4227 S. St. Lawrence

Location
4227 S. St. Lawrence, Chicago Map

Owner
Om Development, LLC

Architect
Echo Studio

4227 S. St. Lawrence is a just-completed home from a new entry on Chicago's green development scene, Om Development. The project is a gut rehab of an 1890's Bronzeville multifamily back into a single-family home. There's not a lot of green bling here, just solid energy-efficiency (exceeding Energy Star requirements by 90%), leading the project to pursue a Chicago Green Homes three-star certification. The home will also be featured in an upcoming USGBC trolley tour.

The advanced building envelope begins with the increasingly popular gut rehab practice of installing new studs 2" off the existing masonry walls, then filling the entire wall cavity with spray foam insulation. It's completed with well-insulated windows and doors and high-efficiency mechanical equipment. Rounding out the mechanicals is the most 'blingy' feature - and a good selling point - radiant heat (which provides comfort far superior to forced air heat).

Other, non-energy related features include doors and floors from sustainably harvested wood, a rain garden, and low-VOC materials. This project isn't going to scream 'green' to an uneducated homebuyer, which helps to demonstrate that a solidly green home can look the same as any other. The project team appears to have collaborated unusually closely for a small project such as this - other team members include general contractor Virtus Fidus Probo, systems and energy consultant EcoSmart Building, and home energy rater Kouba-Cavallo Associates.