Nancy, Author at Optima - Page 38 of 41

Sales at 7180 Optima Kierland

Posted on January 13, 2020September 1, 2020 by Nancy

To wrap up an exciting 2019, 7180 Optima Kierland ended December at officially over 50% sold. The latest luxury condominium tower at Optima Kierland Center, 7180 is part of our larger Optima Kierland Center, built alongside 7120 Optima Kierland, 7140 Optima Kierland and 7160 Optima Kierland. Our sales velocity continues to outpace the Arizona luxury condominium market by eight times the average, with Optima Kierland selling 113 homes since sales began in January 2019. The community leads the Phoenix-metro market for sales velocity when compared to other new condominium developments across the Valley, according to a December 2019 market study by Polaris Pacific.

With expansive terraces, vertical landscaping and gorgeous desert views, each residence is built to create a beautiful life in Scottsdale, connected to the surrounding nature. One of the strongest draws for buyers at 7180 Optima Kierland, aside from the stunning views, has been the array of world-class amenities that are unrivaled in the market. The expansive outdoor amenities include a rooftop pools and running track, outdoor fitness areas and entertaining spaces. Indoor amenities include more entertaining spaces, fitness center, game room, theater room and business center.

Along with our other Arizona properties, Optima Kierland Center has garnered the attention of local and national media. Apartment Therapy featured customized foyers in 7120 Optima Kierland. Another interior design spotlight, Modern Luxury Scottsdale covered Lissa Lee Hickman’s gorgeous interiors within a three-bedroom residence. And Phoenix Home and Garden published an article on one of our residents and their upgrade to luxury living. Like the rest of the Optima Kierland Center properties, 7180 will be completely customizable to fit the tastes and needs of our residents.

7180 Optima Kierland is slated for completion in 2020 and features over 200 residences that offer truly one-of-a-kind living experiences. We look forward to sharing more progress on construction and sales throughout the year!

A Brief History of the Swan Chair

Posted on January 8, 2020September 1, 2020 by Nancy

An iconic piece in modern furniture design, the Swan chair’s fluidity and endless curves make it both a comforting perch and a sight to behold. Often swathed in vivid colors, the Swan chair makes a bold statement incorporated into striking interiors across our Optima communities.

An Iconic Design

The Swan chair was designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the same architect and designer who created the Egg chair. Alongside the Egg chair, the Swan chair was originally crafted for the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen (also architected by Jacobsen). The chair let hotel guests spin its swivel base and rotate 360 degrees to take in the bustling hotel atmosphere, while cocooned in comfort. As a chair with no straight lines, the Swan was a technological innovation in furniture design. Created in the Danish modern style, the chair swiftly became an icon.

A Feat of Engineering

Prior to designing the Swan chair, Jacobsen (and other furniture designers of his generation) were constrained by the pliability of the materials they used, which at the time, were stiff and difficult to sculpt. However, the introduction of molded foam — a new, flexible material — rewrote the rules. Through experimentation with the new product, Jacobsen found the freedom to shape fluid curves and single-piece molded shells.

The Swan chair, originally made from Styropore, is now made from polyurethane foam, both inventive materials that allow for the chairs’ continuous shape. The shell of the swan is made of molded synthetic material, and covered by a layer of cold foam. The swiveling base, always star-shaped, includes a satin-polished, welded steel tube and a 4-star base in injection molded aluminium. With upholstery options available in a variety of textiles and colors, the Swan chair easily adapts to lobbies, lounges and homes across the world.

Throughout our residential spaces, Swan chairs are right at home in our Modernist buildings, reflecting the same passion for form and function. Easily employed in entry lobbies, lounges across the community or even commercial office space, the unique curves and comfort of this sculptural chair leave a lasting impression.

