Men’s Journal.

MB Design & Build also conducted a gut renovation and redesign of 2 flats into a practical single-family home at 2107 W. Erie St.  The 3000 square foot newly renovated apartment has a light and modern kitchen and intricate tile work on the backsplash, giving depth to the black and white kitchen. The renovation also included creating peaceful bathrooms, with a soaker tub and rain shower. The rear of the home was restored with new balconies for a greater connection to the outdoors.

The firm also did the design and construction of the NAKOMAL Jewelry retail space on Michigan Ave, which shows off their careful millwork in bold wood paneled walls and retail display cases, and the renovation of a 100-year-old, 3000 square foot factory into a modern single family home.

9) McGrath Architects

Website | (312) 545-2775 | Featured Principal:  Jesse McGrath

McGrath Architects is a full-service find, design, and build company founded in 2005. It has quickly earned numerous awards, including a Good Neighbor Award from the Chicago Association of Realtors for home design, and Green Building Award from the National Association of Home Builders for a green single family home prototype in Chicago. 

Photos Courtesy of McGrath

The company is dedicated to green building, which to them means energy-efficient designs and eco-friendly building practices that will save their client’s ‘green’ in the long term. McGrath Architects are LEED AP certified, AIA and NCARB members, and Certified Passive House Consultants.

In relation to buildings, architecture has to do with the planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, environmental, and aesthetic considerations. It requires the creative manipulation and coordination of material, technology, light and shadow.”  – McGrath Architects

Founder Jesse McGrath also runs a Real Estate company, which provides him a unique perspective to share with his clients when it comes to home design, building, and value. Prior to starting his own companies, he worked for notable architecture firms in Chicago and the Midwest. McGrath previously served as a Board Member for the AIA Chicago Small Project Practitioners. Before starting his own design/build firm, he was a project manager and/or architect at Neumann Homes, Kluber, Skahan, & Associates, and FGM Architects. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Kansas.

Photos Courtesy of McGrath

Featured Projects

McGrath Architects combined two loft condos into one for a gorgeous project on Prairie Avenue. The flow of the apartment is carefully orchestrated. One large great room in the center is surrounded by the open, modern kitchen, 3 bedrooms, and 3 full baths. The bedrooms are built with translucent walls in order to allow light from the large bedroom windows into the main space. Their design saw the walls and ceiling painted in a clean white to highlight the client’s unique art collection and décor. Their work takes advantage of the tall ceilings and industrial elements, integrating these structural qualities into the design of the home itself.

The company also designed and built a luxurious commercial building rooftop in Chicago’s historic Gold Coast neighborhood. This beautiful entertainment space for the businesses at 754 N. Clark offers unparalleled views of the Chicago skyline, with pergolas and plentiful built in areas for plants, seating, and even cooking.

And at 5007 N Hermitage in Chicago’s up and coming North Center neighborhood, McGrath Architects rehabbed a 2-unit building. Their high-performance design and construction more than doubled the value of the existing home. Their design brought this beautiful two-story brick home back to life. The first floor was reconstructed for an open floor plan with living and kitchen space. And new porches were added to the newly landscaped back yard to create more opportunities for outdoor living. The residence received a 3-star Chicago Green Home rating and was Energy Star Certified.

8) Orren Pickell Building Group

Website | (847) 572-5200 | Featured Principal: John Forehand

Orren Pickell Building Group has earned a reputation for excellence as one of Chicago’s best luxury custom home design/build firms for nearly 50 years. The full-service group has proven successful at creating innovative homes that align with their client’s needs, across many different styles. The Group has received over 300 awards for design excellence and innovation.

Photos Courtesy of Orren Pickell

In addition to custom home design/builds, Orren Pickell also offers full-service remodeling, maintenance, custom cabinetry, and even home maintenance. As a testament to their dedication to delivering clients with exactly what they need, the Group will even help find the ideal site to match a client’s needs, design and otherwise. The Group designs memorable homes in the North Shore and throughout Chicago, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Their expertise spans from elegant, old-world country houses to contemporary farmhouses, and all styles and levels of complexity in between.

Orren Pickell founded this company after starting a home painting company during college, and gradually enhanced his skills until within a few years he had built his first home. He was recently joined by architect John Forehand, President of Orren Pickell Design Group. Prior to joining his current company, Forehand was a project manager and managing partner of Darcy Bonner and Associates. Previously, he spent five years as Vice President at Booth Hansen Architects, specializing in single and multi-family residential projects. He is an AIA member.

