Posts

Energy-efficient building seminar to feature Dave Hampton

Dave Hampton
July 11, 2010 11:12 pm

A full day seminar - Energy-Efficient Building Envelope Design and Construction - will be held July 14, 2010 in Wheaton, IL.

Dave will cover the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) as a design tool, show examples from Europe, North America, and one of Hampton Avery’s own projects.

Chicago Passive House takes shape

Dave Hampton
10:46 pm

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In Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, an urban residential retrofit shall rise from a former taqueria and demonstrate that a Passive House is possible on a tight city lot… and a tight budget.

Home sweet rooftop garden

Dave Hampton
June 30, 2010 9:45 pm

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Pull up a chair, pick a tomato, and sit awhile.

Rooftop garden… got plants?

Dave Hampton
May 23, 2010 2:44 pm

The Coleman garage is complete with the installation of the rooftop garden this weekend.

Now it’s up to Mother Nature to fill in the blanks and help this garden grow.

New projects

Dave Hampton
February 24, 2010 10:47 pm

Youth Jobs Center, Evanston, IL.

Youth Jobs Center, Evanston, IL.

On the boards these days, we have:

Restaurants - one for Chef Graham Elliot Bowles, one to feature regional Mexican cuisine.

Residential additions - working magic in tight spaces to make two urban homes more contemporary, functional, and livable.

Youth Jobs Center of Evanston, Inc. - an urban Passive House retrofit of an existing building (and a fairly groundbreaking concept at that) for this great nonprofit organization.

San Jose Obrero Mission - space planning consultation for another exemplary nonprofit.

Green in the Loop 1910-2010: an architectural tour through time

Dave Hampton
10:30 pm

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The ever-popular 2-hour walking tour that helps folks experience great Chicago buildings is back!

You’ll use your amazing powers of intellect to learn what makes buildings great, discern what green meant 100 years ago, and see how older buildings - or new ones - can be made better.

Join us here!

Chicagoland PassivHaus Alliance

Dave Hampton
February 8, 2010 12:31 pm

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On a recent trip to PHIUS, we were asked, along with Wii Design-Build, to head up the Chicagoland PassivHaus Alliance. Stay tuned for more information.

We also got to see University of Illinois’ second-place winner in the 2009 Solar Decathlon (pictured above) - a great example of the PassivHaus standard in action.

Hampton Avery Studio 309

Dave Hampton
January 25, 2010 8:25 am

Black-Swan-logo-Revise

For the first half of 2010, Hampton Avery Architects will be working with a talented team to propose realistic and compelling design solutions for urban challenges at three interlocking scales: block / building, neighborhood, and region.

The work of Hampton Avery Studio 309 will culminate in a public exhibition in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.

Stay tuned!

Happy 2010… we are one year old today!

Dave Hampton
January 4, 2010 9:44 am

Best wishes to everyone in the new year.

Hampton Avery Architects celebrates its one-year anniversary today.

We look forward to working with great clients on great projects in 2010!

Coleman garage nearly complete

Dave Hampton
December 15, 2009 5:18 pm

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Trellises, repurposed from galvanized aluminum security grilles from the ReBuilding Exchange, slip from the rooftop garden, over the coping, and down over the wood rainscreen cladding to make it easier for Santa to get to the chimney (not in contract).

The trellises will later form what we like to call around here the ‘green combover’ of trailing plants from the rooftop garden.

See construction photos.

Jury duty in Indiana

Dave Hampton
December 9, 2009 5:00 pm

From left to right: guest jurors John "Jack" Munson, Dave Hampton, Richard Avery, John Isch.

From left to right: guest jurors John "Jack" Munson, Dave Hampton, Richard Avery, John Isch.

Richard and Dave were pleased to serve as guest jurors for Prof. Dan Woodfin’s Architecture 201 semester review at Ball State University’s College of Architecture and Planning - Richard’s alma mater.

The project was a townhouse in Santa Fe, which was to employ sitecast concrete with CMU infill and stucco finish. The second-year students acquitted themselves nicely for the most part in their presentations, many offering a compelling handling of space and beginning grasp of how to employ sustainable techniques and strategies such as thermal mass to moderate temperature swings and passive cooling through stack effects.

Opting for Jimmy John’s over the falafel sandwich option for lunch in downtown Muncie, had a nice dinner after the review with Prof. Woodfin, his wife, and our fellow jurors: Jack Munson of Richardson Munson and Wier, Indianapolis; and John Isch of RWA Architects, Cincinnati.

