Roszak/ADC
Clean Contemporary
Forward Looking Homes Grow in Popularity
Crain's Chicago Business
06/13/2005
Jane Adler |
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WANNA BE CUTTING EDGE? TRY A CONTEMPORARY HOME.
Though modern designs have never had the widespread appeal of traditional styles, there’s growing interest in bold homes. Take James Powell for example. He built a contemporary home on Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. He describes the exterior of the home as “very plain” devoid of the quaint decorations seen on the new houses built nowadays in the city’s old neighborhoods. The interior has two sections, or “volumes” as Mr. Powell prefers. These are divided by a dual scissor staircase, giving an open and airy effect. “I always wanted to build a house,” says Mr. Powell, chief technology officer at London-based Reuters Group plc. “But I don’t see the point in building a house that looks like it’s old. If I wanted an old house, I would have bought one.”
Mr. Powell isn’t alone in his preference for a contemporary house. People are warming to the idea of a house that doesn’t resemble something built in the 19th century.
Clean lines, open spaces and flexible arrangements are winning new support. “The public is starting to realize that contemporary design is good and cost effective,” says Dan Wheeler, principal at Wheeler Kearns Architects Inc., the Chicago-based firm that designed Mr. Powell’s house. “Contemporary design has a spring in its step.”
Interest in contemporary home design is being spurred by the rising popularity of stores like Ikea and Target, both of which sell furniture and housewares with a modern look. The contemporary home design magazine “Dwell” is a big hit.
In Chicago, new condominium buildings with a cutting edge design, such as the Contemporaine in River North, have been successful. Lofts with open floor plans and industrial features, such as visible piping, are popular. Mayor Daley also gets credit from local architects for his support of public projects such as the forward-looking Millennium Park with its modern sculptures and open spaces.
Modern design gets renewed attention elsewhere. Joe Kunkel’s Web site (jetsetmodern.com) sells furniture and decorative arts from the 1950’s and 1960’s. About five months ago, he also began to sell modern houses, after he became frustrated in his own search for one. “Most real estate agents specialize in a geographic area, not a type of house,” he says, noting that many of the area’s modern homes are in North Shore suburbs. He also found that real estate agents don’t understand modern houses and often try to hide what they are, or market them as teardowns. Mr. Kunkel says he’s already closed several sales of modern homes. Current listings are on his jetsetmodern Web site. “It’s definitely a niche market,” says Mr. Kunkel, a Baird & Warner agent. “There are people out there who love these houses, and they’re seeking them out.”
Despite growing appreciation for modern design, it has been slower to catch on here than in, say, California, where many homes have a more unconventional look. “Most of my Midwest clients are traditional. They are not looking to be different from their neighbors,” says architect Steven Burns, president at Burns + Beyer Architects Inc., Chicago. “Probably 80%of the houses we do are hung up on historical precedence. That’s what clients want.”
At least on the outside. Though Midwest traditionalists may want a conventional-looking house, they’re much more willing to experiment with interior spaces, local architects say. Great rooms and flexible spaces are popular in new homes of all types. The interiors reflect today’s informal lifestyle, just the opposite of the formality of the past when houses had small rooms for strictly defined uses.
Contemporary designs are sometimes tucked in old buildings. Bart Crosby owns a historic row house on Crilly Court in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. The 1885 landmark was completely gutted. The exterior was restored to its original look, to comply with landmark rules. But the interior was rebuilt and it is totally modern. The main floor is one room, 62 feet long and 16 feet wide. The furniture divides the room. “I don’t like small spaces,” says Mr. Crosby, a president at Crosby Associates Inc., a Chicago-based corporate branding firm. “I love old architecture, but I hate old interiors.”
Meanwhile, contemporary home designs continue to evolve. While modern designs of 20 years ago might have an industrial feel, today’s contemporary homes use wood, brick, and stone to provide a warm look and human touch.
Evanston architect Thomas Roszak recently built himself a 5,500-square-foot contemporary house with an all glass exterior. The structure is made of steel tubes and poured concrete. To counter the industrial feel, Mr. Roszak selected Brazilian cherry floors outlined with limestone. “It really warms up the interior,” says Mr. Roszak, principal at Roszak/ADC LLC, which has several big contemporary condominium projects under way. “Everything you touch with your feet and hands is warm.”
What Mr. Roszak likes best about his glass home is the way it makes him feel when he is inside of it. The first floor is an open space and the rooms flow into each other. The glass exterior makes the outdoor landscaping part of the room design. “It’s incredible,” Mr. Roszak says.
Other homeowners agree. Mr. Powell has lived in his new contemporary Lincoln Park home now for only two months. The house had been vacant because Mr. Powell took a work assignment in England where he lived wit his family for the last two years. Asked what he likes most about his contemporary home, Mr. Powell says: “The space. We just moved back from England where we had a very small house. It’s a pleasure to have this open, airy and light space.”
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