development Archives

Wilmette Landmarks: Robert and Suzanne Drucker House

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Hunter

As part of our Wilmette Landmark series, today we’ll cover a home steeped in an architect’s very own familial bonds. A home that has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2013 — The Robert and Suzanne Drucker House. Designed by one of Chicago’s iconic Modernist architects, Harry Weese.

An Overlooked Modernist

His practice was inexhaustibly creative. Rooted in the Modernist and Brutalist architectural styles which laid the groundwork for efficient and functional living spaces. His most famous work, the Washington Metro system, not only showcases Weese’s unique design approach but also illustrates how he prioritized the user experience with his coffered concrete vaults and meticulous attention to detail. Weese never shied away from innovation, all the while quietly detaching himself from the architectural dominance of Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Drucker House

Quietly closed off from view, the front of the Drucker home is a wonderful expression of Weese’s personal brand of Modernism — a synthesis of International Style, Scandinavian, and Midwestern influences. The home’s geometry is obscured by slatted screens and maturing cedar trees. The house is L-shaped. Consisting of two wings running parallel to the street and the other angled in a way that allows for sunlight. This L-shaped arrangement also allows for an expansive view of the front yard.

The back of the home, on the other hand, embraces its deep rectangular lot and thoughtfully placed windows. Along with a screened porch resembling film reel that takes advantage of natural light to cast the home’s image. The indoor and outdoor living space almost seem to be brought together through this effect, all while maintaining complete privacy.

Side view of Robert and Suzanne Drucker House. Photo: Susan Benjamin

Weese built the Drucker house for his sister Suzanne and her family. It largely reflects Weese’s experimental approach to Modern design, and is informed by geometry rather than ornamentation. Furthermore, the house exhibits a remarkable focus on flexibility instead of adhering to a traditional layout that — when combined with how the Drucker family lived — created a universally functional residence that could accommodate the family’s lifestyle.

In its interior, the home is compartmentalized into zones delineated by screens and bookspaces. Each room flows effortlessly from one to another, the kitchen in particular being planned with convenience and ample storage in mind. In 1963, as the Drucker family began to grow, a second floor was added to provide more space.

As Optima® continues to embrace all that Wilmette has to offer, taking the time to highlight unconventional pioneers who blurred the boundaries of style and functionality is always a pleasure. We encourage you to take a slow drive to see this magnificent home and all that it has to offer on 2801 Iroquois Rd in Wilmette, IL.

The Softline Opera Chair: A Symphony of Possibilities

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Hunter

As we continue to tour the public spaces at Optima® communities to highlight the curated collection of Modernist furnishings, such as the Eames chair, or tulip table, etc. We find it just as important to highlight recent advances of Modernist furniture design, propelled forward by the likes of Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, and so many other masters of design. Today we introduce you to the OPERA chair at Optima Lakeview®, by SOFTLINE.

Brief History

SOFTLINE has been creating and producing innovatively designed furniture for a global market since 1979. The enterprise was founded as a division of K. Balling-Engelsen A/S, a Danish producer of technical polyurethane foam. For decades, this high-quality, flexible foam has been the material of choice for furniture production due to its unique properties.

In 2003, they became an independent, privately-owned enterprise with a factory in Denmark, where the upholstery is performed by hand, based on Scandinavian traditions and utilizing eco-friendly materials.

OPERA

The OPERA chair designed by Busk+Herzog serves a symphony of possibilities at Optima Lakeview® in its ability to elegantly blend modern and contemporary styles. From its high armrests, to provide privacy for all matters of which you may want to hide, to its backrest and cushion that completely envelopes your body.

The OPERA can also be used as a versatile lounge chair in larger configurations, much like PLANET, or in smaller configurations like PIERCE. Both of these elegant iterations can be found together just steps away at Optima Kierland® in Scottsdale. The OPERA chair provides a human-scale sense of privacy, as well as a space for contemplation or conversation in our business center. This striking piece is the perfect place for our residents to relax in solitude without being completely separated from friends, and we’re delighted to include this iconic design to Optima’s® Modernist collection!

