The fantastic Libby Lowe has written a very interesting article for the Chicago Tribune about the buzz surrounding prefab housing in Chicago.
The article features LivingRoom clients Kathy & Michael and their architect Jeffrey Sommers from Square Root Architecture + Design who plan to build the first energy-efficient, sustainably designed and affordable prefab home in the city of Chicago.
It’s called the C3 and soon you might be able to order your very own!
The team plans to begin construction this summer and we can’t wait to report on it’s progress!
Our current show, Ian Mclaughlin’s “Synesthesia for the Times”, was reviewed in Chicago Art Magazine by Claire Haasl!
“Synesthesia for the Times” closes on June 19th.
Please give us a call at 312.226.3020 or email to make an appointment to stop by.
The Neighborhood Parents Network of Chicago (NPN) is the largest organized parent resource network in the city of Chicago. As the trusted source for parent-to-parent interaction, support and guidance for nearly 30 years, NPN has helped strong families build strong communities!
And for you parents out there…keep an eye out for the annual Fall NPN Preschool and Elementary School Fair and School Directory coming this October!
It looks like Britain’s street art prankster has made a stop in Chicago and left a little something behind. This “Untouchables” scene popped up in the West Loop near Randolph & Peoria.
And this little gem down in Pilsen.
So far these are the only two that have been confirmed by the artist’s website. Make sure you see them before Mayor Daley’s Graffiti Blasters have their way. And don’t forget, the Banksy film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is showing now.
So keep your eyes peeled. There could always be more!
Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Put simply, it involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work and play in a particular space, to discover needs and aspirations. This information is then used to create a common vision for that place. The vision can evolve quickly into an implementation strategy, beginning with small-scale, do-able improvements that can immediately bring benefits to public spaces and the people who use them.
The Chicago region is a collection of thousands of vibrant neighborhoods, parks, street corners, and community gardens. Each of these seemingly small spaces come together to form a region known for its beautiful and well-used public spaces. The Placemaking Chicago website contains a wealth of knowledge on getting started or getting involved!
We here at LivingRoom are very excited about the Polish Triangle Project just steps away!
Ag47 is a new arts mentorship program serving adolescent girls in Logan Square. During our inaugural six week session, we used visual arts, poetry, film, and theater to explore the question, “How do we share our worlds?” We will publicly display, share and sell this work at Dispatch Art Center on Monday, May 24 from 7-9PM. Appetizers and drinks – both alcoholic and non-alcoholic – will be provided. Come experience the amazing artwork of Ag47 and help amplify girls’ creative voices.
Ag47 Spring 2010 Showcase
Monday, May 24th
7-9 PM
Dispatch Art Center, 1734 W Cortland
$10 Suggested Donation
Through mentorship, Ag47 has the opportunity to support young women as they develop an understanding of themselves as creators, commentators, and community members. By publicly sharing their work with the community, we communicate to our girls the value of their voices and give the community the opportunity to see these young women as the powerful, vital forces that they are. We appreciate the community’s support in helping us build a sustainable program to foster the artistic growth of these young women.Ag47 knows that girls’ creative voices must be heard. We are an artistic mentorship collective dedicated to providing opportunities for bold creative expression. Through collaboration and one-to-one mentorship, women and girls share stories about their lives, take risks, ask questions and use arts to respond. By presenting their work to a public audience, Ag47 provides girls with the chance to be heard and their communities with the chance to listen.
Girls have something to say. Ag47 amplifies their voices.
Here is a great blog post from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Home Guide about the different choices you have for insulation that can save both the green around you and in your wallet.
Some products like Recycled Cotton or Cellulose can be done as a D.I.Y. project while others, like Spray Foam need professional installation.
And don’t forget, many insulation products qualify for the Federal Tax Credit for Consumer Energy Efficiency!
Synesthesia for the Times, Ian McLaughlin
Opens Friday May 7th, 6-9PM
Friday May 7th – Saturday June 19th, 2010
Ian McLaughlin is a Chicago-based hybrid artist whose painting and sound work explore how color, line and shape entice and stimulate the imagination.
The show,“Synesthesia for the Times,” is an affair of color and sound coming together, a call and response between the two. It plays with the idea that color and sound can enrich and bring vibrancy and wakefulness to our world. Using rhythms, layers and patterns, in both sounds and visuals, the show aims to provoke and weave the senses; to conjure a geographic landscape in the imagination of places and the spaces that can lullaby or wake us, seduce or jar us into the moment.
The show includes a sound collaboration by Tobias Kaemmerer and Ian McLaughlin.
Ian returned to Chicago three years ago after living and working at a meditation center in the rural Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado for four and half years. In 2002, he received a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute where he studied painting and film. Prior to that he studied visual art at the Chicago Academy for the Arts.
