Blog type: Architecture & Design

Shaping Sustainable Futures

Posted on by Nancy

At Optima®, sustainability isn’t a single initiative or checklist—it’s a design philosophy that informs everything we build, from the materials we select to the communities we shape. We believe that architecture has the power to create not only beautiful and functional spaces, but also enduring ones—places that evolve with people, conserve resources, and contribute to a healthier planet for generations to come.

Across our portfolio, sustainability takes many forms: innovative shading systems that reduce heat gain, signature lush vertical landscaping that cools buildings naturally, glass façades engineered to balance light and efficiency, and open floor plans that adapt as life changes. These choices add up to a simple truth: design can and should make it easier to live responsibly, without sacrificing comfort or beauty.

Building for the Long View
True sustainability begins long before a building rises from the ground. It starts with intention—with an understanding that every design decision has environmental, economic, and social impact. At Optima®, we integrate these considerations into every stage of the process: site selection, orientation, material sourcing, and energy performance. Our communities are designed to minimize waste and maximize longevity, reflecting a commitment to adaptive, future-ready living.

The Library Lounge at Optima Verdana® seamlessly integrates with lush courtyard landscaping.

This approach echoes the principles of biophilic design, which connects people with nature through form, light, and landscape. By blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, our buildings create healthier, more restorative environments—reducing stress, improving air quality, and fostering a sense of belonging. Whether it’s the cascading gardens at Optima Sonoran Village® in Scottsdale or the sky-high terraces at Optima Signature® in Chicago, these natural integrations remind us that sustainability is as much about human well-being as it is about energy savings.

Design as an Ecosystem
We view every Optima® community as part of a larger ecosystem—one that balances innovation with responsibility. Our vertically integrated business model allows design, development, and management to work together seamlessly, ensuring that sustainability is embedded at every level rather than added later as a feature. This cohesion enables continuous improvement: learning from each project, refining our systems, and pushing the boundaries of performance.

We also recognize that sustainability extends beyond the physical environment. It includes the social sustainability of vibrant, connected communities. Shared amenities, walkable settings, and abundant green spaces create opportunities for interaction and wellness—encouraging residents to live not only sustainably, but meaningfully.

Shaping the Future, Responsibly
As the world faces urgent environmental challenges—from climate change to urban density—architecture plays a critical role in shaping more sustainable futures. Our mission is to continue evolving how we design, build, and live: reducing carbon footprints through smarter construction, leveraging renewable energy sources, and creating adaptable spaces that endure.

At Optima®, shaping sustainable futures means designing with empathy and foresight. It means creating architecture that serves not the present moment while also focusing on the possibilities ahead—spaces that will continue to grow, inspire, and give back to the world around us.

Architecture & Design in Sweater Weather: a Fall Field Guide

Posted on by Nancy

When the lake breeze turns crisp and shadows lengthen, autumn on Chicago’s North Shore becomes a master class in light, material, and proportion—best of all, it’s right outside your door — especially if you’re an Optima Verdana® resident. Use this Wilmette-centric guide to plan close-to-home mini adventures that feed your design eye and make the most of golden hour.

Lakefront icons up close
Start with a timeless pairing: the Bahá’í House of Worship and nearby Gillson Park. The Temple’s nine-sided plan, lace-like ornament, and reflecting pools reward slow looking. Arrive just after sunrise or a bit before sunset; low angle light pulls crisp relief from the façade and softens the surrounding gardens. Frame wide to celebrate symmetry, then go tight on repeating motifs for pattern studies.

Walk (or bike) to Gillson for a material contrast—granular sand, limestone revetments, weathered wood, dune grass. Photograph edges: water meeting stone, shadow crossing boardwalk, footprints fading in a breeze. Pro tip: switch your phone to “pro” mode (or lock exposure) and under-expose by a third stop to keep sky detail; an inexpensive clip-on polarizer cuts glare and deepens lake tone.

A cloudy autumn day at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Credit: Bob Simpson on Flickr Creative Commons. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

North Shore Modernism in fall light: a self-guided look from Prairie to Mid-Century
The North Shore is a living survey of clean lines and honest materials. Plot a quiet, sidewalk-only loop through Wilmette and neighboring Evanston to study signatures that read beautifully in autumn:

  • Prairie lineage: broad eaves, low rooflines, banded windows, and strong horizontal brick courses that echo the flat Midwest horizon.
  • Streamlined Mid-Century: flat or low-pitch roofs, clerestory and corner windows, vertical cedar, and disciplined detailing—no ornament, just proportion.
  • Material truth: brick, stone, wood, and glass doing what they do best; fall light reveals the depth of joints, mortar, and grain.

Etiquette matters: admire from public sidewalks, skip close-ups of private interiors, and let the architecture—not the address—be the subject. Pack a small sketchbook; noting eave thickness or window rhythm sharpens your eye for your own home styling back at Optima Verdana®.