Photos Courtesy of Orren Pickell

Featured Projects

Orren Pickell designed and built an impressive whole house remodel in Kenilworth. What was once a grand home had suffered from years of neglect, and was in need of a complete turnaround. With an abundance of creativity and superior craftsmanship, the Group transformed this old home into a classic family-home with high-end finishes. A rundown back porch and unkempt yard were transformed into a gorgeous stone patio with an elegant water feature and plentiful seating areas. Multiple sets of glass doors lead onto the patio from various rooms in the home, making it a center point for gatherings. A narrow, stuffy kitchen was completely gutted and opened up to the living room, making a large, elegant, bright kitchen with modern appliances and gorgeous new hardwood floors.

And in Northbrook, the Group designed a contemporary, high-end home. The home has clean lines and sleek, modern finishes throughout, including in the open kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a spa-like, sun-drenched bathroom with a large soaker tub. The entryway into the home is the real standout feature. The masonry from outside the home leads into and is mimicked in the double height-entryway. The grand front door of warm, almost orange-toned wood is surrounded by an array of windows, and a sleek open glass staircase leads to the second story.

7) O’Connor Brehm Design-Build

Website | (847) 698-0820 | Featured Principal: Greg Brehm

O’Connor Brehm Design-Build was formed by lifelong friends Pat O’Connor and Greg Brehm in 2001. Their goal was to provide high-quality residential designs with top of the line construction in a seamless process, with both sides working hand-in-hand. Over the last 16 years, they have evolved into one of the premier architect-led design-build firms in the Chicago area.

Photos Courtesy of O’Connor Brehm

O’Connor Brehm Design-Build is known for creating buildings suited for modern lifestyles with a refined aesthetic style rooted in traditional architecture. The firm creatively works with the most current and proven building technologies to deliver superior craftsmanship that is both useful and sustainable. Their in-house architects have over 25 years of experience designing luxury homes.

Brehm received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame, where he had the opportunity to study for one year in Rome. He founded his own architecture firm, Brehm Architects, Ltd., in 1996. Previously, he worked for Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM), Rudolf & Associates, and Swanke Hayden Connell Architects and was a partner in the firm of Hussey Brehm Architects.

Photos Courtesy of O’Connor Brehm

Featured Projects

O’Connor Brehm Design-Build worked on a beautiful and spacious family home in Vernon. The home is designed in a warm, industrial arts + crafts style with expensive flourishes throughout. The exterior is a mixture of brick and shingles, which allows it to blend into its neighborhood with a refined touch. The home’s country style kitchen is comfortable and inviting, with soft white cabinetry and a ceiling treatment with warmly toned reclaimed woods. Designing for the client’s needs, the home has a roomy mudroom with plenty of custom storage.

And in Park Ridge, the practice designed and built the classic masonry style Clifton House. This home has an open and inviting front, with a large front porch held up with dark wood beams, which are repeated in its ceiling treatment. Traditional elements are integrated throughout the home, including with careful wood paneling on the walls, coffered ceilings, and a simple but grand staircase. Fun elements include a barn door leading into the mudroom and a circular window that sits on the second floor above the main entrance. The completely updated kitchen exudes a country feel and abuts the dining area with two walls of glass windows that bring loads of natural light into the space.

6) A. Perry Homes

Website | (847) 549-0668 | Featured Principal: Tony Perry

The award-winning firm of A. Perry Homes has built a solid reputation for designing and building timeless custom homes and conducting beautiful and clever remodels. Their work, and that in particular of their founder Tony Perry, has been featured in many regional and national publications, including the Chicago Tribune, Luxe, House Beautiful, and Better Homes and Gardens.

Photos Courtesy of A. Perry

Perry Homes was founded by Tony Perry in 2007. They focus on creating a fun, collaborative design and build experience for their clients. Working closely with all team members, A. Perry Homes seek to deliver unique dream homes that express their clients’ lifestyle needs, traditions, and personal aesthetics. And under the direction of founder Perry, the firm is dedicated to eco-friendly building, including in both design and construction.