Green Space Spotlight: Optima Kierland Center

Posted on January 6, 2020September 1, 2020 by Nancy

As we began construction on Optima Kierland Center, we envisioned a beautiful community that embraced the desert surroundings and welcomed residents and visitors alike with beautiful Modernist design and, of course, gorgeous green space. A multiphase development project, each building within Optima Kierland Center is connected to the others through aesthetic structure and physical pathways amidst lush gardens. More than 5.5 acres of landscaped open space create a park-like setting for both our neighbors and our residents.

Within the building, our innovative vertical planting system features self-containing irrigation and drainage, including the vibrant and colorful planters at the edge of each floor. The system ultimately culminates into a beautiful rooftop garden, one of the many amenities throughout the building. Within the individual residences, hanging gardens and expansive, private terraces bring the outdoors in, perfectly designed to let our residents enjoy the surrounding greenery.

As with all of our projects, we designed Optima Kierland Center to take advantage of the beauty of the surrounding environment and to integrate our design with soft, natural elements. Working in tandem with our expansive amenity spaces, our green space gives Optima Kierland Center residents endless opportunities to enjoy — and be a part of — the outdoors. With the next two towers underway and with 7180 Optima Kierland 50% sold, we eagerly await the completion of what will be a truly stunning community.

2019: A Year in Review

Posted on January 2, 2020September 1, 2020 by Nancy

As 2019 comes to a close, we reflectively look back on all that’s happened throughout a busy and exciting year. Our team, projects and Optima as a whole have experienced tremendous growth over the last twelve months. Here are just a few of the highlights:

Awards

Our team was honored to win five awards, including AIA Chicago Divine Detail award for Optima Sonoran Village, Architecture MasterPrize and Architizer A+ Finalist Award for Arizona Courtyard House, American Architecture Award for Whale Bay House and Build Magazine’s Luxury Urban Housing Designer of the Year.

Projects and Properties

This was a big year for development, construction, leasing and more.

In Arizona, we completed construction and leased up Optima Sonoran Village Phase III, the fifth and final tower at Optima Sonoran Village. 7120 Optima Kierland sold out – and was the fastest selling community in the Valley. We launched sales at 7180 Optima Kierland and are already over 50% sold. We also began construction on both 7140 and 7180 Optima Kierland, both slated for completion in 2020. We also purchased new land in Scottsdale to develop new Optima communities.

In Illinois, we leased up 100% of our commercial and retail space at Optima Signature including business suites. We also purchased new land in Chicago and the North Shore for new developments.

We also launched Optimized ServiceTM, a next-level white-glove approach to our concierge experience.

The Optima team volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.

Culture

Working across our entire organization, we formalized our purpose statement and core values to reflect our growth and inspire our path forward. We volunteered: we spent the day with Habitat for Humanity in both AZ and IL, cleaned up the Skokie Lagoons in IL, and worked with animals at Amy’s Farm Sanctuary in AZ. We had fun: we enjoyed axe throwing, bowling, go karting, beaches, barbeques, concerts and high tea. We also learned: our team attended the Metropolitan Planning Council lunch, the TCN Women in the Forefront Luncheon, the Goldie Gala, the Chicago Build Expo and NAA Apartmentalize.

We can’t thank our leadership, team members and supporters enough for such a fantastic year. As we look towards 2020, we look forward to the new year to come, new milestones to pass and new ways to innovate across our upcoming projects.

The Work of Jules Olitski

Posted on December 30, 2019May 25, 2024 by Nancy

Jules Olitski was an American painter, printmaker and sculptor whose work explored color as a subject. Olitski’s innovative experimentation in paint and its properties yielded results that were at once atmospheric and beautiful. In many of our properties, displaying the work of Jules Olitski plays complement to our own exploration of color, form and function.

The Life of Jules Olitski

Jules Olitski was born Jevel Demokovsky in 1922 in Snovsk, Russia (now Ukraine). His birth came just a few months after his father, a commissar, was executed by the Soviet government. At only a year old, along with his mother and grandmother, Olitski emigrated to the United States, where the family resided in Brooklyn. Even at a young age, Olitski demonstrated an aptitude for art. In high school, he won a juried prize that allowed him the opportunity to attend art classes in Manhattan.