Chicago Botanic Garden: balcony design lessons from world-class landscapes
A short drive or bike ride delivers big ideas you can scale to a terrace. As you wander, translate garden moves into balcony rules of thumb:

  • Repetition as rhythm: repeat one plant or pot three times for calm; it reads like a chorus line.
  • Edit for structure: one evergreen “anchor” (boxwood cone, dwarf pine) + one textural foil (fine grass) + one seasonal accent = a composition that holds through winter.
  • Texture over color: in cooler months, contrast leaf shape, blade width, and seedhead silhouette; color is the bonus, not the driver.
  • Frame a view: position a taller planter to edge a sightline; negative space is part of the design.

Quick recipes for a North Shore fall container:

  1. Dwarf conifer + blue fescue + trailing ivy (evergreen backbone with movement)
  2. Boxwood ball + heuchera (bronze) + ornamental kale (winter-hardy color)
  3. Switchgrass (compact) + winter pansies + birch branches (height, bloom, sculptural line)

Use fast-draining soil, elevate pots on risers, and topdress with pea gravel or black lava for a clean, modern finish.

Public art, small towns: a walkable Wilmette + Evanston sculpture stroll
Make an afternoon of human-scale civic design. Begin near downtown Wilmette and work your way south by Metra or bike to Evanston. Seek out village-green pieces, library-adjacent works, and storefront installations—fall’s angled light throws generous shadows and makes sculpture pop against brick and limestone. In Evanston, loop through Fountain Square, then toward the Northwestern University campus greens and Lake Michigan for larger outdoor works that borrow the lake and sky as backdrops.

Treat public art as wayfinding: each piece becomes a node on your map, connecting pocket parks, storefronts, and cafés. Pause to note plinth vs. at-grade installations, how materials weather, and how pieces invite (or deny) touch and seating. Grab a warm drink and end at the shoreline for a last look at form against the horizon.

Pack light, look long

  • Layer up, bring a small cloth for lens/glasses, and charge your phone.
  • For photos: think edge, pattern, proportion; shoot wide, then isolate detail.
  • Back home, translate what you saw: edit surfaces, group objects in threes, and let light do more of the work.

In sweater weather, Wilmette becomes your studio: icons, Modernist lines, living landscapes, and civic sculpture—each a short, inspiring journey from your front door.

 

Biophilic Design at the Barbican Centre

Posted on by Nancy

At Optima®, our approach to design is guided by the belief that spaces should foster a deep connection between people and the natural world. This philosophy, known as biophilic design, is not only a cornerstone of our architecture but also part of a broader architectural legacy. One of the earliest and most iconic examples of biophilic architecture can be found in London’s Barbican Centre—a cultural complex and residential community where the interplay of urbanity and nature creates an enduring sense of harmony.

Brutalism Meets Biophilia
The Barbican, designed by architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon and completed in stages between 1969 and 1982, is often described as a masterpiece of Brutalism. Its raw concrete surfaces, geometric massing, and elevated pedestrian walkways reflect the architectural ethos of its time. Yet beyond its monumental scale and striking form, the Barbican introduced a groundbreaking idea: that nature could be embedded into the DNA of a massive urban development.

Balcony landscaping at the Barbican Centre. Credit: Benny Dennis on Pexels.

Rebuilding a Bombed Landscape with Nature
The site itself was a postwar scar—a heavily bombed section of London left devastated by the Blitz. Rather than rebuild in a purely utilitarian way, the architects envisioned a “city within a city,” where cultural venues, residences, and public spaces were stitched together by gardens, terraces, and waterways. This integration of natural and built environments was radical at the time, anticipating what we now understand as biophilic design.

Greenery, Water, and Multi-Sensory Design
Central to this vision is the Barbican’s landscaping. Elevated podiums and terraces are softened with planting beds and climbing ivy that cascade over the concrete, counterbalancing the severity of the architecture with verdant life. At the heart of the complex lies an expansive lake and series of fountains, where water both animates the public realm and cools the surrounding microclimate. The layering of sensory experiences—visual greenery, the sound of water, the texture of rough concrete against soft foliage—demonstrates an early understanding of how the environment shapes human wellbeing.

The Barbican Conservatory: A Living Oasis
Perhaps the most celebrated expression of biophilia at the Barbican is its Conservatory, opened in 1984. Enclosed beneath a glass roof that lets in abundant natural light, the Conservatory shelters more than 1,500 species of plants and trees, including tropical varieties that thrive in its carefully controlled microclimate. This lush indoor landscape not only provides a year-round retreat from the city but also exemplifies a principle at the core of biophilic design: that exposure to nature—whether real, simulated, or cultivated—reduces stress, fosters creativity, and enhances quality of life.