Understanding the need to preserve and conserve resources for future generations, I design earth-friendly buildings that use reclaimed materials, utilize sensitive siting, and limit or conserve nonrenewable resources.” – Tony Perry, Founder & President, A. Perry Homes

Perry claims to have known he would be an architect since the age of 12, growing up in Chicago’s Montclare neighborhood.  Since then, he has been the design architect on 400+ homes, exceeding $600 million in construction costs. Prior to founding his own firm, Perry worked at Orren Pickell Designers & Builders, who are also featured on this list. His work has appeared on HGTV, NBC-TV, and ABC-TV, among others, and been featured in dozens of publications, including Luxe, House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens and many trade journals. Perry’s extensive travels through Europe to study architectural details on historic buildings are evident in his signature designs.

Photos Courtesy of A. Perry

Featured Projects

Perry Homes had the rare opportunity to build a new custom family-home on the shores of Lake Michigan in Winnetka. The outcome was a fresh and bold estate, designed to give spectacular lake views from nearly every room. The four-story, six-bedroom, and eight-bathroom home feels airy and elegant, but still comfortable for the family of five. While the exterior of the home has an old-world classic feel, particularly in its stonework, the interior a bit more eclectic and modern. The grand home features an indoor pool built into the bluff, a dreamy two-story library with a spiral staircase and catwalks, a low-level pub that opens to the backyard, and a wine cellar that is accessed through a small stone stair tucked into a stone archway. This home was featured in Sheridan Road Magazine and was selected as a stop on the Junior League of Evanston-North Shore kitchen tour.

The company also designed a Chic Chateau in Glenview. This French style country home has a dramatic but inviting exterior with whimsical touches in its windows, sloping roofs, and strategically placed stonework. The home opens to a large foyer with hardwood floors lay in intricate, elegant patterns. The home features an oversized gourmet kitchen with two large islands and a window seat along a bay of windows, a dining room and pantry with detailed herringbone floors and ornate wall coverings, and a New Orleans bistro inspired bar and lounge with a huge walk-in wine cellar and tasting room. Another creative design features include a staircase with two built-in bookcases and a reading nook.

5) Scott Simpson Builders

Website | (847) 291-2457 | Featured Principal: Amy Mangold

The award-winning Scott Simpson Builders has over 20 years of experience adding to Chicago’s built environment. The design-build firm is particularly dedicated to sustainable homes and built the First LEED Platinum certified home in Wilmette, the second LEED Platinum certified home in Illinois. In addition to their custom homes, Scott Simpson Builders is renowned for their historic renovations, winning eight historic preservation awards.

Photos Courtesy of Scott Simpson

Scott Simpson Builders works throughout the city and in some of its most prestigious suburbs, including Evanston, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Wilmette, Glencoe, Glenview, Highland Park, and Kenilworth. The firm is dedicated to eco-friendly construction and make every effort to use earth-friendly materials and create long-lasting quality construction. Impressively, they recycle 97% of construction waste.

Architect Amy Mangold recently joined the Scott Simpson Builders’ team. A Chicago native, she was one of only six women who graduated her year with a Bachelor of Architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology. She brings an impressive and diverse background to her new firm. She previously worked at Solomon Cordwell Buenz on high-rise residential projects in Chicago and San Francisco before joining Michael Hershenson Architects to work on smaller-scale residential work. Later, she worked at Stuart Cohen & Julie Hacker Architects to focus on complex renovations of historic homes. And in 2008, Mangold founded her own practice, Mangold Architecture.

Photos Courtesy of Scott Simpson

Featured Projects

Scott Simpson Builders created a highly sophisticated, environmentally-sensitive three-story home in Wilmette. The company’s creativity shines in this design, which includes exterior siding made from recycled pickle barrels, multiple fireplaces with locally sourced stone, and mantles created from trees removed for construction. The basement playroom and gym uses recycled grade school gymnasium flooring. The future-looking home is perfectly suited for its surroundings, with a blend of traditional and contemporary design elements, and plentiful outdoor spaces.

The company also designed and built a beautiful farmhouse style four-bedroom, 2,900 square foot house in Northbrook. The interior and exterior of this home are made from beautiful, natural materials, including a reclaimed wood beam arch separating the family room from the light and airy country style kitchen. The exterior has copper gutters, wide-planked white siding, and a beautiful barn style wooden garage doors. And in the backyard is the first village-approved rain garden in Northbrook.