Women in Architecture: Georgia Louise Harris Brown

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Hunter

As a part of our ongoing “Women in Architecture” series, we’re spotlighting Georgia Louise Harris Brown, a visionary who was able to apply her extraordinary talents across the world. Although she rarely received credit for her outstanding contributions, Brown’s passion for building never diminished. Learn more about her impressive life and career below:

The Life of Georgia Louise Harris Brown

Georgia Louise Harris Brown was born on June 12, 1918, in Topeka, Kansas, to Carl Collins, a shipping clerk, and Georgia Watkins, a school teacher. As a child, her interests revolved around the arts and tinkering with cars and farm equipment with her brother. Brown distinguished herself from school as an exceptionally bright student, which led her to Washburn University, where she studied from 1936 until 1938.

After graduating, Brown traveled to Chicago to visit family but instead fell in love with the metropolitan atmosphere and presence of a strong Black community. Originally planning to stay for the summer, she enrolled in a course at the Armour Institute of Technology – now the Illinois Institute of Technology – taught by Mies van der Rohe and began taking flying lessons, which would become a lifelong passion.

860 and 880 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Mies van der Rohe, 1948-51, structural calculations by Brown

However, her plans changed when she enrolled in the school’s engineering and architecture program in the fall of 1938. Brown continued her studies in architecture but moved back to Kansas in 1942. She completed her degrees at the University of Kansas in 1944 and was the first Black woman to do so at the school.

Notable Works and Achievements

Brown returned to Chicago in 1945, where she found a job working for Kenneth Roderick O’Neal, a confidant of Mies and a leading architect at the time. In Chicago, she acquainted herself with other aspiring Black architects, including Beverly Lorraine Green and John Moutoussamy. In 1949, while working for O’Neal, Brown finally received her architecture license, and in the same year, she began working for Frank J. Kornacker Associates, Inc.

The Promontory Apartments, Chicago, Mies van der Rohe, 1946-49, structural calculations by Brown

At Kornacker Associates, Brown developed many structural calculations, including those for the apartment building at 860 Lake Shore Drive. During her time there, she also worked on many side projects for Woodrow B Dolphin, including various churches, houses and office buildings around Chicago. Although, after realizing that her race and gender would hold her back from many opportunities in America, she became interested in moving to Brazil, where she believed she would be held back less.

In 1953, Brown relocated to Brazil but didn’t receive an architecture license for the country until 1970. However, shortly after arriving, she found work with Charles Bosworth, another American who had moved to Brazil to open his own firm. While living in Brazil, Brown contributed designs and managed the completion of several significant builds. Along with various personal homes, many of her projects included large-scale plants and factories, including one for Ford Motors, Pfizer and Kodak.

Kodak Factory, São José, Brazil, 1971, Georgia Louise Harris Brown, Courtesy of University of Rochester Library

While Brown’s contributions to architectural design have often been unrecognized, her expansive knowledge of structural engineering and design always drove her to the leading firm of the time. And while she contended with feeling like an “other” wherever she went, she never held back from challenging the status quo and pursuing her lifelong passion for architecture.

Arizona Mid-Century Modern Architecture

Posted on March 3, 2023March 6, 2023 by Hunter

For those who are always on the hunt for vestiges of mid-century modernism, you’ll have some happy surprises right in Optima®’s own backyard — in Scottsdale. Here you’ll discover a history that is rich in architectural heft, including wholly-intact examples from the city’s 1950s community, where some of the finest mid-century modern structures remain.

Striking examples of mid-century modernity can be seen in Scottsdale’s commercial buildings scattered across the city, alongside several repurposed pubs and restaurants. Architectural gems can also be found in older neighborhoods. Especially those that were built by Ralph Haver. A local architect who utilized walls of glass, low-pitched roofs, and angled porch posts all packaged within a modestly-sized home.

Ralph Haver home. Photo: Leland Gebhardt

And don’t miss another example of impeccably-renovated mid-century vernacular in the sleek Hotel Valley Ho. The hotel boasts façades of glass and concrete panels that express arrowhead motifs. Opened in 1956, it was largely a getaway for a number of Hollywood stars. Zsa Zsa Gabor rode horses there. Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner had their wedding reception in the hotel ballroom. And Jimmy Durante used to play piano late at night in the lobby.

