Aggregate Studio

09/24/2026

09/24/2026

We’re delighted to announce that our entry, A New Chicago Common, took third place in CNU Chicago’s inaugural single stair design competition! For more info and a closer look see below and our website (link below).

Brick and Three Flats – the housing Chicago Handshake. Both brick and three flats are integral to the Chicago experience, but what if they get reimagined in the context of single-stair housing? A NEW Chicago Common is born. Our building is literally a pile of bricks, with different unit sizes represented by differing brick shapes. Combining multiple three-flat massings around a central stair core allows flexibility in unit sizes, multi-aspect units for natural light and ventilation through Chicago vernacular courts, and a continuum of housing from starter studios and one-bedrooms to family 3- and 4-bedroom duplex units. Sited in Garfield Park adjacent to the Green Line, our proposal takes advantage of TOD and RM-5 zoning allowances but can be deployed city-wide due to the design’s deep connection to the city through material, massing, detail, and reverence for Chicago’s housing history—a true Chicago Housing handshake.  
https://aggregate-studio.com/a-new-chicago-common-single-stair-housing/

08/31/2026

How do we approach each project? We create dignified architecture through a lens of five specific values.

Purpose-Driven Impact
We exist to design architecture that uplitts people and places - especially in contexts of housing equity, community resilience, and civic benefit.

Collaborative Process
We do not deploy a top-down aesthetic - we aggregate ideas, perspectives, and community voices into a unified design. We are a design partner.

Dignified Design for All
Contextual and human-centered design that responds to context - historical, social, environmental - and enhances people’s lived experience, translating architecture expertise into real-world benefit.

Technical Credibility and Expertise
We combine deep technical capability with empathy - we’re experienced in zoning, feasibility, and full-service architectural delivery so that our clients can be confident in our ex*****on.

Client Experience & Results with Optimism and Forward-Looking Innovation
We serve as a design partner, looking with an aspirational lens on architectural possibilities that don’t deny constraints but seek positive transformation.

08/27/2026

Great to see photos from our client enjoying their new outdoor kitchen! This bespoke kitchen includes a custom Nanawall design and canopy enclosing the kitchen with grills, pizza oven, and prep space. We love how it turned out!
Photos by client (professional ones coming soon)
GC: FCI Construction

08/19/2026

We love seeing the progress at our new front porch project in Lakeview. We removed an existing concrete stair and awning from the 70s, created a wider entry stair/landing, and designed a canopy inspired by surrounding Chicago vernacular for this early 1900s Greystone. Looking forward to seeing this one complete in a few weeks!
GC (and photos): Garrison Remodeling LLC

07/28/2026

Progress is underway on our coach house affordable condos with Here to Stay Community Land Trust! Built in 1909, the masonry coach house is being rearranged to create two duplex 3-bedroom, 2-bath units in Humboldt Park.

While we’re making a large change to the interior, we’re respecting the historic details. Trim and doors were salvaged where possible for reuse, and we’ve incorporated the historic built-ins to the design. We’re digging down to create height for bedrooms on the lower level, allowing the existing building’s large windows to provide ample natural light to the living spaces.

A true good bones building, we can’t wait to see this one finished and for HTS’s clients to enjoy their new homes! For more info: https://aggregate-studio.com/community-land-trust-coach-house/
GC: Chicago Metropolitan Construction

07/21/2026

Is Sketchy Tuesday a thing? We might need to workshop the name, but we always put pen to paper (or Apple Pencil to iPad) when thinking through parts of our projects. Here’s a collection of recent sketches at different scales!

07/16/2026

Did you receive our newsletter yesterday? We had a great second quarter as we started our fourth year in business, with several projects under construction, including a coach house and a multigenerational two-flat with our partners at Here to Stay CLT.

We’ve also started working on site visioning for Evanston’s Fifth Ward, partnering with Architecture for Public Benefit for workshops starting next month. We’re also rethinking missing middle housing - using the lessons learned from our Flex Flat to create a design potentially deployable across the city.

We also welcome Kat back for her second summer, and she’s hit the ground running. Katia has been busy co-chairing Architects in Schools and is getting ready to celebrate two years with us. It’s not that long ago that Aggregate was just getting started. All of this and much more in our newsletter - click the link below!

http://eepurl.com/4sPK86jBI9

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07/11/2026

Earlier this week, we had a site visit for a new project - another multigenerational two-flat renovation with Here to Stay Community Land Trust! Unlike our renovation in Avondale, where we’re expanding into the attic to create a family-sized unit, the building’s two current units will be combined into a four-bed, two-bath unit with plenty of space. The basement level, through a combination of raising the first-floor framing and digging out, will become a two-bedroom, one-bathroom aging-in-place unit.

We’re looking forward to really getting into the design of this one; it has great bones for a 1906 frame building!