Photos Courtesy of Scott Simpson

Lastly, Scott Simpsons Builders had the honor of restoring an original George Maher early 1900’s home. Their design for this historically significant home carefully respected its original architecture. They used the George Maher archives to replicate leaded glass windows, created a major interior staircase that tied the open interior together, and even preserved some original carpeting. Coffered ceilings, built in cabinets, and delicate woodwork throughout add to the home’s grandeur. An addition was added for a new family room, sleek walnut kitchen, master bedroom and bath, guest room, and children’s play area. A wine cellar was added to the lower level.

4) Norsman Architects, Ltd.

Website | 773-252-9448 | Featured Principal: Brent Norsman

Norsman Architects, Ltd. and their construction arm House Plant Inc. provide the Chicago area with innovative design and construction solutions for a wide range of residential and commercial projects. Founded by Brent Norsman, the firm is particularly devoted to an explorative, experimental, and boundary-pushing approach to design, and believes that sustainability is a vital component of each building.

Photos Courtesy of Norsman

Norsman Architects work is generally focused on mixed-use developments, environmentally responsive adaptive re-use projects, smaller commercial jobs, and residential work. They are of the mind that each project presents new opportunities to explore paradigms in housing and urban development. Their construction arm, House Plant Inc., was founded in 2005, Together, they provide clients with high-quality designs and construction in a controlled and integrated process.

By fostering relationships between architecture, the urban and natural environments, and its occupants, Norsman Architects create structures that are as unique as their circumstances.”

In the design process, Norsman Architects is particularly interested in creating a connection between the building’s site, context, and purpose. Their final products speak to their ability to innovate and reimagine traditional architecture and construction methods to create truly personalized and beautiful spaces. Norsman is an Adjunct Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology/College of Architecture. He earned his Master of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Photos Courtesy of Norsman

Featured Projects

Norsman Architects transformed an old mixed-use building into Leavitt I, a 6,000 square foot dream home. This adaptive re-use projects turned the large and incongruent space into a cohesive single-family residence. To fulfill the owner’s wishes for open living, Norsman Architects created an open floor plan that radiates from the naturally core of the home: the kitchen. Work on the exterior brought back to life the building’s original brick and updated it with strategically placed wood paneling.

The firm created Leavitt House II by turning a 4,455 square foot former VFW meeting hall with apartments into a 6,000 square foot custom single family home. This home took part in the Chicago Green Homes permit program and employs sustainable strategies throughout. The firm took care to design the home around the owner’s unique collection of artifacts, blending architectural styles to create a cohesive, one of the kind residence. Exposed brick, mosaic walls, and a variety of stone, wood, and metals are made to blend seamlessly together.  A highlight of this home is the custom walnut office with a secret door to the bamboo clad bar/club downstairs.

Photos Courtesy of Norsman

Norsman Architects also designed and built Potomac House II, a 5,500 square foot new residential build in Wicker Park. Their goal was to create a home for indoor/outdoor entertaining. They designed the flow of the first floor to move around a sunken gathering space just off the kitchen, which creates a direct line of site to the outdoors through a corner wall of floor-to-ceiling glass walls and windows. Special design features include concrete floors on the first level, a walnut kitchen, and beautiful light pine ceiling treatments upstairs.

Elsewhere in Chicago, the firm built the beautiful 4,800 square foot offices for David Grossman Associates and Potomac I, a 3,900 square foot new residential construction which was the first to participate in Chicago’s Green Permit Program.

3) Foster Design Build

Website | (312) 445-9564 | Featured Principal: Robert Berg

Foster Design Build (FDB) is a luxury full-service boutique custom home design and build company founded in 2009 by Robert Berg. The Chicago-based family business has been featured in several publications, including NBC News, Chicago Magazine, Luxury Home Magazine, Huffington Post, Chicagoist, and the Chicago Architecture Blog. FDB has built homes for many high-profile clients and worked many famous properties, including the home next to President Obama and the Historic ‘Bobby Franks’ Mansion.