In 1939, at 17, Olitski attended an exhibit at the New York World’s Fair, and it was there that he first saw work by Rembrandt. Olitski described the experience as “transformative.” The budding artist delved into the academic art world to study portraiture, but his schooling was interrupted when Olitski was drafted into the army during World War II.

Luckily, the G.I. Bill allowed Olitski to spend time studying in Paris following the war. The Paris schools were Olitski’s first introduction to the European modern masters. Their modernist approach led Olitski to engage in a deep process of self-analysis and reinvention — a process which involved painting while blindfolded, enabling the artist to unlearn his academic training as a portrait painter and freeing his inhibitions.

The Art of Jules Olitski

After school, his originally classical work became more abstract and focused on the surface, color and physical properties of paint and painting. This process-oriented approach led him to express a desire to create “color that would hang in the air.” To do so, he rented an industrial spray gun that allowed him to experiment and discover a radical new technique of layering atmospheric blankets of thick color onto canvas.

Olitski’s unique approach to the canvas helped establish the movement of Color Field painting in the mid-1960s. It also led him to represent the U.S. in the 33rd Venice Biennale in 1966, and to become the first living American artist to showcase a one-person exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1969. His work has been described as “visual drama” and “visual muzak” by international art critics.

Olitski was able to learn a classical approach to art, and then subvert that through his own unique innovation. Having his works on the walls of our own properties reminds us to always challenge the status quo, and to never stop inventing.

Rooftop Amenities at Optima

Posted on December 26, 2019September 1, 2020 by Nancy

Across all of our projects and properties, we believe amenities are essential to building wellness-focused, holistic spaces. From our single-family homes to our multi-family residences, we carefully curate our outdoor and indoor amenities to reflect these values. One of our favorite applications is utilizing our rooftop areas, particularly in our multi-family residences. Although rooftop gardens and green spaces have existed since the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, new technologies have allowed us to expand into sophisticated, expansive systems of features. Optima began using green roofs in Chicago back in the early 1980s, and have evolved our practice to include both green space and amenities throughout our properties in Arizona and Illinois.

The rooftop views from Optima Sonoran Village.

One of our favorite aspects of moving out to Arizona was creating outdoor spaces that celebrated and embraced the desert atmosphere. Our Arizona rooftop amenities include heated pools, built-in seating areas, spas,cold plunges, rooftop running tracks, outdoor yoga studios, entertaining spaces with barbecues and fire pits, and of course, panoramic mountain views. At Optima Sonoran Village in particular, we maximized the small footprint of the building to offer incredible views of Camelback mountain and to create socializing space for residents.

With state-of-the-art features and unparalleled views of the surrounding environments, our rooftop spaces across our Arizona projects create the perfect backdrop for time spent outside with loved ones.

Despite the cold Chicago winters, our projects within the city still take advantage of their rooftop space for dynamic city views and amenities for our residents to enjoy. With outdoor heated swimming pools, cabanas and bars, outdoor saunas and steam rooms, outdoor terraces, fire pits, herb gardens, dog parks and outdoor children’s play areas, both Optima Chicago Center and Optima Signature feature plenty of enticing areas and activities.

Our building amenities are an integral step in our process of creating functional, beautiful and welcoming spaces, and in utilizing our rooftops, we extend our creativity into designing desirable, innovative outdoor space.

Optimized Service at Optima

Posted on December 23, 2019September 1, 2020 by Nancy

With everything we do at Optima, we set out to deepen the human experience. In support of this mission, this year we launched Optimized Service, an innovative in-home concierge program that is the first of its kind in Arizona.

Optimized Service takes concierge services to the next level, providing conveniences for our residents within the comfort of their homes, with our professional in-house teams working around the clock. Complimentary services include dry cleaning pickup and delivery to the closet, in-home plant watering, thermostat adjustments and package delivery to your front door within 24 hours of package delivery to the building.

