'Grandfamily' housing fills void of vacant lot

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1471026665\/ocosfoilv6vobiqe5i2g.jpg","id":"15866"}],"caption":"Main entrance, Roseland Village Grandfamily Apartments."}],["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1471026801\/wptphahbim89xu4rgwdb.jpg","id":"15871"}],"caption":"Rear entrance to shared courtyard, Roseland Village Grandfamily Apartments."}]],"markups":[["b"],["em"],["a",["href","http:\/\/landonbonebaker.com\/","target","_new"]]],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Standing in front of a vacant,\ntrash-strewn site in the Roseland neighborhood on the far Southside of Chicago,\none of our best and most inspiring clients came to us with a wildly ambitious\nidea."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"We had been working with Debbie Dixon of NHS Redevelopment Cooperation in Roseland, an economically depressed and increasingly violent area, to\ncreate safe and affordable housing for families. But her new focus was on the\nsenior population of the neighborhood. She wanted to create a true senior campus \u2013a place where the backbone\nof this struggling area could age in place. This campus would serve as a\nshowpiece and model for the neighborhood. It would show that Roseland could\nproduce and deserved beautiful buildings and gardens, positive social\nenvironments, and forward-thinking environmental technologies."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The first piece was a\n60-unit independent living facility with a City of Chicago \u201cSenior Satellite Center\u201d in the first floor. The second piece was\n10-unit \u201cGrandfamily\u201d housing for grandparents\nraising their grandchildren. These pieces were going to complete the campus,\nwhich began with a supportive living facility that was already under\nconstruction next door."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"To start the design process\nfor the independent living facility, we visited a number of existing facilities\nwith Debbie, and we agreed that the main design push for our building was to\ncreate a place that would be as warm as home. We were all turned off by the\ninstitutional feel that had become the norm."]]],[1,"blockquote",[[0,[],0,"There is a definite\nneed for Grandfamily housing in Chicago."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"To battle the sterile,\nindestructible public spaces and hallways we visited, we chose warm finishes,\ncolors, and materials and pulled natural light in from all sides. In one\nfacility we visited the seniors had created an impromptu game room in the\nelectrical room. We quickly realized we had to produce varied and usable social\nspace throughout: a lush garden and walking path for exercise; a rooftop deck; a seating area with a fireplace and visual access to the comings and\ngoings of others; a solarium on the fifth floor with great views and\nsunshine on a cold winter day (and a pool table)."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The client also worked with the\nChicago Historical Society to put together a series of photographs documenting\nAfrican-American history and pioneers on the Southside of Chicago and in\nRoseland."]]],[1,"p",[]],[10,0],[1,"h3",[[0,[],0,"Introducing the \u0022grandfamily\u0022 type"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The \u201cGrandfamily\u201d housing type was new to us and to Chicago; we\nhad to work with the client to build a program and a set of goals and\ninspirations for the building. The apartments are large three- and four-bedroom\nunits with generous living and dining spaces. The generous, flexible public\nspace within the unit allowed for multiple family and age types \u2013homework space, play space, and relaxation\nspace. The grandparent is given a suite with a dedicated, fully accessible\nbathroom. There are generous windows from the kitchen (the social center of the\nhouse) out to the shared courtyard to allow for neighbors to keep an eye on\ntheir village. Security was a high priority in this facility because there can\nbe occasions where biological parents illegally try to reconnect with the\nchildren. We were tasked with creating a highly secure facility that still felt\nlike home."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The bulk of the L-shaped,\n5-story independent living facility was held back from Michigan Avenue and then\nstepped down toward the street to respect the scale of the existing building\nfabric. The 2-story Grandfamily building was pushed to the corner of Michigan\nand 104th to anchor the corner and create a more modestly scaled and\nclad facade for the adjacent residential street. The two buildings interlock\naround a large, shared garden space."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Roseland Senior Campus has\nbeen up and running for a while and by all accounts is a success. It has\nremained near full occupancy throughout its short life. There is a definite\nneed for Grandfamily housing in Chicago. The owner\u2019s\nonly criticism of the program is that the federal funding from the Department\nof Housing and Urban Development appears to have set the age limit too high -\n62 years old - to allow for the reality of the younger grandparents that find\nthemselves in these situations.\n\n\n\n\u0007\u0019"]]],[1,"p",[]],[10,1],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Residents have already\nbegun to move from one facility to another as their needs change. The generous\nsocial spaces are put to good, heavy use. The client had visions of true\nintergenerational interaction at the facilities \u2013allowing the young people\nin the Grandfamily building and neighborhood the resource of the senior\u2019s\nwisdom and the seniors the resource of the younger generation\u2019s\nboundless energy. This hasn\u2019t been as easy in practice\nas we had hoped, but the management and social services folks continue to try.\nOne unexpected issue is simply their varied schedules: The seniors tend to be\nsettled in for an early evening when the school-age kids are home and fed and\nready to interact."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Still, the ribbon cutting\nand subsequent visits to the campus are an absolute joy. Getting to engage with\nthe folks living in the facility and hearing their compliments and criticisms\nis a true privilege. Hearing stories from one resident who drove tour buses for\nsome of the biggest soul and blues artists of the past century was amazing. We had helped our client create the true \u201ccontinuum of care\u201d that she had hoped for. The campus gives a safe,\nhealthy home to people of varied ages, physical needs, and family structures.\nThe satellite center gave the seniors on campus and in the surrounding area a\nsafe place to socialize, eat, dance, and learn. The vacant lot is a distant\nmemory."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"About the author"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[1],0,"Jack Schroeder is a senior associate at "],[0,[2],1,"Landon Bone\nBaker Architects"],[0,[],1,". He holds bachelor of architecture and bachelor of environmental\ndesign degrees from Ball State University. With a strong commitment to\ncommunity-based projects, Jack has focused on the field of multifamily housing,\ncompleting both affordable and market rate projects in Chicago and downstate\nIllinois. His extensive knowledge of green building practices and progressive\ncity planning has helped the firm minimize its buildings\u2019environmental impact and improve the quality of\nlife for residents."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n\n\n\n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n\n\n\n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n\n\n\n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n\n\n\n"]]]]}