Lessons for Contemporary Communities
What the Barbican achieved decades ago has since become central to contemporary design thinking. Biophilic architecture recognizes that humans are hardwired to seek connection with nature, and that integrating natural systems into the built environment delivers measurable benefits. The Barbican’s success lies not only in its aesthetic daring but in the way it has nurtured a sense of community and wellbeing across generations of residents and visitors.

Architecture and Nature, Seamlessly Intertwined
In London, the Barbican stands as an enduring reminder that even within the most urban context, life is richer when architecture opens itself to the natural world. In our own Optima® communities, this lesson continues to inspire how we design for beauty, health, and connection—where biophilia is not an afterthought, but the very essence of how we live.

Women in Architecture: Lesley Lokko

Posted on by Nancy

At Optima®, we celebrate architecture not only for its form and function, but also for the voices that challenge, expand, and reimagine what the field can be. As part of our ongoing Women in Architecture series, we turn our attention to Lesley Lokko—architect, educator, novelist, and one of today’s most influential thinkers shaping the global conversation on architecture, identity, and social responsibility.

Born in Scotland and raised between Ghana and the UK, Lokko embodies the global fluidity that defines much of contemporary life. She trained as an architect at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, later teaching around the world before turning her attention to writing, education, and leadership. In 2021, she founded the African Futures Institute in Accra, Ghana—a new model for architectural education grounded in African perspectives but designed to reach a global audience.

House Lokko, Accra. Designed by Lesley Lokko. Completed in 2005, Lokko describes the home as a “modern mud house.” Credit: Festus Jackson-Davis African Futures Institute website.

For Lokko, architecture is never just about buildings. It is about culture, context, and community. Her work consistently asks: Who gets to shape space? Whose stories are told through the built environment? And how can architecture serve as a tool for equity and imagination rather than exclusion? These are questions that resonate deeply for Optima® residents, who live in spaces conceived not only as stunning works of design but also as vibrant, inclusive communities.

Lokko’s influence stretches beyond the classroom. In 2023, she made history as the first Black curator of the Venice Architecture Biennale, the most prestigious architectural exhibition in the world. Her exhibition, titled The Laboratory of the Future, spotlighted African and diasporic architects, artists, and thinkers, challenging Eurocentric narratives that have long dominated architectural discourse. It was an exhibition that did more than showcase projects; it reframed architecture as a living, evolving practice tied to migration, climate, race, and identity.

Her impact has been recognized at the highest levels. Lokko became the first British-African woman to receive the RIBA Gold Medal, one of architecture’s greatest honors. She was also awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “for services to architecture and education” in the first New Year’s Honours List issued by King Charles III. These accolades confirm what many in the field already know: Lokko is reshaping architecture in theory, and in practice.

Her perspective is especially compelling at a time when architecture is being asked to solve urgent, interconnected challenges: climate change, urban density, resource scarcity, and the need for more inclusive spaces. Lokko’s response has been to insist that architectural education itself must adapt. She advocates for a curriculum that prepares architects not only to design, but to imagine futures—an ethos that aligns with Optima®’s own forward-looking approach to sustainable design, integrated landscapes, and human-centered living.

Just as Lokko dissolves boundaries between disciplines—moving fluidly between fiction writing, teaching, and architectural practice—Optima® residents experience architecture as more than walls, glass, and steel. They experience it as a daily rhythm that integrates design with wellness, art, and community. Lokko’s insistence that architecture is a cultural act reminds us that where we live shapes how we live, and vice versa.

Her novels, too, enrich this perspective. Known for her thrillers that explore race, identity, and belonging, including Soul Sisters, The Last Debutante, and Little White Lies, Lokko demonstrates that storytelling is another form of architecture: an arrangement of space and perspective, a construction of meaning. In this way, she bridges art and architecture in ways that echo Optima®’s own commitment to design as a multi-sensory, holistic experience.

To learn from Lesley Lokko’s vision is to be reminded that architecture is never static. It is a conversation between past and future, between individual and collective, between form and meaning. Lokko’s career—spanning continents, disciplines, and audiences—underscores the power of architecture not simply to reflect the world, but to reshape it.

SHIFT Happens: The 2025 Chicago Architecture Biennial

Posted on by Nancy

Chicago’s global conversation on design is about to dial up again. This fall, the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB) marks its ten-year anniversary with its sixth edition, SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change, running September 19, 2025–February 28, 2026. Led by Artistic Director Florencia Rodríguez—the Biennial’s first Latina artistic director—SHIFT invites the world to rethink how architecture responds to urgent social, cultural, and environmental transformations.

At Optima®, we’ve always believed that architecture is a living discipline—felt in light and space, but also in how people gather, heal, learn, and thrive. CAB’s 2025 theme aligns with that ethos, spotlighting topics like collective housing, material culture, ecologies, and migration—areas where design has tangible power to improve everyday life. In Rodríguez’s words, the Biennial aims to “create an archive of contemporary architecture to inform decision making, education, debate and collective thinking,” a charge that resonates with our own commitment to thoughtful, human-centered design. 

