LATENT DESIGN

LATENT DESIGN Latent was founded to explore the influence of architecture as small or large as the context allows.

Chicago CommonPerched above a rambunctious intersection of Bucktown is Reading Room. Throughout the , this room showcas...
03/17/2026

Chicago Common
Perched above a rambunctious intersection of Bucktown is Reading Room. Throughout the , this room showcased a series of recently completed and newly commissioned projects for this exhibition by Chicago-based practices that envision a shared present and future featuring large-scale drawings, collages, and conceptual models.

Our installation represented the outcome of a targeted ten-session engagement plan invited input from students at eight local elementary, middle, and high schools, along with members of six Boys and Girls Clubs. Community workshops, focus groups, and interactive charrettes ensured the design directly reflects neighborhood aspirations.. This collage represents our firm’s process from community workshops to design, through construction and use, tracking its success as students build ambitious plans for their lives.

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Eat Your VeggiesForty Acres Fresh Market is more than a grocery store, it delivers on a promise of restoring produce acc...
02/01/2026

Eat Your Veggies

Forty Acres Fresh Market is more than a grocery store, it delivers on a promise of restoring produce access in the Austin neighborhood and shows the potential of building reuse. Two vacant buildings were reconfigured to accomodate the needs of a 12,000sf grocery store and a bank, unified behind an angled box metal skin in bright brand colors. The interior of the store hints at the 100 year old history of the bow truss building as customers wrap around the space in a sequence of produce, meat, dairy, and dry goods. Store and site operations were complimented with a new streetscape design that constructed wider sidewalks, bike lanes, new landscaping, and lighting to frame the block. The attention to design detail is mirrored in the attention to customer service from the owner Liz Abunaw and the team behind Forty Acres. “Good grocery stores are not just transactional, you're creating an environment that makes people feel supported...”

Client:
Latent Team: + Tyler
Consultants: Rockey Structures, Engage Civil, CCJM, Retail Planit, Storemasters
Contractor: .inc
Photography: .wazny

Up In The AirBack in 2016, we received a call from our UVA peers Jeana Ripple + Barbara Brown Wilson with the exciting n...
01/17/2026

Up In The Air
Back in 2016, we received a call from our UVA peers Jeana Ripple + Barbara Brown Wilson with the exciting news that they won a Bloomberg Philanthropies competition for an artistic intervention with for . Supporting good design doesn't mean we always have to be the author of it. Working on Arthouse Gary, we learned how we can push ourselves and the firm to understand design through new roles as local AOR, PM, direct fabrication, and maybe an OSHA violation. Our team at the time of + fabricated this installation by hand as one of the first tenants of studio, which we also designed.

We then spent two weeks in Gary installing Light Lab's 2,000 dichoric lined plexiglass tubes one by one on scissor lifts 30' in the air, with semi trucks zooming by and the occassional bee attack because the dichroic film colors in the sun reminded them of flowers. I slept on the basement sofa of . We met the always cool and even , who I learned valuable lessons on how to politely get people to get sh** done on a deadline. And then we danced in the cold on the opening day in November and momentarily were able to forget about recent 2016 elections and focus on the community that was being built.

Building Better Together“Lasting prosperity within our communities begins with revitalization efforts that center equity...
01/12/2026

Building Better Together
“Lasting prosperity within our communities begins with revitalization efforts that center equity and community-driven development," stated at the annoucement of $33 Million in grant awards through . We are humbled to be a part of two projects selected.

Carehaus Chicago led by and
$5 million for a $12.7 million project providing intergenerational housing and integrated social care in South Shore.

Chicago Community Justice Foundation in partnership w/
$2.3 million to create an $8.5 million center for agencies providing legal, mental health, educational and workforce development services in Humbolt Park.

“Through this investment, the City is doubling down on its role as a partner." Stated Mayor Johnson. So are we. Onward and upward, together.

