1610 Honore: Chicago's Green Retrofit

Chicago, Illinois

Architect: Gerhard Zinserling Architects

Windows: 925 Series

Construction Type: Energy Efficient Retrofit

Design Standard: LEED Platinum

Objective: The well recognized retrofit of 1610 North Honore Street in Chicago was driven by self-taught green developer and building owner, Tom McGrath. Tom’s mission for the retrofit of the 1890 building in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood was to resuse as much of the existing structure and materials as possible and achieve USGBC LEED Platinum certification. Where new materials were needed, Tom chose extremely energy-efficient materials, including the high R-value SeriousWindows 925 fiberglass series.

Serious Solution: The 925 Series now super-insulate the building’s relatively large total window-to-floor area; they look beautiful as well.

In all, 35 SeriousWindow replacements went in at 1610 N Honore. The windows contain 2 panes of glass, a suspended film, and krypton gas. Tom states that he liked the fiberglass framing material for its lower thermal-bridging characteristics over vinyl, wood or aluminum. He also appreciates that it "doesn’t have the carbon footprint of vinyl (an oil based product) or wood."

Learn about 1610 Honore's participation in the Green Build 2010 tour program on our blog. 

Click any of the images below to expand gallery.

See more SeriousWindows photos of this project on Flickr.