Construction ChroniclesWe officially have been given an extra hour of daylight back to our schedule, and the weather is finally starting to warm up—warmer than the single digits, at least. With spring fast approaching, the construction of the S21 Design+Build Demonstration Home (Bill’s house for short) is going along full steam ahead. That’s not to say, however, that we don’t have lots to recap for you all. Milestones, you say? Oh, there are milestones galore! While we did sneak in a picture of the stunning 3D rendering of Bill’s house in the last issue, it has been a long minute since we have updated you on the progression of this home in the Studio Pages newsletter; if you watch our YouTube series, Design+Build Decoded, then you get caught up on the action every two weeks. Ground was broken back in November, right before Thanksgiving, to dig what will soon become the Styczynski home’s basement. This excavation took a mere matter of days, and then it came time for the first, ever-crucial, milestone: the foundation. In a blink-and-you-miss-it manner, the foundation of the home was installed in one day! Believe it or not, one day is all it took, as Bill’s home used Superior Wall’s prefabricated foundation system. A crane dropped each slice of the wall system into the excavated area, where the waiting construction crew simply had to piece them together like a puzzle and...voila––the foundation was in place.
As this article is going to print, construction presses on. Currently on the agenda could be considered yet another milestone: plumbing, HVAC and electrical, in that order. Bill has been at the site with the electrician and plumber to get those steps squared away and once completed, it will be time to insulate and drywall, making further progress on Bill’s home. Before I get too far ahead of myself, we will be uploading a full tour of the framed house, so give it a watch and let me know if I was right––is it starting to take shape yet?
written By: Emma H.Emma works as the Marketing Manager for Studio21 Architects. She is the writer behind (almost) all of our newsletter articles, and she works hard to make sure all of our marketing materials reflect an architect-approved design quality!
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For Our Four-Legged FamilyArchitect's Advice
creative and deliver a crowd-pleasing newsletter that will hopefully brighten up the day as we all patiently wait for the warm weather to fully return! I sincerely hope this article will deliver. Our design philosophy is all about making your home work seamlessly with the lives of you and your household. Of course, wives, husbands, children––young and grown––and parents are all some of the sundry pieces of a given household, and while that’s certainly not a definitive list, it does forego an exceedingly common piece of the familial unit. For many of us, our families also include some members of the kingdom animalia. So, here’s to brightening up those winter blues with designs that have our four-legged family members in mind!
I won’t keep making you all wait for some examples of pet-friendly design—this is what you’re here for, right? Pulling from our team, their homes, and their pets, I have quite a few to share with you. Let’s continue down our dog-centric design path, to share some design solutions to a dog’s favorite activity: getting dirty! At the homes of both of our architects, Bill and Gregg, design solutions have been imposed to circumvent the mud and other accoutrements that dogs often bring inside. In his last home, Bill designed a fenced-in dog run, complete with gravel to prevent muddiness, which had one entry/exit point from the garage. This entry point served an important purpose, as it led directly to the dog wash, for added cleanliness for both dog and home. At Gregg’s house, the mudroom not only serves as a place to contain the mud, but it also was designed to function as a canine paradise. Gregg’s mudroom was designed to include built-in crates, complete with a worktop above them, creating functional space for the humans and a safe-feeling nest for the pups. Now, it would go against every fiber of my being to devote the entirety of this article to dog-approved design without mentioning the other classic house pet: the cat. It is my duty to shine some of the spotlight on the felis catus because, simply put, I am a cat lady; my husband and I have three hilarious and adorable cats. Yes, anti-cat slander is by no means uncommon, but let me tell you now...I will not abide by it! As an ethical journalist, however, I must make a small disclaimer. While my three cats are very much real (photo proof to follow), I am not a homeowner––I am a renter of an apartment, so I am currently precluded from actually putting these design items into practice. Call it a bit of wishful thinking, but I believe the efficacy of the point remains the same; these “cat”-egories of design are well worth it for any feline family members! When I consider the cat, I often think of a tiny assassin, who would love to be outdoors hunting down pigeons or squirrels but must settle for stalking prey from a windowsill. Unfettered outdoor access is not the