Optima Old Orchard Woods
Optima Old Orchard Woods is a mixed-use development featuring three connected, 20-story towers located in Skokie, Illinois, overlooking the lush trees of the Harms Woods Forest Preserve. The prime location, with convenient access to Interstate 94, also offers unobstructed views of the city and surrounding area for miles.
Design
The composition of the three interlocking 20-story towers is thoughtfully sculpted with setbacks and openings carved into the façade, framing striking vistas through the building. These voids serve to lighten the building’s mass and provide an ever-changing, highly sculptural profile, allowing glimpses of the underlying volumes that create the whole from inside and out.
Each tower is sheathed in glass and aluminum, with the geometry standing in harmonious contrast to the natural landscape. The sheathing is simple yet detailed with recessed balconies, layered, horizontal and bright red sun-shades and vertical aluminum fins at the residential levels. Translucent glass channels at the parking levels allows natural daylight to illuminate the garage. The shades, fins and panels further aid in reducing energy consumption in the building while providing varying texture and patterns of shade and shadow to the façade.
The composition of the three interlocking 20-story towers is thoughtfully sculpted with setbacks and openings carved into the façade, framing striking vistas through the building. These voids serve to lighten the building’s mass and provide an ever-changing, highly sculptural profile, allowing glimpses of the underlying volumes that create the whole from inside and out.
Each tower is sheathed in glass and aluminum, with the geometry standing in harmonious contrast to the natural landscape. The sheathing is simple yet detailed with recessed balconies, layered, horizontal and bright red sun-shades and vertical aluminum fins at the residential levels. Translucent glass channels at the parking levels allows natural daylight to illuminate the garage. The shades, fins and panels further aid in reducing energy consumption in the building while providing varying texture and patterns of shade and shadow to the façade.
FEATURES
The community contains condominiums, five indoor recreational facilities, street front commercial space and enclosed parking for all uses. The towers outline a grand-scaled entry courtyard that faces the forest preserve, containing a brick drive that encircles a center fountain. An elevated sundeck spans the entire width of the community, connecting the first building with the third.
Amenities include a two-story natatorium, connected to the sundeck and circumscribed by glass. The space appears nestled into the treetops with the pools reflecting the woods beyond. Additionally, three acres of landscaped green roofs are located on eight different floor levels, offering residents gardens in the sky. These gardens reduce stormwater runoff and lower the ambient temperature.
Residences are carefully designed with open floor plans and floor-to-ceiling glass, ranging from one- to four-bedrooms. Acres of greenery were added to east-facing homes to provide luscious and expansive views from every unit.
CONSTRUCTION
The development site was selected for its proximity to traffic corridors as well as business and office centers. The construction occurred in three separate phases, from 2004 through 2011 to sync with market needs and financial requirements. In order to speed up construction, underground rails were installed in the courtyard in front of the towers to allow a crane to slide from tower to tower throughout construction.
Condominium
Completed: 2010