Alumni RelationsOur firm has deep connections to with nearly half of the current and former staff as graduates of their...
01/02/2026

Alumni Relations
Our firm has deep connections to with nearly half of the current and former staff as graduates of their unique BArch program. Working with decades of alumni, current Delts, and campus planning, we developed a comprehensive existing conditions report of the aging 1960s modernist building to inform a multi-tier renovation and fundraising strategy for the 125th anniversary of the chapter.

Client: @ @
Team:

Under ConstructionChicago has a small selection of "nonconforming" lots which are a design and zoning challenge. This Pi...
12/31/2025

Under Construction
Chicago has a small selection of "nonconforming" lots which are a design and zoning challenge. This Pilsen lot has no alley, a negative lot grade, and two neighbors encroaching on the lot line. This two unit protoype, a continuation of our Architecture Center and Missing Middle competition design entry, features a duplex up owners unit and rental garden unit. Clad in a metallic burgundy standing seam siding, the building reflects the profile of the two unit workers cottage it replaces and carves away niche outdoor spaces for both units.

Client / GC: Eagle Capital Development
Team:

Liberated SpacesQuilombo leans into the abolitionist belief that everyone deserves care first. After acquiring a South S...
12/30/2025

Liberated Spaces
Quilombo leans into the abolitionist belief that everyone deserves care first. After acquiring a South Shore 10 unit building, is creating a space that aims to restore and center the collective physical needs of Black young adults, Black women, and Black GNC folx on Chicago’s South Side. One of the inagural receipients of the Wealth Our Way (WOW) Grant, the first phase of redevelopment will be completed in 2026 and will be anchored with the Quilombo offices, popup market, and 4 renovated units.

Client:
Team:

Good DoggosThe team from had a vision to turn a 500sf former beauty shop in West Loop into a the first self serve dog w...
12/24/2025

Good Doggos
The team from had a vision to turn a 500sf former beauty shop in West Loop into a the first self serve dog wash in Chicago. The inviting spa experience for your best fur friend was critical to the design as were the logistics of cleanable surfaces, easy operations, and plenty of room to have multiple dogs in a small space. Working with small businesses on a budget is a opportunity we embrace as a firm and learn new ways to be creative and nimble. Swipe to see the process from sketch to render to pile of concrete from the plumbing work.

Client:
GC: Urzua Remodeling
Team:
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Rowhouse ReuseLathrop Homes is a 34 acre historic affordable housing site bordered by the Chicago River, Diversey, Clybo...
12/24/2025

Rowhouse Reuse
Lathrop Homes is a 34 acre historic affordable housing site bordered by the Chicago River, Diversey, Clybourn, and Damen streets. To honor the legacy of the original homes, many of Lathrop's existing structures will be historically preserved and restored. It was a joy working with to carve away a small community space from the former rowhouse block C. We wrestled with the existing building constraints to jigsaw an event space, commercial kitchen, business center, two bathrooms, and hid all the mechanical in one well planned soffit in under 1,300sf.

Client: led by
GC:
Eng:
Team:
Featuring: wallcoverings
📷:

Restoring FreedomReturning citizens face incredible challenges to maintaining a new path. Our work with transformed a 1...
12/23/2025

Restoring Freedom
Returning citizens face incredible challenges to maintaining a new path. Our work with transformed a 1,200sf former furniture store in Roseland into the first of its kind dedicated community-based law office for the organization. The goal of Freedom Defense Center of Roseland (FDCR) is not only to defend clients in court but to address the root causes of harm; housing instability, trauma, and unemployment, through collaboration with a dedicated team from trauma specialiss, arts coordinator, community navigators, and public defenders. The FDCR model aligns with national efforts to reimagine public defense as not only legal, but community-centered and healing-driven.

Design As ActivismLast fall and participated in curated summit, Design As Activism. Their panel wove stories of conte...
08/22/2025

Design As Activism
Last fall and participated in curated summit, Design As Activism. Their panel wove stories of contemporary preservation efforts that center community narratives and hyper local history from the former Thompson Center to Environmental Food Justice. This gorgeous new book captures the conversations across multiple panels from that day.

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