For clients who purchased an untouched two-story penthouse within a mansard-shaped roofline of a Chicago high-rise, their desire was to create a sophisticated, inviting home while softening the intense geometry of its sloped outer walls.

The apartment’s stunning 270-degree views of Lake Michigan and the city skyline are maximized around a J-shaped floorplan with public living spaces on the lower-level and private spaces above.

A series of intimate spaces and features embrace the young family’s passions, needs, and lifestyle; open living/dining, window nooks for sitting and reading, surfaces to display art, a media room, and a combined office/guitar room.

Gently curved, vaulted walls wrap the outer perimeter, acknowledging the ornamental building but re-interpreting it in a contemporary way.

Layers of materials—lacquered panels, walnut, and oxidized black metal—create a rich and varied palette, while polished-white venetian plaster threads throughout and unifies the duplex apartment home. The reflective qualities of the polished surface indirectly illuminate the spaces and provide an ever-changing relationship between occupants and surroundings.

A winding stair of oxidized steel and glass, lit from below by an illuminated glass platform, rises through an existing opening to connect the two floors.

“Working with the slope of the mansard roof and its garret windows, instead of fighting them, generated a fresh architectural solution that straddles classical and modern design. It feels very much of its time and, somewhat mysteriously, of others, too.”

S. Claire Conroy – Residential Design Magazine

Additional Images

Interiors: Sharlene Young – Symbiotic Living
General Contractor: Norcon, Inc.
MEP/FP: McGuire Engineers
Structural Engineer: Enspect Engineering
Lighting Consultant: Lux Populi
Photography: Steve Hall – Hall + Merrick Photographers