by ArchitectureWeek

For a Chicago house they call Case Study 1875, the architects collaborated with engineers and fabricators to develop a skin thermally isolated from the structure, allowing an experience of indoor-outdoor connection without great loss of heat during the cold Illinois winters.

As designed by Wheeler Kearns Architects, water-clear window walls separate the ground-level interior from a garden. Two of the ceiling-hung glass walls entirely open one corner of the house, connecting seamlessly with the outside over a flush threshold.

The "Case Study 1875" house was honored by the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Chicago) in its 2008 design excellence awards. Other award recipients include a Jewish studies institute, a vaulted glass roof at the University of Chicago, a restaurant interior, and an unbuilt modern village in Shanghai.

Exemplary Example

At Case Study 1875 — the home of Penny Pritzker — an opaque concrete second story with 40-foot (12-meter) cantilevers seems to hover over the transparent ground-floor space. A thermal sink for the building, this structure is clad in pultruded fiberglass battens filled with closed-cell foam insulation, and sheathed in aerated autoclaved concrete panels and pigmented cement stucco.   >>>

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE The Case Study 1875 house in Chicago, designed by Wheeler Kearns Architects. Photo: Jon Miller/ Hedrich Blessing Photographers Case Study 1875 received honor awards from AIA Chicago as a distinguished building and for its thermally isolated skin. Photo: Hedrich Blessing Photographers   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.