Readymade Row
An “instant” affordable row-house designed from pre-engineered steel systems, commonly used for industrial buildings.
Winner: CAC & Chicago DPD’s Come Home Missing Middles Competition
Last century, Chicago innovated by creating very tall buildings. Now, structural innovation can produce very long buildings—landscrapers—for affordable housing for all.
Readymade Row re-purposes a cost-effective, industrial building system typically used for warehouses to create affordable and unique rowhouses. The “off-the-rack” system is deployed to create a very large and long envelope. Each steel truss is oriented in the long-direction on a Chicago lot, creating an “instant” twenty-five foot wide rowhouse. At ground level, simple tall storefronts create a contemporary facade. The proposal is designed to fit on a block of standard Chicago lots that are 25’ wide and 125’ deep. The building is set back from the street approximately 24’ feet. The first 15’, or the required zoning setback, is reserved for a shared front yard. This zone will be an active shared space with kids playing football or young professionals relaxing in the sun. The interior of each building has a flexible and open floor plan. Utilities, storage, and vertical circulation line the walls. On the second floor the primary bedroom looks out over the front yard. Two additional bedrooms are on the other side of the atrium to maximize privacy. On the third floor, under the slope of the roof a home office is at the front, and a playroom at the back.
- Maximum Flexibility: Each owner can create variation in an open plan with different possible sections.
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Light Filled: Rowhouses can be dark. Four skylights and an atrium create a light filled central court that makes even a gray Chicago winter day feel bright.
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Mass Production: Readymade Row takes advantage of the efficiencies created in large-scale industrial buildings to create many houses at one time.
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Slab on Grade: Excavation is expensive. Insulated slab on grade to reduce excavation costs. A simple epoxy coating also creates a beautiful finished floor.
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Geothermal: Upfront cost for this system is usually substantial. Geothermal wells are shared across the project to reduce costs.
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“District Cooling”: Downtown, we save energy using district cooling; the underground utility trench at Readymade Row allows each unit to share the energy.
- High Performance: Insulated metal panels have a high R-value and are easy to air seal. This means lower energy costs for residents and a lower impact on the planet.
News & Recognition
Crain’s Chicago Business
“Architects design next-gen two-flats, row houses and bungalows”
The Architect’s Newspaper
“Forty-two finalists announced for Come Home, a housing ideas competition in Chicago”
Dwell
“Chicago Is Running a Design Contest to Create Infill Housing—Here’s a First Look at Submissions”
Dwell
“Chicago Calls On the World’s Best to Design Infill Housing on Its Thousands of Empty Lots”
Info
Location: Chicago
Client: City of Chicago Department of Planning & Development & Chicago Architectural Center
Progress/Year: Proposed, 2023
312-598-1567
info@future-firm.org
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Chicago, IL 60604
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