The program augments the virtual concierge at Optima, which offers our residents the ability to call, email or text for assistance with booking reservations, appointments, coordinating travel and other similar tasks.

We see our new hospitality-grade service as the perfect addition to the abundant amenities offered across all of our Arizona luxury rental communities. In our continuous pursuit of service, we seek to provide our residents with an unparalleled living experience.

Redwood at Optima Signature

Posted on December 18, 2019September 1, 2020 by Nancy

Our design is often driven with sustainability and efficiency in mind. This leads to the thoughtful incorporation of unconventional materials in many of our projects — whether that be for the exterior facade or an interior accent. One such detail, the redwood in the lobby at Optima Signature, is an unconventional material that serves to juxtapose the strength of the building’s steel-and-glass exterior.

A striking statement throughout the Optima Signature lobby, the barge wood adds a soft, natural texture behind the front desk, creating a stark contrast to the surrounding steel and glass. The wood lines the north wall of the lobby in long planks and is the first sight to greet residents and visitors when they enter the building. Though now on display for all in our community, the wood came all the way from California in the 1850s.

Barge wood in the lobby at Optima Signature.

The planks are redwood, formed from one massive log that sat on the bottom of the Big River in Mendocino California. This particular log was a “sinker,” the name given to the handful of logs that unfortunately sank during their river journey from a redwood forest to the sawmill at the mouth of the Big River, not far from San Francisco.

For over 100 years, the log sat at the bottom of the Big River, until it was salvaged by Arky Ciancutti. Ciancutti began a redwood salvage business in the 1970s, raising large redwood logs that had previously sat forgotten at the bottom of the river. This particular log, Ciancutti determined, was from the first growth period of the redwood forest. He knew this because it was more than six feet in diameter and had axe-shaven markings at its ends, indicating that it was cut down, prior to the invention of the “raker tooth” saw of the late 1800s.

A close-up look at the barge wood at Optima Signature.

Having sat in the river for over one hundred years in mineral-rich water, this redwood log developed a truly rare and unique “curl” pattern within the grain of the wood. To highlight this unique feature, the wood was cut into three-inch-planks that ran the full length of the log. We then carefully installed these planks, with their raw beauty intact, leaving the live edges of the wood as is. The planks were then hung vertically in the lobby space, the orientation the same from which they grew.

From a river in California to the lobby of a Chicago residential building, our barge wood at Optima Signature has a unique story that connects our urban lobby back to nature, and reflects our commitment to sustainability and longevity.

A Day at the Art Institute

Posted on December 16, 2019May 25, 2024 by Nancy

Architecture is intrinsically linked to art; and designing within the Modernist discipline, we find inspiration from all forms of art. That’s why there’s no better place we can think to spend the day than at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Art Institute is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. Founded in 1879, the museum is an iconic fixture in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park on Michigan Avenue. As a host to 1.5 million people annually, the curatorial efforts there always brings forth something new to see and learn.

This year, to celebrate 100 Years of Bauhaus, new special exhibitions at the museum shed light on the lasting influence of the iconic design school. That impact has extended into our practice at Optima, with the history of icons like Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and other Modernist masters informing how we create today. Visiting the Art Institute gives us the opportunity to see how that impact has spread elsewhere, too, in three phenomenally curated exhibits. If you only have one day to spend at the museum, this is what we recommend seeing:

In a Cloud, in a Wall, in a Chair: Six Modernists in Mexico at Midcentury

For the first time ever, the Art Institute is showing the work of Clara Porset, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Anni Albers, Ruth Asawa, Cynthia Sargent and Sheila Hicks as a group. The exhibition explores the unifying factor that has impacted the work of each of these artists and designers: Mexico. From different generations and mediums, all created work that was boundary-breaking.

In a Cloud, in a Wall, in a Chair: Six Modernists in Mexico at Midcentury is open until January 12, 2020.