best idea for a cat, considering their unlikeliness to wear a leash or even listen to a command, so how can one offer the outdoor experience without sacrificing your cat’s safety? Enter the catio. I would describe your run-of-the-mill catio as something akin to a screened porch, with the difference lying in the décor. Change out the patio chairs for some perches, and the planters for a scratching post or two, and your kitties have themselves a catio! Of course, catio experts do recommend a claw-proof screen to circumvent any escape attempts. In Chicago, I suppose a catio is not a perennial design addition, and so it’s only fair to detail a few indoor items that your cats can enjoy year-round. Book lovers can add a second usage to their shelving by adding in some reinforced shelves higher on the wall, creating a vertical obstacle course for the more active of cats, or simply a perch with a view for our more relaxed ones. Smart design solutions are also applicable to a cat’s bathroom, or the litter box; a built-in cover can render litter boxes invisible and can be disguised as storage to add an extra layer of smart design solutions. Add a cat-sized door tucked into a corner of your living area for the ultimate discreet solution to the dreaded sandbox. One last thing that I believe to be worth noting is the simple tenacity that all pets have; they will seek—and find—comfort however your home design turns out. Karen’s two dogs have discovered repose in the warmth of the fireplace, leaving the humans in that house to be lighting up the fire much more often than they’d do for themselves alone. And in my own apartment, where I would most certainly violate my lease by installing a catio, my cats have found their favorite lounging spot in the drywall return around my windows—an ideal place to sun oneself. Designing with pets in mind is something most of us would find ourselves doing while amid a custom home or renovation, but for those of us who aren’t in that spot just yet, I say: don’t worry—the pets are quite alright. studio21's four-legged family membersWritten by: Emma H.Emma works as the Marketing Manager for Studio21 Architects. She is the writer behind (almost) all of our newsletter articles, and she works hard to make sure all of our marketing materials reflect an architect-approved design quality! It Takes A Village to Build a HomeThe Homeowner's Journey - Part IINow for an answer to last month’s question: where do you start? Logic would dictate that one starts by engaging a realtor, find a lot, then an architect, and finally, a builder. However, we started in a slightly counterclockwise manner by contacting several builders who were building homes in the area we were interested in. Luckily, we found one that led us to a lot in a great location, albeit one with a tear-down already in place. With a lot obtained, we commenced the search for an architect. We selected four firms to meet with; two were recommended by friends, one was referred by our builder, and the fourth I found through a web search. In preparation for our meetings, we put together a list or perhaps a small book—it was a four-page document, after all—of the things we wanted in our new home. We also asked for bids from each of the architects. Our final choice was neither the lowest nor highest bid, and we didn’t choose one of the architects recommended to us. As a quick disclaimer: Studio21 Architects gave me absolutely no direction on what to write. If you’re reading this in the first place, there’s a good chance that you might be thinking about using them as your architect, and I find it important to explain why we chose Studio21. Our initial, unrushed meeting with Bill and his team went very well. The design process Bill explained and documented felt logical and well thought out, and we were impressed with how he stayed current not only on the latest in design concepts and code, but also the latest trends and technology used in constructing a house. While unquantifiable, it was equally important that we felt a high level of comfort during that meeting with Bill and his team. Now, looking back, our instincts proved to be spot on; the design process went smoothly, with productive discussions and never an ill word about our many change requests. Turnaround on design and questions was always very prompt—in fact, it was rare that an email went unanswered for more than 24 hours. There is a dark side to building a home: bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is very much dependent on the governing bodies (i.e. HOA, city, county) of where you’re building, and because of that, I will only speak to what I have personally been involved with: demolishing a home, annexing our lot, and permitting our plans in DuPage County and the City of Naperville. I have two takeaways from that experience; one: no one prepared us for the time, effort, and cost, and two: all the people we worked with in the city and the county were very professional and extremely helpful. You can certainly mitigate the effort if your builder handles some of these items, but you cannot reduce cost and time. The annexation took six months, and it could not have been done without