Virginia Residence,Chicago, IL

This self developed project is on target to achieve a Chicago Green Building three Star Certification for redevelopment of a two-flat into a single family home. Tripartite designed the renovation of the existing brick two-family residence to be sensitive to the vernacular residential architecture of the surrounding neighborhood and to provide the owner a modern, sustainable and functional space in which to live and work. Cool breezes enter at the lowest level, cooled by the pond and river, and hot air is vented out through two whole house fans utilizing the stack effect at the two stairwells. This helps to naturally cool the building without the use of electric air conditioning. Multiple sustainable strategies allow the 4,800 square foot single family residence to perform better using fewer natural resources on its 3,750 square foot lot. The building is set to generate power onsite, and at times when power generation is near peak and demand low, will provide power back to the grid.