Weaving beyond the Bauhaus

Tucked away on the lower level of the museum, this modest exhibit serves an impactful punch. The exhibit traces the diffusion of Bauhaus weaving workshop artists Anni Albers and Marli Ehrman, and their reciprocal relationships with fellow artists and students. The result is a soaring collection of weavings, acting as a conversation between iconic female textile artists.

Weaving beyond the Bauhaus is open until February 17, 2020.

Bauhaus Chicago: Design in the City

When the Bauhaus shut down, its teachers, students and thought disseminated across the world. This exhibition explores the way that instructors and students at ID and IIT adapted the German design philosophy to the United States through an array of medium, spanning from jewelry, photography, and textiles to furniture, monumental sculpture and urban planning.

Bauhaus Chicago: Design in the City is open until April 26, 2020.We love the way that art helps us understand the world, and in turn, informs the work we do every day. This collection of exhibits plays off one another beautifully to help deepen that understanding, relating it back to our practice in a context that is at once close and timelessly global. To experience these exhibits and everything the Art Institute has to offer, visit their website.

A Brief History of the Terrace

Posted on December 11, 2019May 25, 2024 by Nancy

A hallmark of Optima properties is our integration of the built environment with the natural. Oftentimes, we employ terraces—level platforms incorporated into buildings that allow for plantlife to thrive—that allow our buildings, and their residents, to live in harmony with the surrounding landscape. The usage of terraces is one that dates back for over 12,000 years, evolving over the millennium to be the sophisticated components of urban architecture that they are today.

Terraces of Ancient Times

The word terrace is derived from terra, the Latin word for earth. The technique has been in use for over 12,000 years, first utilized as an ancient farming method in hilly regions. Agricultural terracing involved cutting the land into a series of successively receding flat platforms, much like steps, to allow for more effective farming, by decreasing erosion and surface runoff and increasing the effectiveness of irrigation.

An illustration of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

In 9800 BC, ancient civilizations realized that they could adapt this technique to buildings, and they began to add terraces to their homes and other domestic structures. This first usage was seen across the globe, from the Middle East to the Pacific Islands. The most famous interpretation is undeniably King Nebuchadnezzar’s Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Although no actual proof of its existence has been found, depictions show an ascending series of tiered gardens abundant with plantlife, complete even with a waterfall.

Thousands of years later, from 3000 BC – 600 BC, Mesopotamians grew gardens atop ziggurats, terraced religious temples that allowed for religious spaces to become placed ever higher. The structures were placed upon many layered platforms, and it’s believed that ziggurats were what inspired the Biblical parable The Tower of Babel.

Terraces continued to be integrated into homes. Around 1500 AD, Venice adopted terrace design to the tops of their homes, called altanas. Altanas were private, slat-floored roofs. They started out as a place to hang laundry out to dry, but continue to be used today as social spaces.

The terraced design of Optima Camelview Village.

Terraces in the Modern Age

Following the progression of altanas as a place to socialize, people began more and more to use the terrace as a location to congregate in privacy. Private rooftop and per-unit terraces became luxury amenities in the 1920s, when building height began to increase due to the adoption of the elevator. At that time, terraces become a status of wealth, allowing for privacy, fresh air and separation from the increasing bustle of life on city-level.

Today, the use of terraces continues to flourish, finding increased purpose and urgency in response to population growth and a changing environmental climate. They provide private places to reconvene with nature, away from the bustle of the city. Terraces also create sustainable and contributive space, by providing thermal insulation, solar shading to mitigate air pollution, increased biodiversity and enhanced quality of life.

At Optima, we incorporate terraces to create private social space, to integrate nature into our communities through our signature hanging gardens, and to contribute to our sustainability practices at many of our properties, including Optima Camelview Village, Optima Sonoran Village and Optima Kierland. Terraces at Optima serve as outdoor living space, connecting the outdoor and indoor for a seamless living experience. From agricultural beginnings, the terrace stays true to its roots, allowing us to find harmony with nature.

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Author: Nancy