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Staff Happenings

A Safe Haven 5K RUN! To End Homelessness

By Community, Staff Happenings

The UrbanWorks team participated in the 6th annual A Safe Haven Foundation’s 5K RUN! To End Homelessness. The race was held in Douglas Park, located in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, and included teams as large as 120 runners and as far away as Boston’s Harvard University.  All proceeds from the event went towards the “mission of A Safe Haven Foundation, one of the nation’s leading non-profit organizations dedicated to transforming lives from homelessness to self-sufficiency with pride and purpose.” Read more

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TEDx Talk Video

By Lectures/Presentations, Staff Happenings

Patricia Saldaña Natke was a speaker at TEDx UChicago, on April 30, 2016 at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts Performance Hall. The theme of this year’s conference was On the Margins, which focused on “the grey area between established knowledge and new theory”. Pat’s lecture, “Architecture & Design: Renewing the Social Agenda”, spoke to her view that architectural solutions can be, and ought to be, societal solutions. Her talk included highlights of UrbanWorks’ Pilsen Master Plan,  La Casa Student Housing, and Re-Imagining the South Branch of the Chicago River. Video from that presentation can now be accessed online HERE.

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Trianon Lofts Groundbreaking Ceremony and Press

By Milestones, Publications, Staff Happenings

UrbanWorks, POAH, and the Joseph J. Duffy Co. held a groundbreaking ceremony for Trianon Lofts on July 21, 2016. This four-story, $12.8 million mixed-use development located in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood, will include 24 market-rate apartments, sitting atop 7,000 square feet of commercial space currently rented out by Lela’s Land of Learning Child Care Center. Above the first floor’s storefront glazing, a subtly patterned rainscreen-clad façade, inspired by the traditional masonry buildings typical of the area, will harmonize with its surroundings while offering a brightly contemporary look for its occupants. Construction is estimated to be completed in September, 2017. The project has also been featured in recent articles in Chicago Tribune and DNAinfo.

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Vianney Floodas Joins UrbanWorks

By Staff Happenings

UrbanWorks is pleased to welcome Vianney Floodas, as Business Manager and Development Associate. Vianney brings over 16 years of business management and marketing coordination experience to our firm. She brings a wealth of expertise from the Architecture and Design industry, including organizational management and marketing at local architecture firms and interior design networks. Vianney focuses on improving office work flow while expanding  the firm’s portfolio of public and strategic private business endeavors. Read more

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Robert Natke to Moderate Panel Discussion at Student Housing Conference

By Panels, Staff Happenings

Robert Natke, UrbanWorks Principal, will moderate a panel discussion at the Student Housing: State of the Market Conference, Wednesday, June 22, 2016. The conference will take place at the Gleacher Center of the University of Chicago, 450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive. The three-hour program will discuss latest trends in Student Housing design and construction. Additional conference topics will include discussions on the latest trends in development, financing, investing, innovation and property management needs in the Student Housing market. The program begins at 7:30am with the panel discussion beginning at 9:00am. Register

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UrbanWorks is a CNT Sustain-A-City Patron

By Community, Staff Happenings

UrbanWorks is a proud Patron of Sustain-A-City, the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s celebration for supporters from across the urban sustainability spectrum who promote livable and sustainable urban communities for all. The event introduces the finalists of the Urban Sustainability Apps Competition which pairs community members with coders to create scalable, app-based solutions for neighborhood issues. Finalist judges include Brenna Berman, CIO of the City of Chicago, Shelley Stern Grach, Director of Civic Engagement at Microsoft, Janice Jackson, Chief Education Officer of the Chicago Public Schools, and the Honorable Toni Preckwinkle, President of The Cook County Board. The celebration will be held June 16, 2016 at Studio Xfinity 901 W. Weed Street.

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UrbanWorks Participates in Arquitectos 30X30 Perspectives Exhibition

By Exhibits, Staff Happenings

UrbanWorks staff members Patricia Saldaña Natke, Maria Pellot, Erick Roldan and Jose Esquinca were featured in the Arquitectos 30X30 Perspectives exhibition at Open Center for the Arts located at  2214 South Sacramento Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The exhibition showcased UrbanWorks projects spanning from educational facilities to multi-family housing. Arquitectos 30X30 Perspectives was the first annual architecture exhibition by Arquitectos and celebrated the organization’s 30th anniversary. Arquitectos, Inc. is a non-profit, 501c (3) organization, whose mission is to provide development, mentorship, community assistance and further enrich the architectural profession through different cultural views and practices.

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Patricia Saldaña Natke is a Visiting Juror for Clemson University’s School of Architecture

By Panels, Staff Happenings

Patricia Saldaña Natke was a Visiting Juror for Clemson University’s School of Architecture 4th Year Synthesis Studios in Clemson, South Carolina on April 20, 2016. Student proposals explored the architecture of the institution of the Public Library: A 15,000 square foot branch library for Six Mile, South Carolina. Other jurors included Catherine Smith of Catherine Smith Architect, Jo Gilmour-Pike of Joeb Moore Architects, David Moore of McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, and Paul Mankins of Substance Architecture. The students and jurors were joined by Professor Timothy Brown, Director of Undergraduate Programs and Professor Katherine Lee Schwennsen, Director of the School of Architecture.

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Patricia Saldaña Natke, Maria Pellot and Ameera Ashraf-O’Neil Participated in On the Table 2016

By Lectures/Presentations, Panels, Staff Happenings

Patricia Saldaña Natke, Maria Pellot and Ameera Ashraf-O’Neil joined Chicago-area residents in On the Table discussions in May 2016. Patricia participated in the conversation, “The State of Civic Engagement in Chicago” led by New Civics Chicago; Maria Pellot participated in “Envisioning Equitable Communities” led by Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.; and Ameera participated in “Creative Solutions to House and Feed all Chicagoans” led by the Society of Architectural Historians. On the Table is sponsored by Chicago Community Trust and is an annual forum designed to elevate civic conversation, foster new relationships and create a unifying experience across the Chicago-area. Thousands of residents participated in small-group conversations intended to inspire new ways to work together to make communities stronger, safer and more dynamic.

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Patricia Saldaña Natke of Urbanworks Speaks at TEDxUChicago

By Lectures/Presentations, Staff Happenings

Patricia Saldaña Natke presents “Architecture & Design: Renewing the Social Agenda” at TEDx at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center on April 30, 2016. This year’s conference theme, On the Margins, focuses on the grey area between established knowledge and new theory. Where is innovation right now? How is existing knowledge being pushed to its limits? Patricia will present UrbanWorks’ bold Pilsen Masterplan including groundbreaking transformative LaCasa student housing. Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue. Patricia joins ten other renowned speakers from a variety of backgrounds to present at this all-day conference. Read More

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