The Arizona Biltmore, a 39-acre resort not far down the road, is another example of the city’s architectural history. The Biltmore is often identified as a Frank Lloyd Wright building, but it was actually designed in collaboration with Albert Chase McArthur, a protege of the great master.

The nearly century-old hotel: Arizona Biltmore. Photo: Werner Segarra

The Biltmore has the dramatic presence of a large-scale Wright building, and is one of only 13 structures that Wright designed and in the area. His students, on the other hand, were involved with many others. For Wright acolytes, any visit to the Phoenix area begins with his winter residence and headquarters, Taliesin West. Now home to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and located on the edge of the McDowell Mountains outside of Scottsdale. Which also happens to be where our most recent architectural development will be situated — Optima McDowell Mountain Village — Wright passed on his genius to an entire generation of eager architects such as Blaine Drake, Vern Swaback, and Heloise Crista.

No survey of mid-century modernist architecture is complete without the David and Gladys Wright House. David was one of Wright’s eight children, and the house the elder Wright designed for him was based on a rising spiral (also the design for New York’s Guggenheim Museum) while remaining imaginative and human in scale. The spiral lifts the living quarters above the treetops so that anyone in the house has access to carefully framed panoramic views of the mountains in the distance, and spaces that flow organically and wonderfully into one another.

It’s always a pleasure to connect our “Forever Modern” mantra at Optima® with the broad, deep mid-century modern legacy that lives on in the communities where we work and build!

The Cranbrook Connection: Right Place, Right Time

Posted on March 2, 2023March 2, 2023 by Hunter

Connections often happen in the places where we least expect to find them. At Optima®, a connection sprang from a love of modernization, to an idea, backed by an ever-lasting willingness to adapt through experimentation in the right place, at the right time. Imagine our surprise when a number of world renown architects and designers such as Florence Knoll, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Harry Bertoia met at Cranbrook Academy of Art at the right place, at the right time, becoming colleagues, collaborators, and lifelong friends.

The Cranbrook Campus was designed by Eliel Saarinen in the years 1925-1942. He also had help from his wife and artist, Loja, and his kids, Eero and Pipsan at the request of founders — George and Ellen Booth. Everything on campus was highly considered — from the masonry, to the walls, the chairs, textiles, and colors through the use of what they called — total design. When Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, Charles and Ray Eames, and Harry Bertoia were on campus, Cranbrook was essentially a crucible for the beginnings of modernism in which many of these luminary architects and designers practiced and perfected their craft.

In late 2022, the design studio at Herman Miller released a short film entitled, The Cranbrook Connection. The film traces the history of Cranbrook as one of America’s greatest examples of modernist architecture and design, weaving in a thoughtful examination of furniture designed and produced by mid-century visionaries for Herman Miller and Knoll. This sweeping survey brings into sharp focus the staying power of total design, while inspiring us with the power of bringing structure and interior space into harmonic alignment.

During these seminal years, Cranbrook encouraged its students to practice experimentation in design, alongside the use of new materials. Eero and Charles had an interesting obsession with plywood. How it bent, how it felt, and sat in space. They later entered into a number of competitions with and sometimes against one another using this material. At one point, they entered the Organic Design for Home Furnishings competition with a suite of modular furniture using molded plywood chairs, and tables that would come to be the seeds of some of the most successful lines of furniture such as the Eames chair, and Womb chair.

Cranbrook Academy of Art (1940) Eliel Saarienen, Michigan State Historic Preservation Office, Flickr

Today, the Cranbrook Academy of Art remains one of the country’s top-ranked, graduate-only programs in architecture, design, and fine art. Just 75 students are invited to study and live on the Saarinen-designed campus, which features a suite of private studios, state-of-the-art workshops, a renowned Art Museum, and 300 acres of forests, lakes, and streams, all a short drive from Detroit. The focus at Cranbrook is on studio practice in one of 11 disciplines: Architecture, 2D, 3D, and 4D Design, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture.

