In Chicago ’s Logan Square neighborhood, local practice Range Architecture & Design has created a new showroom for Nothing Design Co., a boutique furniture studio. Working with an existing 1-story brick building, the architects added a double-height second floor and implemented a screen of terra-cotta pavers in front of the building to shade large window openings. The expansion also relied heavily on the use of reclaimed Chicago common brick, which was used to construct new bearing walls for the additional floors.

Nothing Design Co. sought an expanded space to contain the company’s growing itinerary of services, which include custom furniture fabrication, upholstery, and interior design.

The architects placed the furniture showroom on the second floor, where there are large ceiling heights. As visitors enter the building, they are immediately guided to the second level by staircase next to the entrance. The remainder of the first floor is occupied by a storage space enclosed with white oak panels, while the team’s workshop, where they prototype upholstery and furniture, was relegated to the back of the building.

Range Design & Architecture specified pavers instead of contemporary brick modules for the screen in front of the building to match the dimensions of the building’s original common brick. There is a lot of variation in brick sizing, the architects opted for module roughly 4 inches by 8 inches, Casimir Kujawa, shared with AN , noting that bricks measuring 3 inches by 7 inches are more common.

For the arrangement of the screen, the architects considered a number of different patterns, testing how different assemblies would produce varying levels of perforation and natural light. The chosen pattern alternates between standard masonry courses and vertically oriented brick spacers, allowing light to filter through the screen.

“We cut about 100 little bricks out of pink foam and just played around with different ways to stack everything up,” added Kujawa. “Eventually we made a gif of how everything was stacked up, and provided this to the mason, so they were clear on what we were expecting them to do.”

Through the use of Chicago common brick, the building’s new back patio and extended perimeter walls appear as if they were original to the site. Once dismissed for its uneven coloration, the common brick has witnessed a resurgence in popularity in recent years, owing to the material’s ubiquity across Chicago, as well as the sustainability benefits of using reclaimed brick. A number of recent projects within the city have used common brick, including John Ronan Architects ’s Chicago Park District Headquarters and Brooks + Scarpa ’s Lipton Thayer Brick House in Evanston, Illinois. More are certain to follow.

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