Paying homage to Pierre Chareau’s Maison de Verre, contemporary French architecture, and two vintage Chicago buildings seems a lot to ask of a small linking structure, but this project meets those ambitious goals with grace and style. The Alliance purchased an old bank building that abuts the rear garden and alley of their existing 1870s townhouse and requested an overhaul of the entire 17,000-square-foot space and a new connection between the buildings. The link is sited in the shared courtyard and is a steel structure with a clear, fritted glass envelope. The jury loved the spatial quality created by this addition that is small in size but big in impact.