The Balanced Kitchen

Location
6263 N. McCormick, Chicago Map

Owner
G-Free-V LLC

Architect
Alper & Alper Architects

The Balanced Kitchen is the retail location of G-Free-V, a new wholesale and retail foods company specializing in vegan & gluten free products. This first outlet is a renovation of an existing restaurant to include a restaurant, bakery, and retail store and is seeking LEED for Commercial Interiors certification. As a small tenant improvement, many of the green ideas come through in the materials, which represent much of the construction work.

Perhaps the most obvious material are the recycled-content resin panels used as a major design feature. Less obvious is that over 90% of the existing walls were reused by this new tenant - an easy way to save money, but also minimizing materials. Many of the light fixtures are reused from other spaces, as is much of the kitchen equipment (common practice in this industry).

On the energy front, the store has an efficient lighting design (15% below ASHRAE 90.1-2004), which is unusual in a retail space where display of the product is often valued at any cost. 100% of the store's electricity will be purchased from renewable sources for the first two years of operation. Finally, in a nod to an engineer's heart, the front entrance includes a vestibule to reduce loss of conditioned error. Although seemingly minor, vestibules can significantly impact both energy use and comfort (who wants to set near a draft door?), but are often excluded in small spaces where floor area is at a premium.

A portion of the store will soon be open while construction on the restaurant is completed, so Chicago-area celiac sufferers can look forward to stopping in. Other project team members include design and environmental consultant 2pointPerspective and general contractor Homestead Inc.

Comments

[Joshua B. Alper]

The restaurant is now open.