Landscape + Light: David Wallace Haskins at the Edith Farnsworth House

Posted on February 23, 2023February 23, 2023 by Hunter

For the architectural icon Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, his impact continues to resonate throughout the worlds of design, architecture, and art. For our spotlight series, we’re happy to introduce the most recent exhibition of Chicago conceptual artist David Wallace Haskins, Landscape + Light, at the Edith Farnsworth House, which engages in a fantastic dialogue with one of van der Rohe’s most legendary homes.

The Edith Farnsworth House, formerly the Farnsworth House, is an historical house designed and constructed by van der Rohe between 1945 and 1951. The house was constructed as a one-room weekend retreat in Plano, Illinois. A rural community 60 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, and was opened to the public in 2004 as a National Historic Landmark.

Over the past decade, Haskins has had the opportunity to create experiential sculptures and architectural interventions in response to various works by van der Rohe. Haskins is one of the few midwestern artists working in the tradition of the Light & Space movement and considers Mies to be one of its earliest pioneers as he was creating minimalist works of light and space thirty years before the movement took hold in southern California in the 1960s.

As part of the solo exhibition for his 2022 artist-in-residence — Landscape + Light is composed of three installations across the Farnsworth wooded property including The Memory of Glass, Image Continuous, and Stone Landing.

Edith Farnsworth House — Memory of Glass, Photo: courtesy of David Wallace Haskins

Memory of Glass examines the recent scientific discovery that certain types of glass retain memories in a form resembling neurons. It envisions Farnsworth House as hearing and remembering an ambient soundscape that has washed over it for the last 70 years. Haskins engineered a way for these sonic memories to emanate from the house. The structure’s 12 large glass panels to reverberate as floor-to-ceiling glass speakers. Sound is both sent inward and outward, further blurring the lines between the indoors and outdoors. “Dissolving the boundary between the interior and exterior world” Haskins notes.

Landscape + Light is also the world premiere of the site-specific sculpture, Image Continuous from Haskins’ Skycube series — fabricated from a ton of skyscraper glass, which is actually half of the glass van der Rohe used to glaze Edith’s home. This visually perplexing sculpture turns the sky inside-out. Thus engaging the spectator as a participant as their position in space shifts.

Concerning its sculptural presence, Haskins explains: “We tend to ignore the sky as it enwraps and illuminates the landscape, but with Image Continuous, the dynamic is reversed — the landscape enwraps the sky, giving it presence and form. We forget the sky, or troposphere, starts at the ground and rises 10 miles high. Here, we see ourselves in the landscape in relationship with the sky. Whilst allowing us to behold its presence in a truly personal and embodied way.”

The final installation of Landscape + Light consists of a large meditative monolith from Haskins’ Stone Koan series, made from the original Italian travertine that van der Rohe used to cover the stairs and terrace of Farnsworth House from 1951-2021. Due to severe weathering, these stones were replaced in 2021, allowing Haskins to utilize them to create a number of Stone Koans and a smaller Skycube.

With our heads and hearts firmly rooted in the Modernist tradition. It’s a joy for the Optima team to see how the legacy of Mies van der Rohe continues to inspire contemporary artists. And if you’re a lover of all things Modernist, you won’t want to miss this extraordinary experience.

Landscape + Light continues through May 2023. Visit the Edith Farnsworth House website to learn more about visits and tours.

Optima + Sustainability Series: EV Parking

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Hunter

The evidence that electric and hybrid vehicles are gaining traction is on the roads everywhere. From personal vehicles to rideshares and public transport, we are, as a nation, beginning to embrace the importance of reducing carbon emissions by replacing the fossil fuels that traditional gasoline-powered engines use with forms of clean energy.

Encouraged by the funding made available to help states fund public charging infrastructure, and Illinois’ ambitious goal to get one million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2023, EVs are becoming increasingly desirable. And those who own and manage residential buildings are faced with the challenge to provide ample access to EV battery charging stations that residents need.

At Optima, we have always been sustainability-focused across our entire integrated business model — from design to building materials to landscaping – and EV parking. We began providing EV parking spaces in 2016 and 2017 at 7160 Optima Kierland and Optima Signature with 8 EV parking spaces, which represented only a small portion of the overall spaces in the garage.