As in past editions, the Biennial’s hub will be the Chicago Cultural Center, where the central exhibition opens on September 19. From there, the city becomes a campus: galleries, schools, cultural institutions, and neighborhood sites will host projects and programs that extend the conversation far beyond the loop. And in a tradition we love, CAB is free and open to the public, making world-class design discourse accessible to everyone. For Optima® residents, that accessibility is more than philosophical—if you call Optima Lakeview® or Optima Signature® home, you’re perfectly positioned to make multiple visits and follow the story as it unfolds.

Care. Model of a project in the context of the course Building Pleasures 03, Project by Clara Della Casa, Elisa Cudré-Mauroux, Eva Dimarco, and Sascha Coston, Teaching team: Anna Puigjaner, Dafni Retzepi, Ethel Baraona Pohl, Lisa Maillard, Luis Úrculo, Pol Esteve Castelló, and He Shen, 2024. Image: Luis Úrculo, courtesy of Care.

What should you expect from SHIFT? Scale and diversity. CAB anticipates 100+ projects from 30 countries, assembling architects, artists, and designers whose work explores new housing models, re-uses materials thoughtfully, and reimagines urban ecologies. That global range is part of Chicago’s special role: the city’s own legacy—from Sullivan and Wright to Mies, Goldberg, and beyond—catalyzes bold experimentation and clear-eyed critique. The Biennial channels that legacy into a contemporary brief: design with empathy, act with urgency, and prototype ideas the public can experience, question, and carry forward. 

For Optima®, SHIFT also underscores a principle we practice daily: architecture is civic. It’s not just about beautiful forms or technical finesse (though we cherish both). It’s about systems—how buildings hold communities, how daylight and color shape well-being, how courtyards, terraces, and shared amenities prompt neighborly connection. The conversations at CAB—around housing, materials, and ecological thinking—mirror the questions we ask as we design places where people genuinely want to live.

If you’re planning your visit, start at the Cultural Center to catch the core exhibition and opening programs, then branch out to partner venues across the city as additional sites and events are announced. Consider multiple trips across the run: the Biennial unfolds in exhibitions, talks, films, publications, and pop-up events, and its citywide constellation rewards repeat exploration. And remember—admission is free, an open invitation to bring friends, family, and colleagues into the dialogue. 

Chicago has always been a proving ground where ambitious ideas meet real urban life. With SHIFT, the 2025 Chicago Architecture Biennial asks us to recalibrate—to imagine, together, what needs to change and how design can help us get there. We’ll be there, taking notes and taking it in. See you in the galleries—and on the streets—this fall.

Get all the details and curate your own adventure at the CAB website.

Balancing Energy and Design: Current Trends in Feng Shui

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In recent years, the ancient Chinese art of feng shui has found renewed relevance, evolving to meet the needs of a modern, fast-paced world. Rooted in the idea that the arrangement of our surroundings influences the flow of qi—or life force—feng shui offers both a design philosophy and a way of living that prioritizes harmony, vitality, and connection. At Optima®, where architecture is conceived as a seamless blend of form and function, many of today’s most prominent feng shui trends align closely with our own design principles.

Biophilic Elements for Energy Flow
One of the strongest trends in contemporary feng shui is the incorporation of nature to encourage balance and rejuvenation. This is especially visible in the use of plants, water features, and natural materials to create a vibrant indoor environment. In feng shui, these elements help activate positive energy and create a bridge between interior spaces and the natural world.

Optima®’s communities—whether it’s the lush, green courtyards of Optima Kierland Apartments® or the serene pool decks of Optima Signature®—are designed with this principle in mind. Here, biophilic design doesn’t just bring nature indoors; it integrates greenery into the building’s structure, ensuring that residents experience nature as a daily, effortless part of life.

Light as a Vital Energy Source
In feng shui, light represents the strongest form of yang energy, enhancing vitality, clarity, and warmth. Modern practitioners emphasize maximizing natural light, using it not only to illuminate but to energize.

This is a philosophy deeply embedded in Optima®’s approach to architecture. Expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, open floor plans, and thoughtful building orientation capture and diffuse sunlight throughout the day. Whether it’s the soft morning light in a Wilmette residence at Optima Verdana® or the dramatic desert sunsets seen from an Optima Sonoran Village® terrace, the design supports the feng shui belief that light is as essential to our well-being as air and water.

Residents at Optima Signature® take in skyline views while enjoying access to indoor and outdoor heated pools year-round, making every day feel like a restoring retreat from the hustle of the city.

Decluttering as a Design Mindset
Minimalism and feng shui share common ground in advocating for spaces free of unnecessary clutter. In feng shui, clutter obstructs the natural flow of qi, while minimalism uses open, purposeful spaces to create a sense of calm and order.