Red Line Green Roofs Initiative

Dave Hampton
December 7, 2009 10:28 am

Our lecture was presented on Tuesday, Dec. 8 from 12:15-1:00pm at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.

Download the presentation (PDF format, 2.2 MB)

Contact us for more on the Red Line Green Roofs Initiative or green roofs along any other public transportation corridor!

Entrepreneurial infrastructure

Dave Hampton
November 30, 2009 11:20 pm

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It’s much more than just an attractive near-alliterative term, but you heard it here first.

Learn more about the concept of ‘entrepreneurial infrastructure‘ from The Genetically Modified Strip. We collaborated with giffin’termeer on this award-winning solution to the 2008 Flip a Strip competiton in Phoenix, AZ.

Man Made Lake

Dave Hampton
November 19, 2009 2:20 pm

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No, we haven’t designed a man-made lake, but listening to this song by Calexico struck a chord with me following discussions Richard and I have been having about some missed opportunities in designing our built environment.

…Continue reading Man Made Lake

Smacked Down

Richard Avery
November 10, 2009 7:27 am

About 60 people attended the Smack Down. Apparently the largest turn out ever for a UHC lecture. Thanks to all who came out and contributed to the discussion.

The discussion was great and thought provoking. While we architects (see all the people in black in the picture below) had some good things to say, the real star of the show was the moderator, Lynn Becker. In about 15 minutes he gave the most clear, astute, and informative, and insightful description of the plan I have ever heard.

…Continue reading Smacked Down

2 residential green roof installations recently completed

Dave Hampton
November 9, 2009 12:31 pm

View of a rooftop garden at Ainslie Ave. before laying down the growing media

View of a rooftop garden at Ainslie Ave. before laying down the growing media

They’re a little bit scruffy right now with no plants yet - just seeds, but we have high hopes that warmer weather in late spring 2010 will make rooftop gardens at Ainslie Ave. and Champlain Ave. grow tall and lush.

No More Running In Place

Richard Avery
November 2, 2009 8:38 pm

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On left, conventional parking lot, on right, the same lot with permeable paving. See the difference?

Could it be that in twenty years time we will find ourselves driving our solar charged electric cars to eat at the California Pizza Kitchen, with a green roof that grows it’s own vegetables and cooks them in a solar oven, and sits in a parking lot paved with permeable concrete, in front of a day lighted & geothermally heated Target. Lord help us if that is the case.

…Continue reading No More Running In Place

Smackdown

Richard Avery
October 28, 2009 8:34 am

On November 4th, Urban Habitat Chicago will be hosting  The Burnham Plan of Chicago: Smackdown! at Schubas Tavern, 3159 N. Southport. To quote from the UHC website:

“This lively, fast-paced discussion, moderated by Chicago’s one-and-only Lynn Becker, will feature a panel of local practitioners who will each take on one aspect of the 1909 Plan of Chicago by Burnham and Bennett, make it relevant and accessible by bringing it up-to-date, then offer real-world solutions on how it might be implemented.”

The panel includes Samuel Assefa, Zoka Zola, Nick Petty, Mike Newman, Rashmi Ramaswamy, Lesley Roth, and (I suppose for comic relief) Richard Avery. The whole thing will be moderated by Lynn Becker.

Put it on your calendar, come with questions, and be ready to mix it up.

All For One and One For All

Dave Hampton
September 23, 2009 12:46 am

Dave’s guest blog entry for eco-intel.com makes the case for integrated-design and -project delivery using the Coleman garage as an easy-to-grasp example.

All For One and One For All

We Got An Award!

Richard Avery
September 3, 2009 6:49 pm
th-web-2Humboldt Park Residence

The City of Chicago was nice enough this morning to give one of our projects a 2009 Chicago Landmark Award for Preservation Excellence. The project in question was the interior and exterior renovation with an addition, to a house in the Logan Square Boulevards Landmark District. Other award recepients this year included the restoration of the Palmer House Hilton on State Street, The West Town State Bank Building at Madison & Western, 310-318 S. Michigan Ave (the ‘beehive’ building), The Quinn Chapel, and the South Shore Cultural Center, among others. The ceremenony, which was held in the newly restored Honore Room at the Palmer house, was presided over by David Mosena, the Chairman of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. 35th Ward Alderman Rey Colon joined the clients and myself in accepting the award.

This was a nice end to a six year long project that saw 3 contractors, a lengthy landmarks review process, a trip to the building board of appeals, and a lot of work on the part of us and the client.

…Continue reading We Got An Award!