Lakeside Bank, 1055 W. Roosevelt

Lakeside Bank
26,000 s.f. Commercial
2 Stories
Chicago, Illinois

The closely supervised renovation process for the award-winning Illinois Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped insured all changes were carefully measured to sympathize with the building’s primary forms and emphasize its essential character, while meeting the needs of its new commercial occupant. The exterior was repainted neutral white with blue accents, befitting its new use and matching the bank’s brand colors. Interior day-lighting requirements exceeded what the original fenestration patterns could provide. The east wall’s metal panels were replaced by a glass curtain wall, matching their dimensions and rhythm exactly- an intervention that allowed the signature wave-form window facing South Blue Island Blvd. to be retained. The design of the drive-up canopy was derived from “found” design attributes of the existing structure, in which curved forms and circles are a dominant theme. The canopy is supported on center columns and does not touch the main building, respecting the purity of its envelope.