100 years of history meets modern sustainability….
The recent office restoration by Elements Architectural Group is a testament to how energy efficiency is possible in an old envelope.
The Starting Point:
An abandoned storefront.
A Climate-Ready Plan:
In August 2022, the village of Oak Park, Illinois adopted a climate-ready plan. The plan encompasses areas such as transportation, extreme weather resiliency, and energy use in buildings. This is one of the most aggressive climate-ready plans in the nation. The plan created an interesting challenge: how to restore a historic building while incorporating modern energy-efficient materials?
Energy-Efficient Solutions:
Everything was accounted for. Solar panels on the roof, skylights for natural lighting, heat pumps, and an intricately designed passive solar wall.
The Fenestration Solution:
Weather Shield has extensive custom capabilities with energy-efficient options, making them the perfect partner for this endeavor.
– In the front of the office; triple-pane, 12 ft tall direct-set units enclose the space, similar to the original storefront windows.
– The original prism transoms were taken apart, cleaned of debris, and rewelded together. To make these comply to the climate-ready plan, Weather Shield shipped glass and frame separately. This allowed installers to field-glaze, creating a triple pane, energy efficient, prism transom.
– The back of the office was renovated and now features customized bi-folding doors to create a passive solar wall. The custom glass allows for solar heat to pass through during the winter months. To avoid excessive heat in the summer, Bill strategically designed the canopy to the sun’s path.
Other Upgrades:
– Architectural terracotta was restored and masonry was tuckpointed.
– Every storefront unit received new rear doors and storefront windows from Weather Shield.
– The second floor units received new windows with frames matching surrounding terracotta, also supplied by Weather Shield.
– Skylights vents were reopened throughout the office to provide natural light.
The Result:
The goal was to build a net-zero office in a 100 year old storefront. The new office now meets Oak Park’s climate ready plan and is actually net-positive!
LOCATION: 407 South Blvd, Oak Park, IL 60302
ARCHITECT: Elements Architectural Group
PRODUCT(S): Weather Shield
Categories: Windows & Doors: Bifolding, Commercial + Municipal, Historic Preservation + Adaptive Reuse, Windows & Doors