At Optima®, interiors are intentionally designed to allow residents to move freely and to furnish their spaces in ways that reflect personal meaning rather than excess. Built-in storage solutions and thoughtful spatial planning provide both aesthetic and energetic clarity, echoing the feng shui principle that the most powerful rooms are those with breathing space.

Balanced Color Palettes
Color plays a central role in feng shui, with each hue corresponding to one of the five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Current trends embrace softer, nature-inspired palettes to promote tranquility, accented with purposeful pops of color to encourage specific energies, such as prosperity (greens), passion (reds), or stability (browns).

Optima® applies a similarly thoughtful approach to color, ensuring that palettes work in harmony with the building’s environment. For example, desert-inspired neutrals and earth tones complement the Arizona landscape, while in Chicago, deeper tones may contrast against the skyline while still maintaining balance within interiors and shared spaces.

Flow and Connectivity
Perhaps the most universal principle linking modern feng shui to Optima®’s architectural philosophy is the concept of flow. In feng shui, pathways—both physical and energetic—should be unobstructed, guiding movement and vision effortlessly through a space.

Optima® designs prioritize this same sense of flow. From sightlines that draw the eye toward nature or artwork, to communal areas that encourage organic movement and social connection, every element is positioned to create ease and continuity.

In today’s design landscape, feng shui is not about rigid rules or decorative superstitions—it’s about creating environments that feel alive, supportive, and in tune with the people who inhabit them. This modern interpretation mirrors Optima®’s own belief that architecture should enhance quality of life through thoughtful integration of space, light, color, and nature. By weaving together ancient wisdom and contemporary innovation, both feng shui and Optima®’s design philosophy remind us that when our environments are in balance, our lives are too.

Designing for the Mind: The Emerging Field of Neuroarchitecture

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At Optima®, our communities are guided by a deep belief that architecture can nurture, inspire, and elevate the human spirit. This philosophy has long aligned with Modernism’s embrace of light, space, and form. Today, a growing field of study known as neuroarchitecture is helping to explain, through the lens of science, why certain spaces make us feel calm, creative, or connected.

What is Neuroarchitecture?
Neuroarchitecture sits at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and architecture. It seeks to understand how the built environment influences brain function and emotional well-being. Using tools like functional MRI scans, eye-tracking studies, and biometric sensors, researchers can observe how different architectural elements—light, ceiling height, materials, spatial flow—affect cognitive performance, stress levels, and even hormone production.

At its core, neuroarchitecture is about recognizing that our brains are not passive observers of space. Instead, they are actively shaped by it. This emerging field offers a scientific foundation for what architects and designers have long intuited: the spaces we inhabit affect how we think, feel, and behave.

At Optima Lakeview®, the amenity spaces are integrated into the voluminous center atrium, providing beautifully designed, flowing spaces to gather or seek quiet moments.

The Brain’s Response to Space
Research in neuroarchitecture reveals that certain design features can measurably influence brain activity. For example:

  • Natural Light: Exposure to daylight regulates our circadian rhythms, boosts serotonin, and can enhance mood and productivity.
  • Ceiling Height: Taller ceilings have been linked to more expansive thinking, while lower ceilings can promote focus and concentration.
  • Nature Integration: Biophilic design—bringing natural forms, materials, and greenery into a space—reduces stress and promotes cognitive restoration.
  • Spatial Flow: Open, interconnected layouts encourage movement, social interaction, and a sense of freedom.

These findings are helping architects make more informed decisions, creating spaces that are not only beautiful but also neurologically supportive.

A New Lens on Modernist Principles
Modernist architecture, with its emphasis on functional beauty, open floor plans, and abundant light, often aligns naturally with neuroarchitectural insights. In Optima® communities, expansive windows flood interiors with daylight, green courtyards and gardens bring nature to residents’ doorsteps, and thoughtful spatial layouts encourage both solitude and connection.

For example, the lush vertical landscaping at Optima Sonoran Village® is not only visually striking—it offers residents a daily, tangible connection to the calming effects of nature. At Optima Verdana®, the indoor–outdoor flow of common spaces provides social engagement opportunities while supporting mental ease and relaxation.

Applications Beyond Residential Design
Neuroarchitecture’s potential extends far beyond homes. In schools, its principles can help create environments that improve focus and learning outcomes. In healthcare, design elements informed by neuroscience can reduce patient anxiety and promote faster recovery. Even in workplaces, carefully tuned lighting, acoustics, and layouts can enhance creativity, collaboration, and employee well-being.

The Future of Building for the Brain
As technology enables us to measure and analyze human responses to space with increasing precision, neuroarchitecture is likely to become an essential part of the design process. Architects and developers will have more data-driven insights to tailor environments to specific human needs—whether that’s reducing stress, encouraging collaboration, or sparking innovation.

For Optima®, this convergence of science and design reinforces a long-held commitment: that great architecture is not just about form, but about the lives lived within it. Neuroarchitecture offers a language and framework for understanding the deep connection between space and self—a connection we have been honoring through Modernist design for decades.