Now in April 2023, Optima Verdana in Wilmette will open with 24% of the total spaces dedicated to EVs. In all of our communities — in both Illinois and Arizona — we have continued to increase EV capacity every year based upon resident demand, with the capacity to reach a full 100% at many projects. In recognition for our commitment to EV parking, Optima Sonoran Village won the Salt River Project Champions of Sustainability Award in the Building Communities for Electric Vehicles category.

In a recent Bisnow article that explores how future-facing multifamily developers are preparing for the future of electric vehicles, David Hovey Jr., AIA, Optima president and chief operating officer, observes, “Just from a sustainability perspective, obviously, demand is getting higher from both people wanting to be more sustainable … and cities wanting to be more sustainable, as well as just overall demand.”

Sustainability remains one of our most precious values at Optima. And we’re proud to be part of a growing community of property owners and managers that seeks to support sustainable practices on behalf of our residents.

2023 Design Trends: Designing The World of Tomorrow

Posted on January 25, 2023January 26, 2023 by Hunter

The ways in which we live, move, and work are changing fast, and we, at Optima®, believe that up-and-coming architectural trends continue to address many of the challenges faced in modern life. Some solutions focus on more space, more storage, less clutter, and more flexibility. Others address affordable rent, resistance to climate change, and sustainability. These trends, along with a myriad of others, inspire us and those who are at the forefront of designing the world of tomorrow. Here are some of the trends on the horizon in 2023.

Biophilic Urbanism

“Biophilia,” a term coined by Erich Fromm in 1964, is the human interaction and appreciation for nature. In 2023, this trend is continually on the rise as we seek to develop buildings that are ecologically friendly in their use of resources. Biophilic design can revolutionize the way we manage stress, increase productivity within offices and educational spaces, and improve mental health, through the use of nature inside and outside of buildings.

While biophilic design is very much at the forefront of architectural trends, it has been central to our work at Optima for decades. Our passionate connection between the built environment and nature continues to be as fluid as it is concrete, reflected in our signature innovation of vertical landscaping. The widespread adoption of this essential design principle, we are excited to welcome others into the process of bringing people and nature closer together.

Optima Sonoran Village®, Vertical Landscaping

Modular Construction

Modular construction has been at the forefront of Optima’s DCHGLOBAL Building System since its conception in 2009 . We began our experimentation with modular construction with Relic Rock, reflecting our commitment to building homes flexibly — in horizontal and vertical directions — sustainably and efficiently anywhere, anytime.

As part of the broader architectural community seeking modular solutions around the globe, we’re excited by the opportunity to celebrate sustainability and versatility as core values at Optima, while ensuring enduring aesthetics and affordability.

Smart Materials

Through the integration of smart devices in our homes, cars, phones, and wrists comes Smart Materials. Recent developments provide that these materials could eventually respond to changes in pressure, temperature, moisture, and UV radiation, giving architects unfathomable flexibility. Along with an expanded toolkit for designing and building.

Our respect for materiality and space is important for the 360-degree approach to sustainability, and the inclusion of these new and unexplored materials gets us excited about their potential for the environment at large. Part of our role at Optima has been ensuring the environment remains protected with the inclusion of smart materials such as bird glass or green concrete within many of our buildings.

Community-Centered Design

It is a universal truth that the built environment functions better if those who use it are involved in the process of creation. Designing buildings with community in mind makes for rich and diverse environments where people can be themselves, while also giving them a sense of ownership in the places where they live, play, and work. As we enter 2023, we are seeing greater collaboration between architects, developers and their communities across the globe — much the way Optima has partnered with the cities, villages and neighborhoods where we have put down roots for more than 40 years.

Growing Your Own Herbs at Optima Verdana®

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Hunter

The stellar Rooftop Sky Deck and communal courtyard at Optima Verdana® abound with gorgeous greenspace and reflective hardscape surfaces to reduce heat. Our residents can delight in the outdoors year-round for both recreation and relaxation. And for those with green thumbs, dedicated planters atop the Sky Deck will be home to a seasonal herb garden.