Photos Courtesy of Foster

Although FDB has the expertise and sophistication of a large firm, they have purposefully remained small enough to offer each client a personalized approach. They excel at preservation and restoration, and while they are best known for their custom homes, FDB occasionally works on commercial projects, including for the Department of Navy and Department of Defense, and Northwestern. Under Berg’s direction, FDB is committed to green building, with the motto of ‘treading lightly on the earth.’  FDB is a member of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the AIA, the National Kitchen and Bath Association, and the U.S. Green Building Council.

Berg previously spent 20+ years in the construction business, including as the Director of Construction for a prominent general contractor in Chicago. He is a member of the NAHB, AIA, US Green Building Council (USGBC), and USGBC Chicago Chapter Member.

Photos Courtesy of Foster

Featured Projects

FDB had the rare opportunity to rebuild the 108-year-old home next to President Obama’s Hyde Park residence. This project brought with it a unique set of challenges: not only was 5040 South Greenwood in a horribly dilapidated state, but they had to coordinate and cooperate with secret service and follow strict procedures and work with the City of Chicago’s Department of Landmarks. In the end, FDB renovated the original 6,000-square-foot home in an 11,000-square-foot manor with top of the line technology and a contemporary interior design. In the rear, where they were free from historical design restrictions, RCP insulated panel, stainless steel slate gray railings, and custom windows give a distinct look to the high-end home, which was featured in Luxury Home Quarterly.

FDB mixed classic design elements with contemporary and eclectic touches in a single-family home at 2121 N Dayton St. Highlights include radiant heated limestone steps leading into the entry foyer, coffered ceilings in the dining room, tranquil bathrooms with soaking tubs and steam and rain showers. The kitchen counters are made of boldly grained black and white marble that matches that used in the fireplace, creating a sense of congruence in the home’s design. But perhaps the most compelling area of the home is the skylit top floor. It has a retractable door opening, which connects to a 31-foot outdoor patio with a fireplace and mounted TV.

Photos Courtesy of Foster

FDB also gutted 438 W. Eugenie to the studs and changed the 1883 apartment building into a one-of-a-kind 5,800 square foot bachelor pad. To match the client’s flair for the dramatic, FDB made a technologically savvy home that has a real fireman’s pole between the third and second floor, an exterior zip-line to the garage, and a heated, backyard pool.

2) Wight & Company

Website | 312.261.5700 | Featured Principal: Dirk Lohan

For more than 75 years, the pioneering Wight & Company has contributed exceptional and enduring buildings to Chicago’s built environment. The company has been featured in prominent publication and earned over eight AIA Chicago awards for everything from adaptive reuse projects to interior architecture. The practice is even responsible for what Architect’s Newspaper named the 2015 Building of the Year in the Midwest.

Photos Courtesy of Wight & Company

Wight & Company has offices in Chicago, Darien, and Irving, TX. They employ more than 185 diverse professionals. The company recently combined with the internationally acclaimed architecture firm Lohan Anderson. Together, they provide integrated architecture, engineering, and construction service in many key markets including corporate, commercial, federal and local government, education, libraries, transportation and infrastructure, and parks and recreation. With a focus on sustainability, they make every effort to protect and enhance the environment through their projects.

Dirk Lohan, a Principal at Wight & Company, has been recognized as an AIA Fellow. He left his native Germany to study architecture at IIT and finished his studies at Technische Hochschule (Diplom – Ingenieur) in Munich. Under the supervision of his grandfather, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, he worked on several major projects, such as the National Gallery in Berlin, the IBM office building in Chicago, and The Toronto Dominion Centre. Prior to the firms combining, Lohan was Co-Founder and Principal of Lohan Anderson. During his distinguished career, he has worked on many internationally and nationally important projects, including the McDonald’s Corporate Headquarters Campus, the John G. Shedd Oceanarium, and the Soldier Field stadium expansion and renovation.

Photos Courtesy of Wight & Company

Featured Projects

Wight & Company was selected by The United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) Charter School to design and build their new high school and soccer field at the UNO Soccer Academy campus. The award-winning result, an LEED-Gold certified building, creates a welcoming, engaging, and inspirational learning environment. It has a unique circular shape with a glass-walled, open central courtyard. This project was named a Project of Distinction in School Planning & Architectural Exhibition from Association for Learning Environments (formerly CEFPI), a Merit Award Finalist from the Chicago Building Congress, received an Honorable Mention for High School Facilities from Learning By Design, and an Honorable Mention in Excellence in the Design of Educational Environments from the Illinois Association of School Boards.

