Lakeview Penthouse Chicago home, Illinois real estate, USA Architecture and Interior Photos

Lakeview Penthouse in Chicago

Architects: Wheeler Kearns Architects

Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA

The Lakeview Penthouse is situated within a two-story mansard penthouse with stunning 270-degree views, this duplex apartment establishes a series of material layers that unfold around a J-shaped plan and create spaces between them.

Photos by Steve Hall, Hall + Merrick Photographers

Jan 15, 2021

Lakeview Penthouse

Connecting the two floors is a sculptural stair fabricated from oxidized steel and glass, up-lit from an illuminated glass platform below. The stair, along with primary living and sleeping areas, resides between a polished plaster perimeter and a warm, millwork paneled core.

Curved exterior walls acknowledge the traditional mansard geometry of the ornamental building but re-interpret it. The plaster walls, detailed as a 3” thick shell, are revealed away from the structural concrete columns and are pulled inboard from the windows to lighten its appearance visually.

The reflective qualities of the polished surface indirectly illuminate the spaces and provide an ever-changing relationship between the occupants and their immediate surroundings.

A strategic lighting strategy helps manage glare from the windows during the day, and at night, radiates the curved walls with soft, warm light.

On the inboard side, gray lacquered panels and a millwork core define the kitchen, bathrooms, and other service rooms. At openings and penetrations through it, such as the entry, the kitchen, and thresholds along the corridor, additional layers are unveiled including flat-cut walnut oxidized steel, painted plaster, and decorative tile.

Highlights include:
• A sculptural staircase made from oxidized steel and glass, lit from an illuminated glass platform below.
• The exterior curved walls, detailed as a 3-inch thick shell, are revealed away from the structural concrete columns, pulled inboard from the windows to visually lighten their appearance.
• Additional layers are unveiled in the openings, such as at the entrance, in the kitchen, and along the corridor, revealing an array of textures such as flat-cut walnut oxidized steel, painted plaster, and decorative tiles.
• Lighting, designed in collaboration with Lux Populi, which helps to offset the glare from the windows during the day and radiate a soft, warm light across the curved walls at night.

Lakeview Penthouse in Chicago, Illinois – Building Information:

Design: Wheeler Kearns Architects

WKA Team: Jon Heinert, AIA, Principal
Consultants Interiors: Sharlene Young – Symbiotic Living
General Contractor: Norcon, Inc.
MEP/FP: McGuire Engineers
Structural Engineer: Enspect Engineering
Lighting Consultant: Lux Populi