Check your kitchen cabinets, your cupboards, your drawers! If you spend any time cooking, you probably have dried thyme, basil, and even a bit of parsley or oregano. These earthly delights known as herbs are easily accessible from most grocery stores, but imagine what it would be like if you grew them yourself?

In spite of their simplicity, herb gardens are magical places and offer many gifts — from cooking, to medicine, to unique fragrances. Growing your own herbs also serves as an exercise in gratification, and so much more:

Great for All Skill Levels

First, herb gardens are great for beginner gardeners because they require minimal effort and are easier to grow than vegetables. They don’t require large plots of land, and grow well in pots, planters and other containers. Herbs don’t need much fertilizing, which is a huge plus for beginners, and they can handle a wide range of temperatures that’s ideal for Chicago’s seasons.

Redefining the Word “Fresh”

When your recipes call for fresh herbs, what could be more delightful — and satisfying — than heading to your herb garden with a pair of kitchen shears and picking or cutting what you need? And because you can harvest your herbs while you’re cooking, they will always be fresh and fragrant.

Variety is the Spice of Life

Knowing that you have easy access to what you’re growing, you may find yourself with an appetite for expanding your repertoire with dishes that specifically call for fresh herbs. This is a real treat, since the flavors are so much more robust and the option to have full leaves, stems and flowers in your preparations is a real bonus.

The herb garden also offers the opportunity to experiment with new flavor combinations. Take advantage of your herbs and try out a new recipe or two. Try growing herbs that are uncharted territory for you, this will likely lead to taking new risks in your cooking. Which in turn will enrich your life with new and flavorful experiences.

As you head into the fall and winter months, you can harvest your herbs and dry them indoors. This will tide you over until spring arrives and it’s time to plant again.

Creating A Healthy, Budding Community

The herb garden at Optima Verdana® is part of the powerful community experience of connecting with others around a shared purpose. All it takes is one seed to sow a relationship and build a budding new friendship with a neighbor. This convenience of access offers residents physical exercise, fresh air and the meditative qualities of connecting to the earth.

If you’re looking for ideas for dishes that will put your fresh herbs in the spotlight at your next dinner or event, The Food Network offers quite a few!

The Role of the Courtyard in Optima® Communities

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Hunter

In a former Forever Modern post, we shared a brief history of the courtyard. From their earliest uses around 6000 BC in the Jordan Valley, courtyards have evolved into physical settings that enable people to interact harmoniously with others — and with their natural surroundings.

Within the Optima® culture, we never grow tired of exploring relevant, resonant expressions of the courtyard within the communities we design and build. Over the past several years, we have turned our attention to the role of courtyards in our projects in Chicago — Optima Lakeview® and Optima Verdana® — as an integral element in creating an elevated sense of home.

Take the atrium at Optima Lakeview®. Sharing the same properties as a courtyard, this distinctive architectural feature is a stunning landscaped interior volume that runs through the building’s 7-story core and is enclosed by a fixed in-place skylight at the roof to bring natural light into the building’s interior. The residential units and building amenities are arranged around the atrium. In its central role, the atrium serves as a public space flooded with light, filled with plants and flowers, and outfitted with comfortable seating where residents and their guests can linger and enjoy the outdoors, even with the Midwest’s seasons might not make it hospitable to be outdoors.

A rendering of Optima Verdana’s lounge and residential courtyard

Exemplifying our passion for opportunities to engage with nature and organic environments is a vibrantly landscaped courtyard found in the heart of Optima Verdana® in Wilmette. The open-air space serves as a lush oasis for residents and is home to 7’ high garden walls, verdant trees, restful seating and more than 1,500 light-filled square feet. Beyond the tranquility and sheer beauty of the abundant plantings in the courtyard, residents enjoy remarkable access to reoxygenating air, natural light and the absence of ambient noise. It’s no surprise that the building is a proud recipient of two Green Globes from the prestigious Green Globes® Building Certification program, acknowledging that the building’s courtyard design contributes to the larger eco-friendly environment!

At Optima, we celebrate the power of connection — to nature and to each other — as we express it through timeless architecture complimenting the built environment.

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Tag: development