Chicago Building Types: the Courtyard Apartment
What sets these courtyard apartment buildings apart from other types of apartment dwellings. The answer is in the organization.
Come visit moss HQ during Ravenswood ArtWalk 2014
October 4th and 5th mark a return to one of our favorite events of the year – the Ravenswood ArtWalk. Moss will throw open its [garage] door to everyone who wants to peek inside our work space at the corner of Byron and Ravenswood and appreciate the work of the two artists we’ll be hosting: Cape Horn…
A Tale of Two Cities: Sharing the Road in Amsterdam and Istanbul
While the idea of an official “Shared Street” may be new and somewhat unsettling to Chicagoans today, the idea is anything but new or untested. We only need to look back to the pre-car dominated city to see how the streets used to be much more public territory than they are today. The image below of…
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…
Come See us at City Made!
Were you just tapping your toes, looking for an opportunity to come down and meet the moss team? Well here’s your opportunity. We’ll be showing some of our lovely faces (as well as displaying some of our furniture) at the City Made festival this weekend. Moss Will Be At the 2nd Annual Andersenville City Made…
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…
The Great Strip Mall Debate: There Really Are Pros and Cons, But Chicago Doesn’t Need Any New Ones
The strip mall question has re-emerged in Chicago news feeds in response to Alderman John Arena (45th) who wants to ban any new strip mall construction in the Jefferson Park business district. So the question re-emerges. Are Strip malls a miracle of convenience or a blight on the urban landscape. One thing is certain – they…
More than a Rubber Stamp: a Guide to Green Building Certification Programs
Most, if not all, of our clients come to us looking for a strong ethic of sustainability to underpin their project, so dealing with green certifications is often of interest. Some of them are far more relavant to our clients than others. Here is a rundown of some of the important green certifications you…
50 Years On, the Wilderness Act Should Remind us that We Need to Value All Nature
Did you “get away” this weekend? Labor day weekend is traditionally celebrated outside – whether it be grilling in the back yard, picnicking in a city park, heading for a lakefront cabin in one of our neighbor states or aiming for a little slice of America’s wilderness preserved in our state and national parks and…