In the end, neuroarchitecture doesn’t replace the artistry of building; it enriches it. By aligning the principles of design with the biology of the brain, we can create spaces that are not only aesthetically compelling, but also profoundly supportive of human well-being—places where people don’t just live, but truly thrive.

Populus Hotel: A Statement in Carbon-Positive Design

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At Optima®, our commitment to sustainability and innovative architecture drives us to spotlight groundbreaking developments that align with our values. The recently opened Populus Hotel in Denver stands as a testament to what’s possible when design meets environmental responsibility.

Populus is a 265-room hotel that opened in late 2024 and is being hailed as the first carbon-positive hotel in the United States. In practice, “carbon positive” means Populus will sequester more carbon dioxide than the combined embodied and operational emissions of the building over its entire lifecycle. The project’s developers, Urban Villages, and architects, Studio Gang, infused a deep environmental ethos into the design – from its aspen tree-inspired facade to its zero-waste operations – to ensure the hotel doesn’t just neutralize its carbon footprint, but actually leaves the planet ‘better than we found it’. According to its creators, Populus plans to overcompensate for its emissions by 400–500% through a mix of low-carbon construction, eco-friendly operations, and an ambitious tree-planting campaign. The hotel even launched a public “Road to Carbon Positive” dashboard to transparently track its carbon metrics (embodied vs. operational emissions and offsets) in real time.

A signature element of Populus’s sustainability plan is its massive tree-planting and reforestation effort, which provides a direct, nature-based carbon sink for the hotel’s emissions:

  • Initial Reforestation (Embodied Carbon Offset): To compensate for the one-time carbon cost of construction, Populus’s developer planted over 70,000 trees in Colorado’s forests even before the hotel opened. Specifically, Urban Villages worked with the U.S. Forest Service and partners to reforest 172+ acres in Gunnison County with native Engelmann spruce seedlings. This area was chosen to restore forest devastated by a beetle-kill epidemic, meaning the project not only sequesters carbon but also helps revive a damaged ecosystem. Over their lifetimes, these 70,000 trees are expected to sequester an amount of CO₂ equivalent to Populus’s entire core-and-shell construction emissions. In other words, the building’s embodied carbon is effectively “paid back” as the new forest matures. (Notably, this approach was favored over simply buying offsets because it creates a visible local legacy and biodiversity benefits in Colorado.)
Detail of facade. Credit: jahorne on Threads
  • “One Night, One Tree” – Continuous Offsetting: Populus’s climate impact doesn’t stop at construction. The hotel has an ongoing commitment to plant a tree for every guest night as part of its operations. In 2024 (its opening year), this will result in roughly 20,000 additional trees planted. Looking ahead, Populus aims to plant at least 55,000 trees in 2025 through this program, and continue at pace for each subsequent year. All trees are planted in collaboration with forestry experts to ensure they thrive – for example, in areas of the White River and Grand Mesa national forests that need reforestation after wildfires or pest damage. The species selected (like lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, and spruce) are chosen for climate resilience and ecological appropriateness. As these trees grow, they will absorb tens of thousands of tons of CO₂ over the coming decades, directly counterbalancing the hotel’s operational emissions. Urban Villages emphasizes that this isn’t just offsetting – it’s rebuilding forests. “We’re not just buying carbon credits, we’re reforesting Colorado forests,” said Jon Buerge, the company’s president. The result is a virtuous cycle: the more guests who stay at Populus, the more trees get planted, and the more carbon is pulled out of the atmosphere.

Sustainable Design vs. Traditional Building Practices
Populus stands out by integrating sustainability at every level, often in ways that contrast with traditional hotel development:

