Location - Chicago, IL
Architect - Valerio Dewalt Train Associates
Client - Bruce Doblin, MD
General Contractor - Rock and Wall Construction
Consultants - Robert Darvas Associates (structural); Charter Sills & Associates (lighting)
Photographer - © Barbara Karant, Karant + Associates

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Out of the existing masonry shell of a burned-out early 20th century warehouse, architects carved a public and a private garden, with glass-walled open living space nestled between. Facing a railroad embankment along a street lined with warehouses, apartment buildings, and single family homes, a simple façade highlights the industrial-residential context. One of two identical 23-foot-wide bi-fold galvanized steel doors opens to a garage, while the other opens to reveal a lush garden. Jurors admired the sensibility of this façade, which can appear industrial or park-like. The starkness of the living space and the quietness of the gardens fit the program of this “house for a solitary person.”