Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Palatial Design, Modest Price

Can a Kiwi architect create the future of urban design in the Chicago suburbs?

By NewsDude ,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 4, 2007 10:33 AM CST
Email

(Newser) – Students of urban design should take a lesson from a new condominium development in Chicago's northern suburbs, the Chicago Tribune's architectural critic Blair Kamin says. Its three 20-story buildings in Skokie not only "create an instant skyline for a suburb that doesn't have one," they use Lego-like layers of glass and aluminum to create "an ever-shifting profile that unfolds with cinematic theatricality."

It's the work of New Zealand-born David Hovey, who is not just the architect but the developer. By controlling the economics as well as the design, Hovey says it's possible to bring Optima Old Orchard Woods in at the same cost as a more mundane development. Hovey's work has a palatial sensibility, despite its modesty in both height and price.

Aerial View of Optima Old Orchard Woods
Aerial View of Optima Old Orchard Woods   (Optima Inc.)
Model Unit at Optima Old Orchard Woods
Model Unit at Optima Old Orchard Woods   (Optima Inc.)
Optima Old Orchard Woods
Optima Old Orchard Woods   (Optima Inc.)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

 
architecture • Chicago • Santiago Calatrava • Blair Kamin • Frank Gehry • Skokie • modernism • Old Orchard • David Hovey

More Newser Stories

150-Story Chicago Spire to Begin Construction

10 Modern Chicago Masterpieces
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne