clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago

Kwong Von Glinow reimagines conventional residential layouts

 

Situated on a traditional Chicago lot bordering an alleyway, Ardmore House by Kwong Von Glinow reimagines the conventional residential layout. For this project, the Chicago-based architectural studio arrays bedrooms on the first floor and living spaces on the second. This approach supports contemporary ways of living, emphasizing communal areas, interconnectivity, and flexible live-work spaces that receive ample natural light and engage the surrounding urban context.

 

A curved double-height interior courtyard atrium runs lengthwise from front to back doors, creating a vertical connection between the common areas on the first and second floors. Defined by a large picture window and a curving wall that leads to each of the bedrooms, the courtyard offers an informal multi-purpose area where residents can relax and children can play. The design of the home calibrates the relationship between privacy and exposure in this urban site.

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago
all images by Mikael Olsson unless stated otherwise

 

 

white walls and white oak wood floors adorn Ardmore House

 

Off of the courtyard’s inner curved wall lie all of the home’s bedrooms, pushed away from the alleyway towards the neighboring lot. The two bedrooms nearer the front of the house have windows that look toward the neighbor’s Chicago brick wall, providing privacy from view of the street or neighbor. The primary bedroom suite is located at the back of the home, overlooking a private garden between the home and the adjacent garage. A stair tucked behind the courtyard’s curving wall leads to the open plan second floor, organized by four trusses above that hold the Chicago balloon frame home together. These trusses designate five areas set around the curve of the balustrade: the kitchen, the island, the dining room, the powder room, and the living room.

 

Through a restrained colors and materials palette—white walls and white oak wood floors, trusses and furnishing—Kwong Von Glinow studio draws attention to the qualities of the spaces themselves. All of the shared and public spaces on the second floor are oriented towards a 56-foot-long ribbon window that spans the length of the interior courtyard and floods the home with natural light, offering panoramic views that capture the fullness of the surrounding neighborhood: beautiful century-old trees, the back balconies and fire-escapes of neighboring buildings, and street lamps with their meandering cabling. 

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago
Ardmore House by Kwong Von Glinow redefines residential layouts in Chicago

 

 

Ardmore House’s exterior is clad in grey wood and black slabs

 

The exterior of the home by Kwong Von Glinow engages the neighborhood’s traditional vernacular style while reflecting the organization of the interior spaces. The design shifts the facade hierarchy from the street to the alleyway, the most urban of the contexts. The street-facing facade has a row of half-height ribbon windows along the second floor and only a single opaque door on the first level, maintaining privacy for the front bedroom.

 

On the alleyway side, floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor and a large picture window facing out to the alleyway from the interior courtyard open the home’s interior to the urban surroundings. The exterior materials approach emphasizes the sectional flip and lends visual rhythm to the monolithic building. The house sits atop a concrete base with a dual-color Accoya wood rain screen system. The bottom half of the first level is clad in grey wood, while black wood lines the top half of the first level and all of the second.

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago
a dual-color Accoya wood rain screen system creates visual rhythm across the building’s sections

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago
a double-height atrium runs the length of the home, creating a vertical connection between floors

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago
the layout prioritizes communal areas and flexible live-work spaces

ardmore-house-kwong-von-glinow-designboom-1800-2

a stair, tucked behind the curved wall, leads to the second floor’s open-plan | image by James Florio Photography

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago
the atrium is framed by a large picture window and a curving wall leading to the bedrooms

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago
the design features bedrooms on the first floor and living spaces on the second

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago
the design incorporates a restrained palette of white walls and white oak wood floors

clad in grey and black wood, gabled ardmore house by kwong von glinow stands in chicago
the home’s spaces are defined by the trusses and furniture, emphasizing the design itself

ardmore-house-kwong-von-glinow-designboom-1800-3

large windows flood the spaces with natural light | image by James Florio Photography

 

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level 1 floor plan
level 1 floor plan
level 2 floor plan
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project info:

 

name: Ardmore House
architects: Kwong Von Glinow | @kwongvonglinow

location: Edgewater, Chicago

area: 3,100 sqft

 

client: Kwong Von Glinow, Enjoy Architecture Development

design team: Lap Chi Kwong, Alison Von Glinow, Shichen Eric Li, Adam Botao Sun, Tammy Phan, Junfu Cui, Jimmy Carter, Winee Lau, Raven Nan Xu

structural engineer: Goodfriend Magruder Structures

contractor: Oslo Builders

photography: Mikael Olsson, James Florio Photography | @jamesfloriophotography

 

 

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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