Photos Courtesy of Wight & Company

Wight & Company also designed and built the award-winning LEED-NC Platinum Hidden Oaks Nature Center for The Bolingbrook Park District.  Their design mimics the natural surroundings: a cone shaped section of the building is meant to copy the shape of a tree trunk and has a limestone veneer that resembles bark. The other half of the building recalls a tree house. Moreover, trees removed for construction were incorporated into the exterior. This project was recognized with the AIA Illinois 2012 Frank Lloyd Wright Honor Award, A National Design-Build Award from the Design-Build Institute of America, a Chicago Building Congress Merit Award, an Honor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois, and a Merit Award in Green Building from Midwest Construction, among others.

The natural world influenced every component of our design for this facility. … [W]e designed the nature center to be a healthy, engaging, and environmentally friendly place for employees, students, and visitors.” – Wight & Company

Finally, Wight & Company provided design-build services, in collaboration with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), for the Chinatown Branch Library. They were tasked with creating a civic, educational, and social hub for the community. The outcome is a beautiful building with community meeting areas, a children’s zone, and a connected atrium that is inspired by a traditional Chinese courtyard. It was designed and constructed to achieve LEED Gold status. This project was named by Architect’s Newspaper as the 2015 Building of the Year in the Midwest, and was recognized with the AIA/ALA 2016 Library Building Award.

1) Nicholas Design Collaborative Ltd.

Website | (312) 243-7799 | Featured Principal: Peter Nicholas

For over 27 years, Nicholas Design Collaborative (NDC) has designed and built unique homes and workplaces for their Chicago clients. This award-winning holistic practice has received broad praise and recognition, including being named as Build Direct Magazine’s 15 Best Architects in Chicago 2015, earning two ALA 2015 Awards of Merit, and being included in the 2013-14 Trends Top 50 American Kitchens.

Photos Courtesy of Nicholas Design Collaborative

A California native, Peter Nicholas was inspired to move to Chicago in 1985 for its unique urban architecture. It was there, in 1989, he founded NDC. To ensure the quality and economy of their architectural designs, NDC founded their design/build entity, NCA Build, Ltd., in 2001. The firm now provides a range of services, including architecture, planning, interiors, construction, and design-build. The practice is dedicated to keeping up with building and design trends and knowledge, so they can expertly apply the newest and best materials and construction techniques to their buildings.

As the founder, Nicholas is involved in each project, contributing his creativity and experience. He currently serves as a Board Member of the Rogers Park Business Alliance, is a member of the NCARB and AIA, and was previously the Commission Chairman of the Skokie Zoning Commission. He received his Bachelor of Architecture, with a concentration in urban design, from California State University, studied abroad in Florence, and earned his Masters from the University of Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts.

Photos Courtesy of Nicholas Design Collaborative

Featured Projects

NDC’s Cortland Residence is a 7,800 square foot single-family home in a dense urban neighborhood. This three-story home was designed to provide privacy and solitude for its owners. It connects the indoor and outdoor spaces through two courtyards, with courtyard walls defined by planes of glass, cedar and wood panels. A folding glass living room wall opens onto a gorgeous rear patio and main courtyard. The back of the house is made of large expanses of glass, looking out on an intriguingly modern water feature. The inside of the light filled home has warm wood floors, a modern, two-sided fireplace, a sleek kitchen, and a wet-bar for entertaining. This home won a Gold Award from The Association of Licensed Architects and was featured in Luxe Interiors + Designs.

Photos Courtesy of Nicholas Design Collaborative

And their 6,100 square foot, 6-bedroom, 4-bathroom home in the West Rogers Park neighborhood won an Award of Merit from the Association of Licensed Architects Design Awards. The exterior of this contemporary home is built with a variety of scales and materials. It has golden brown colored brick, natural light wood panels, and three colors of stucco that reinforce and add scale to its individual sections.

NDC also completely renovated The Periscope House, a modest 1970’s 2-bedroom home in the Edgewater Glen neighborhood. The result is a highly-efficient urban residence with 4-bedrooms and a cozy courtyard. The provocative and sculptural shape of the home contrasts and challenges its neighbors, two high-density and ‘visually heavy’ multi-unit buildings.  The back of the home has three distinct depths, each of which is painted a different primary color.