  • Low-Carbon Materials: Conventional buildings often rely on materials like standard concrete and steel that carry a high carbon footprint. Populus instead opted for innovative low-carbon materials wherever possible. For instance, the use of fly-ash blended concrete (Holcim’s ECOPact) substantially cut concrete-related emissions. The design also incorporates repurposed and natural materials inside: reclaimed wood from Colorado and Wyoming (e.g. wood from old snow fencing) was used for finishes, and even the lobby bar features panels made from MycoWorks Reishi™, a leather-like material grown from mushroom mycelium. By forgoing many “heavy-carbon” materials in favor of greener alternatives, Populus achieved a much lower embodied carbon than a typical project of its size.
  • No On-Site Parking Garage: Most urban hotels include multi-level parking garages built with carbon-intensive concrete and steel. Populus took the unusual step of providing zero on-site parking, making it the first new-build hotel in downtown Denver without a parking structure. This decision eliminated a huge source of embodied carbon (and aligns with the hotel’s site being a former gas station they wanted to symbolically transform). Instead of catering to cars, the building was designed to encourage walking, biking, and public transit use by guests. Architect Jeanne Gang “decided not to add street-level parking, but instead activate each of the three sides of the building” for pedestrian engagement. In an automobile-centric city, this is a bold departure – one that reduces emissions from both construction and guest transportation. Traditional hotels rarely sacrifice parking, whereas Populus treats car-free design as key to its sustainability mission.
  • Energy Efficiency & Renewables: Populus is built to operate with a minimal carbon footprint, unlike many older buildings. It is equipped with high-performance insulation and window designs (each window has an overhanging “lid” that provides shade and channels rainwater) to reduce heating/cooling loads. All electricity needed is procured from 100% renewable sources, and efficient appliances and systems further cut energy use. In contrast, a traditional hotel might draw power from the grid (often fossil-fueled) and use standard HVAC and lighting, resulting in significant annual CO₂ emissions. By locking in renewables and efficiency from day one, Populus ensures a lower operational carbon baseline than most buildings can achieve.
  • Waste Reduction and Circularity: Typical hospitality operations generate large amounts of waste (food waste, single-use plastics, etc.) that end up in landfills, producing methane and other greenhouse gases. Populus addresses this through innovative measures. It installed an on-site biodigester that composts 100% of the hotel’s food waste, turning scraps into soil nutrients that go back to local farms. The hotel also eliminated single-use plastics and provides reusable items (like refillable water bottles) to guests. In partnership with local farms and organizations, Populus practices “table-to-farm” sourcing and composting, creating a circular loop that typical hotels simply don’t have. These steps further shrink the operational carbon footprint (for example, less waste transport and landfill methane) while exemplifying sustainability to guests.

Setting a New Standard
Populus serves as a model for sustainable hospitality, demonstrating that luxury and environmental responsibility can coexist. Its commitment to carbon positivity challenges the industry to rethink traditional practices and embrace innovative solutions for a more sustainable future.

At Optima®, we are inspired by such pioneering projects and remain dedicated to integrating sustainable practices into our communities, ensuring that design excellence and environmental stewardship go hand in hand.

Swami Vivekananda in Chicago: A Legacy of Unity, Spirit, and Cross-Cultural Exchange

Posted on by Nancy

At Optima®, we believe architecture is more than a physical framework—it’s a philosophy that invites openness, transcends boundaries, and honors the intersection of global ideas. That belief echoes in the legacy of Swami Vivekananda, a figure whose time in Chicago helped usher in a new era of interfaith dialogue, spiritual inquiry, and cultural understanding. Much like the buildings we create—spaces designed for light, clarity, and connection—Vivekananda’s message brought ancient wisdom into the modern world with elegance and intention.

In the long and colorful history of Chicago, few moments have been as spiritually transformative—or as globally resonant—as a speech delivered in 1893 by a young Hindu monk from India. Standing before a crowd at the World’s Parliament of Religions, Swami Vivekananda opened his remarks with five simple words: “Sisters and brothers of America.”

What followed was a thunderous standing ovation, a moment of cultural connection so profound that it would echo far beyond the hall where he spoke. That address not only marked the West’s formal introduction to Hinduism—it signaled the beginning of a new era in global interfaith dialogue.

Swami Vivekananda Shrine-Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, located in Lemont, IL. Credit: hakkun on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

The Parliament of Religions: A Turning Point
Held in conjunction with the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the Parliament of Religions was the first formal gathering of representatives from the world’s major faiths. It was envisioned as a celebration of spiritual diversity, but for many in attendance, it also reinforced Eurocentric ideas about religion and progress.

Enter Swami Vivekananda, a 30-year-old monk in saffron robes, who had traveled from India with little more than conviction and a deep knowledge of Vedanta philosophy. Though virtually unknown when he arrived, Vivekananda quickly captivated audiences with his eloquence, humility, and message of spiritual unity.

In his speech, he emphasized the ancient Hindu ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and the universality of truth. “We believe not only in universal toleration,” he declared, “but we accept all religions as true.” This radical idea—that no single faith holds a monopoly on truth—was as startling to some as it was inspiring to others.

Chicago as the Gateway
Chicago was more than just the setting for Vivekananda’s speech—it was the launchpad for his global influence. After the Parliament, he remained in the city for several months, supported by local patrons who offered lodging and helped organize lectures. He gave talks in homes, churches, and halls throughout the city, deepening his engagement with Western audiences hungry for alternative approaches to spirituality.

During his time in Chicago, Vivekananda made a deliberate effort to bridge Eastern and Western thought. He spoke of the Atman (the inner self), of karma and rebirth, but also of ethics, service, and compassion in ways that resonated with both intellectuals and laypeople. He demystified Hinduism not by watering it down, but by connecting its ancient wisdom to universal human experience.

Chicago, with its industrial muscle and cultural ambition, became an unlikely home for a spiritual revolution. From here, Vivekananda would go on to tour other parts of the U.S. and Europe, but his time in Chicago laid the foundation. It gave him a platform—and more importantly, it gave the West a new way to understand the East.

