Wheeler Kearns Architects

Common Pantry's design incorporates trauma-informed principles, resulting in a brightly lit, vibrant, and welcoming space where the community can access fresh food, social services, nutrition counseling, and cooking classes. ? ? Upon entering through a new glass entry vestibule that provides clear sightlines into the space, clients and visitors are immediately greeted by a friendly face. The reception area, defined by gray millwork, is created through a new opening connecting two separate buildings. Glass doors provide views into the pantry space where clients select groceries with guidance from personal shoppers. ? ? Check out more project images here: https://lnkd.in/g7KuJ2HK #wkarch #wheelerkearnsarchitects #architecture #archilover #archdaily #chicagoarchitecture #chicagodesign #nonprofit #commonpantry #architectureforchange #designforchange #chicagononprofit #chicago #foodinsecurity #endhunger? ?? Tom Harris

Meadow Lane Retreat features two separate living structures staggered to increase glass exposure and provide panoramic views of Lake Michigan and the surrounding landscape.? ? Natural native materials define the architectural palette and create a seamless connection with nature. On the first floor, a dark slatted wood siding mimics the vertical elements of the woodland, while the second story is clad in a black locust, designed to gray and weather over time.? Extending towards the lakeside, bronze metal creates dynamic expressions, capturing a second-story balcony and forming a single-story pavilion with floor-to-ceiling glass, mitered corners, and a green roof above.? ? ???Check out more project images here: https://lnkd.in/g38tRwXs #wkarch #wheelerkearnsarchitects #architecturephotography #archilover #modernarchitecture #modernhome #lakemichigan #lakemichiganhouse #chicagoarchitect #modernhousedesign #housedesign #lakehouse #residentialdesign #glasslink #residentialarchitecture? ??: Steve Hall

Located in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, The School House is a restored 1947 midcentury-modern school reimagined as a versatile social space for various activities, such as events, pickleball, galleries, and dining. ? ? The project took a delicate approach to renovations and additions, maintaining the school's character and unique features. In the former principal's office, a new cafe features a warm tambour wood-clad bar that complements the eclectic mix of furnishings and artifacts. Above, the ceiling structure is exposed and painted white.? Across the facility, classrooms are converted into rentable study, presentation, or co-working rooms, all uniquely adorned with nostalgic details like tiles, lighting, slate chalkboards, and corkboards.? ? ?See more project photos here: https://lnkd.in/gghJAuHs #wkarch #wheelerkearnsarchitects #architecture #archilover #adaptivereuse #archdaily #chicagoarchitecture #chicagodesign #cafe #cafedesign? #bardesign #hospitalitydesign ? ?? Tara White

#DesignDetail - Concealed within a central wood-clad volume in a 960-square foot cottage, an efficient alternating tread stair ascends to a sleeping loft above. Warm down lighting complements the Douglas fir stairs and millwork.? ? See more project images here: https://lnkd.in/gtXNSA9g #wkarch #wheelerkearnsarchitects #naturallight #inspirationoftheday #archdaily #architexture #architectureinspiration #alternatingtreadstair #stairdesign #designdetail #designinspiration #archilovers #designlovers #ruralretreat #familyretreat #winterwarm? #moderncabin #modernguesthouse #guesthouse #michiganarchitecture? ??? Tom Harris

Like a friendly neighbor, the Momentary welcomes visitors through its backyard instead of through a grand and monumental front door. ? ? “The Entry”, with glass walls and a glass roof, is carefully inserted between two existing masonry buildings and under existing pipes running overhead. Though the factory has been transformed, the many layers of the building’s past remain in plain sight — a visual shorthand for the simple fact that this place can exist nowhere but here. ? ? Check out more project images here: https://lnkd.in/eT-_YXJx ?? #wkarch #wheelerkearnsarchitects #architecture #adaptivereuse #architectureinspiration #communityarchitecture #museumdesign #archilovers #arkansasdesign #architecturearkansas #bentonville #themomentary #museumarchitecture #culturaldesign #artandarchitecture? ?? Tom Harris

Inspired by an adjacent historic landscape, the University of Chicago Childcare Development Center - Stony Island integrates the natural environment with its architecture and child-centered curriculum. The building, with a z-shaped footprint, responds to the narrow infill site, optimizing limited sun exposure and leveraging visual connections between the interior and exterior. ? ? Outdoor play courts, which parallel the two classroom wings, provide for age-appropriate physical challenges and exploration in a natural environment. The eastern wing, clad in tree bark siding, provides spaces for infants and toddlers. The western wing, clad in unpainted cement board siding, serves older children up to age five. ? ? A gently folded roof, vegetated over its eastern half, directs light to the interior and rainwater toward the playcourts. The wings overlap at the midpoint, where a glassy lobby serves as the building's emotional center. Here, the University community bonds around the mission of enabling children to experience nature's fundamental principles firsthand, in view of a playcourt surrounded by monumental boulders, a gabion stone fence, and ornamental trees. ? ? View more project images here: https://lnkd.in/ghQdy4KX #wkarch #wheelerkearnsarchitects #schooldesign #educationdesign #architectureforlearning #chicagoarchitecture #UChicagoChildDevelopmentCenterStonyIsland #UChicago #childcaredesign #architecturephotography #archilover #designprocess #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhood #naturalenvironment #designingforchildren #designingforcommunity #communitydesign? ??: Steve Hall?

