John Ronan Architects

Chicago Illinois This house, made of board-formed concrete, explores the beauty of imperfection. The design accepts the imperfect nature of its chosen material and uses it as a starting point to create a richly variegated surface of intentionally compounded irregularity. The raw quality of the resulting concrete is contrasted on the building exterior with precisely machined materials of metal, stone and glass to create a rich material dialogue.

The street façade for the house projects an image of openness and optimism for a family committed to city living, and allows views from the public rooms of the house to the street. A limestone plinth and entry portal terminates in a platform inside, from which the stair departs. Inside, a strategy of spatial gradation from communal to private is explored: a more formal entry living zone at the front of the house gives way to a more casual family space to the rear that looks out onto a hardscape courtyard. A walnut stair leads from the family zone to a communal playroom for the children, from which the private bedrooms are entered.