Legacy in the Modern World
Swami Vivekananda’s visit changed the Western understanding of religion itself. He was one of the first to articulate the idea that spirituality could be experiential, rather than dogmatic. His teachings influenced generations of thinkers, including Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell, and even leaders of the American civil rights movement.

Today, Chicago continues to honor his legacy. A plaque at the Art Institute of Chicago commemorates his speech. Across the city and beyond, yoga centers, interfaith dialogues, and global spiritual movements still trace their roots back to that singular moment in 1893.

A Global Voice Born in Silence
Swami Vivekananda’s message began in meditative silence on the banks of the Ganges—but it found its voice in Chicago. In a city known for building skyscrapers and railroads, he built something else entirely: a bridge of understanding between East and West, body and soul, self and world.

At Optima®, we celebrate that same spirit of interconnectedness—across cultures, disciplines, and design philosophies. Just as Vivekananda invited the world to see unity in difference, we continue to craft spaces that bring people together in light, openness, and shared humanity. His words still resonate, reminding us that sometimes the most enduring monuments are not made of stone—but of speech, spirit, and the courageous act of imagining a more unified world.

 

A Journey Through Mid-Century Modernism at the Cranbrook Museum

Posted on by Nancy

At the heart of American Modernism, there’s a powerful throughline—one that threads from classroom to gallery, from Bauhaus roots to bold American reinvention. Cranbrook Art Museum’s current exhibition, Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the U.S., illuminates that lineage with grace, depth, and resonance. For those familiar with Optima®’s architectural ethos, the exhibition reads like a love letter to the movement that inspired it—an affirmation that Modernism is not just history, but a living, breathing influence on how we build and live today.

The exhibition takes its title from a famous Charles Eames quote—apt, given that Eames and his wife Ray are central figures in both the show and the broader Cranbrook legacy. As Optima® readers know from past explorations of design history, Charles Eames studied architecture at Cranbrook and later taught there, absorbing and transmitting the school’s experimental spirit. In fact, many of the visionaries featured in Eventually Everything Connects—Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, and Eero Saarinen among them—passed through the doors of this Michigan-based institution before reshaping American design forever.

Herman Miller’s Lounge Chair Wood (LCW) designed by Charles Eames and Ray Kaiser Eames. Original public domain image from Saint Louis Art Museum.

Curated with a reverent yet contemporary eye, the exhibition is more than a retrospective—it’s a sensory map of how ideas traveled, evolved, and ultimately converged to shape the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic. Furniture, textiles, ceramics, and graphic design pieces sit alongside architectural models and immersive digital storytelling. The result is a tapestry of influence—one that echoes in the clean lines and honest materials of Optima® communities, from the desert forms of Optima McDowell Mountain® to the lush, elevated designs of Optima Lakeview® in Chicago.

One of the show’s strengths lies in how it foregrounds the network of mentorship and collaboration that defined the era. Florence Knoll’s revolutionary approach to spatial planning, for example, is shown in conversation with Eliel and Eero Saarinen’s architectural philosophy—both deeply rooted in Cranbrook’s pedagogical DNA. Harry Bertoia’s sculptural experimentation, so present in his iconic chairs and sound sculptures, emerges as a counterpoint to the rigorous geometry of Herbert Matter’s photography and Ray Eames’ textile work.

This interdisciplinary cross-pollination is something Optima® has long championed. As we’ve explored in previous posts, the company’s founder, David Hovey Sr., FAIA, drew from these very ideas—bringing together structure, landscape, interiors, and lifestyle into a cohesive vision. At Optima®, the architect is not only the builder, but the planner, developer, and often, the designer of the furniture and finishes themselves. It’s a spirit lifted directly from Cranbrook’s holistic approach.

Eventually Everything Connects also serves as a timely reminder of Modernism’s social ambition. Many of the objects on display—like mass-produced modular furniture or Bauhaus-influenced graphics—emerged from a belief in accessible, democratic design. That ethos continues in Optima®’s own work today, particularly in the integration of nature, wellness, and community across properties. The idea that beautiful design should enhance everyday life isn’t just an aesthetic—it’s a mission.

For visitors, the exhibition isn’t simply a walk through time; it’s an invitation to reconsider the spaces we inhabit today. As we stand inside the clean volumes and sunlit courtyards of Optima Verdana® or admire the breezeways and outdoor corridors of Optima Signature® , we feel the resonance of these mid-century ideals made modern once again.

In short, Eventually Everything Connects is more than an exhibition—it’s a mirror held up to a movement that continues to shape how we live and dream. For those who call an Optima® community home—or for anyone inspired by the ongoing legacy of Modernist design—it’s a pilgrimage well worth making.

The exhibition runs through September 21, 2025. Information about visiting the Cranbrook Museum, curated tours, special events, and the 400-page exhibition book published with Phaidon can be found here.

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