From moss Design’s perspective, this moment offers a chance to ask ourselves what kind of city we want to build next.
Urban Planning
Coming Spring 2017: Intelligentsia Parklet
The Intelligentsia Parklet is coming soon to Logan Square
The Alley behind your building might just be Chicago’s best feature
One of Chicago’s most under-appreciated features may be our defining characteristic. Today: what we owe the alley.
Setbacks, Sideyards and the reason we can’t put a window there
In construction terms, a setback means more than discovering an unexpected concrete beam where you wanted to cut a doorway. Today we discuss how they vary and what that means for design and construction projects.
Year in Review: Moss Projects of 2015
Its hard to believe that 2015 has come to a close already. Here is a rundown of all the great moss projects that wrapped up construction – and started being used for their new purposes – in the last year. Keep reading to check out two new restaurants, a brewery taproom, an optometrist’s office, a […]
Loop Link propels Chicago into Transit leap forward
Moss has been a proponent of BRT over the last few years despite its many setbacks in Chicago and we are excited to see how the first phase – the Loop Link starts to shift the transit landscape as it gets under way. What is Loop Link? Per the city’s own BRT website, Loop Link is: […]
What really makes strong neighborhoods? And why cities like Chicago are rich in them
Today we use Planing to Stay as a lens for understanding what makes strong neighborhoods.
Placemaking on Lincoln: Listening to Sneckdowns
We’re excited to see progress on the new placemaking project at the Lincoln | Wellington | Southport intersection. What about you?
Slim Streets with Sneckdowns: We Could Reduce Road Infrastructure Wherever the Snow Sticks
Sneckdown spotting shows us areas of roadway both small and large that no one is driving on. Asphalt comes at a cost, so we should reclaim that public space. Let us tell you why.
Coming Soon: New Plaza and Entrance Canopy for Park Lincoln by Reside
We’re so pleased to introduce our latest project: the updated plaza design and new entrance canopy for the Park Lincoln apartments on Clark Street by Reside.
Spooky Architecture: Cities of the Living, Parks of the Dead
The Cemetery: spooky, somber and no picnic … spot. Wrong. We explore cemeteries past and present, looking at cities from Paris to Cahokia, and Chicago.
Chicago’s People Spots Here to Stay … Here’s Why
People Spots are tiny parks, right along Chicago’s neighborhood sidewalks. Good for business, good for neighborhoods, good for people! Here’s why:
Uptown's Proposed Shared Street at Argyle: How ADDING Uncertainty Can Make Our Side Streets Safer
Anticipating City Made festival this weekend, when Andersenville will turn Clark between Argyle and into an open air market and street party for two days has us wishing that some of our city’s streets could always be a little more integrated. Anyone who’s ever attended a block party or recalls a childhood game of kickball […]
Another One Bites the Dust: the Tiny Tragedy of Teardowns in Chicago Neighborhoods
Walking to work this morning I noted yet another pile of construction debris on the foundation of a former house just around the corner from moss HQ. Seeing an old house demolished always seems like a small tragedy. It’s true; some older buildings certainly HAVE outlived their useful lifespan, are in poor repair or structurally unsound. Sometimes the […]
Our Green City: The Green Legacy of the Burnham Plan
The Burnham Plan laid the groundwork for our city’s green space and set aside the lake shore path. Thank Daniel Burnham every time you see green in Chicago.