Our client
Proudly guided by their Principles of Place and Livable Place Index, Gerding Edlen is committed to engaging their tenants and developing beautiful properties. This client uses sustainable development and management to enhance our planet and strengthen each property’s community involvement. With projects ranging from commercial and retail to residential and educational, Gerding Edlen boasts 75+ LEED properties. They stand out from other companies by creating spaces that foster creativity through incorporating nature, art, and culture.
Project highlights
Their challenge
With this client’s dedication to creating sustainable, inviting, and inspiring spaces, and with this building’s strategic location in Chicago’s West Loop Gateway neighborhood, our team had their work cut out for them. Our client wanted the 240,000-square-foot building developed into a 199-unit, mixed-use apartment building with 3,200 square feet of retail space. They also wanted the property to include a wide range of unit types and floor-plans. Our team was engaged to provide engineering design and support for this project that uniquely balances art, culture, and science.
Our solution
Our team met the challenge and provided all of the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and low voltage technology design for this fourteen-story building, as well as LEED support and energy modeling services. In line with our client’s goals, our design’s sustainable features include a rooftop pool deck, an area dedicated to urban farming, high-efficiency building systems like Nest Learning Thermostats, LED lighting and low-flow fixtures, and storm water harvesters that reuse water for landscape irrigation. The project also used sustainably produced building products and materials by reclaiming heavy timber columns from existing buildings to create the lobby’s concierge desk.
The results
This building’s finished units are furnished with wood flooring, and each unit houses modern kitchens complete with Italian cabinetry and quartz countertops. In line with our client’s goals for spaces that bring together people, art, and nature, the building features a third floor amenity deck with fire pits and grilling stations, a fitness center, a yoga studio, extensive green roofs, landscaping palettes of native plant materials, a lounge area, a library, conference rooms, and secure on-site parking. Our work on this project uniquely met our client’s desire for a place that enhances the planet and community connections. The building is now LEED Gold Certified, designed to perform approximately 38% better than a comparable building.