On a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, the Rocky Gap Stair seamlessly integrates with the existing topography, harmonizing with the landscape it traverses.? ? Comprising one hundred 3-foot by 8-foot pallets, this unique stairway spans the 100-foot vertical drop and 100-foot horizontal stretch, linking a private residence atop the bluff to the shoreline below.? ? Each pallet, assembled off site with pressure treated southern yellow pine and Cumaru, is supported by a 3″ diameter galvanized post and modified clamp. With minimal imposition on the landscape, the path is intended to accommodate the continued movement over time of the inherently unstable bluff without catastrophic failure. ? ? ???Check out more project images here: https://lnkd.in/gQxFnXqQ #wkarch #lakemichigan #michiganarchitecture #rockygap #wheelerkearnsarchitects #chicagoarchitecture #cumaru #midwesternarchitecture #stairs #sculpturalstaircase #bluffstaircase #outdoorliving #architectureandnature #stevehallphotography? #lakemichiganarchitecture #lakehousedesign? ?? Steve Hall

Meadow Lane Retreat is thoughtfully arranged to maximize privacy, optimize natural light, capture views, and create inviting outdoor spaces, including a protected garden courtyard at the entry that is contemplative and inward-looking. ? ? Set perpendicular to the lake, two living structures are staggered to increase the linear extent of glass exposure and corner views of the ever-changing vista. A transparent glass link connects the two separate structures with doors that fold entirely away, creating an aperture from the courtyard to the expansive views beyond.? ? ???Check out more project images here: https://lnkd.in/g38tRwXs #wkarch #wheelerkearnsarchitects #architecturephotography #archilover #modernarchitecture #modernhome #lakemichigan #lakemichiganhouse #chicagoarchitect #modernhousedesign #housedesign #lakehouse #residentialdesign #glasslink #residentialarchitecture? ??: Steve Hall

The Milwaukee-Belden T.O.D. anchors a transportation hub and uses Transit-Oriented Development principles to responsibly enhance neighborhood density, boost economic revenue, and increase mass transit ridership—all without contributing to vehicular congestion.? ? Situated just steps away from a CTA Blue Line Station in the Logan Square neighborhood, the 'flattened bowtie' site presented both a constraint and an opportunity. Instead of adopting a conventional 'wall' building approach, two volumes are vertically arranged at either end, creating an open space in the center that serves as a desirable public amenity for the community.? ? Two mid-rise buildings, purposely varied in height and massing, embrace the pentagon-shaped edges in their form and floor plates, highlighting the uniqueness of the site. The contemporary use of glass, metal, and concrete contributes to a dynamic fa?ade that reflects the evolving urban landscape.? ? ?Check out more photos here: https://lnkd.in/gRvxtS8g #wkarch #wheelerkearnsarchitects #chicago #architecture #architexture #designinspiration #architectureinspiration #archilovers? #chicagoarchitecture #chicagodesign #chicagocommunity #chicagodesigner #commercialdesign? #transitorienteddevelopment? ??? Tom Rossiter?

At the Alice at Goodman Theatre, a two-sided wood feature wall meanders through the space, defining the threshold between public and learning spaces. ? ? Alluding to the appearance of a Venetian contour curtain being folded to reveal a performance stage, the 'wood curtain' gracefully breaks or 'parts' to delineate entry points into the various classrooms. ? Composed of clean striped rift-cut red oak and backed with grey acoustical fabric, the vertical wood slats vary in width and depth, effectively dissipating and absorbing sound within STEM learning labs and reception spaces. In addition to its acoustic properties, the feature wall introduces students to different materials as a creative framework for theatrical performance. ? ? Check out more project images here: https://lnkd.in/gDbBnTwG #wkarch #wheelerkearnsarchitects #architecture #archilover #archdaily #chicagoarchitecture #chicagodesign #nonprofit #architectureforchange #designforchange #chicagononprofit #chicago #thealiceatgoodmantheatre #goodmantheatre #theatrearts #communitydesign? #featurewall #acouticalcurtain #theatredesign? ?? Steve Hall