an attorney. Permitting and demolition took three months each, and those were completed in parallel with the annexation process. While the steps are location-specific, my advice is independent of geography: understand all that is involved in getting from a design concept to breaking ground. We would have moved forward regardless of the time and expense, but it would have helped our planning, budgeting, and mental health had we understood these factors in greater detail. My second bit of advice? It takes a village to build a home. You will undoubtedly need to select some professionals such as a realtor, lawyer, builder, designer, and architect to work with, but what I also discovered was that random people, both friends and new acquaintances, were very helpful. When you are building a house, it often comes up in conversations and people will relate by telling you about their experiences, which I found immensely helpful. Artfully slip into a conversation the fact that you’re building a home, and you are bound to get some useful information. And yes, Instagram and Houzz were very helpful, especially the former. If you are building a home, good luck and, above all, remain calm.Written By: Jeff RudolphWe are delighted to welcome Jeff as a guest author in the Studio Pages newsletter, where he offers insight into the homeowner's perspective. He and his wife are working with Studio21 Architects to design their custom home, with the primary goal of aging-in-place. Something Sweet - Gingerbread 2024There are many things that make us feel like the holidays are just around the corner: snow on the ground, holiday light shows, and perhaps even the occasional polar vortex! At the Studio21 Architects office, however, the marker of the holiday season is our annual Gingerbread Design Party. After eleven years of hosting this event for the families of Downers Grove and beyond, we have seen kids literally grow into fully-fledged adults with this party as a yearly holiday tradition. We have witnessed parents turning their kids’ designs into long-lasting holiday decorations (a testament to the magically long-lasting frosting we have created!).
Best of 2024And just like that, we have entered 2025! It does feel like the last year flew by—a blink-and-you-miss-it type of moment—although I’m sure we have all said that about some year or another. This issue of Studio Pages has one foot in the present (2025) and the other in the past (2024) and because of this unique midpoint we find ourselves in, it seems only right to turn this article into a recap of the jam-packed year that was 2024. For Studio21 Architects, 2024 was filled to the brim with excitement, intrigue, bittersweet moments, and, of course, busyness. So, please join us on this walk down memory lane…
The Homeowner's JourneyPart OneI am Jeff Rudolph, married to Jill, and we are 68 and 67 years old, respectively. Currently, we reside in a two-story, 3,400 square foot home in Naperville which used to house us and our two children, who have since left the nest to the west and east coasts. Just over a year ago, Jill suggested we look for a home to age in place; until then, it had never dawned on me to even consider such a thing. After discussing the idea, it made a lot of sense, as such a home would allow us to stay in our own home in our own community, maintain a sense of independence and quality of life, and avoid (or at least put off) moving into a residential facility.
As it turned out, the timing of Jill’s suggestion was perfect, as we are both healthy and able to handle the demands of a move and—what is becoming more and more apparent—the long process of a home design project. So, in August of 2023, our journey began. Re-Wright-ing American ArchitecturePicture this: it’s the late-nineteenth century, squarely amidst the Victorian era. You want to be fashionable, so you look to the current styles in Europe. You want to buy art that’s en vogue, so you purchase a painting or a sculpture that’s European. You want your home to look stylish, so not only do you furnish it with Italian marble and French textiles, but even the design of the home itself is derived from the newest buildings in––you guessed it––Europe. Seems like a theme of sorts is appearing, right?
Timeless Design: The Carlson's PassivhausProject Spotlight
Discover...Design + Build DecodedA Note From BillRecently, I realized that the YouTube series I’ve been working on hasn’t been shared with you all with the fanfare it deserves. As this newsletter goes to print, we’ve uploaded nine episodes, and while that does mean this series is not exactly new, it is likely new to many of our Studio Pages readers. So, let’s officially welcome our not-so-new-anymore series, Design + Build Decoded!
Cheers to 21 Years, Manho!It’s always bittersweet to write these types of articles, where we say goodbye to an integral part of the Studio21 Architects team. A longtime member of our team, Manho, will be leaving us for Hong Kong and while we aren’t happy that he’s leaving, we are happy to share with you all an article that rounds up Manho’s greatest hits over the last twenty-one years!
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