LATENT DESIGN

Growing the Field
The Illinois American Society of Landscape Architects Awards recognize landscape architects by honoring their innovative ideas, visions, and impact through their projects. These awards not only recognize landscape architects at every stage of their careers, but emphasize their importance of restoring habitats to to strengthen underserved communities through landscape design and planning.

Our landscape team Tony + Caitlin joined attendees for a cocktail hour with a skyline view from the rooftop of Lacuna Lofts before Katherine Darnstadt delivered the keynote speech, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and restoring access to natural environments. Katherine announced award winners, and a few adlibs, for projects of several categories, including a public recognition award for Chicago Park District Superintendent Carlos Ramirez-Rosa Chicago Park District Carlos Ramirez-Rosa for his continued advocacy of community driven public spaces and leadership. Congratulations and see you next year at American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)!

📷 Nicolas Anderson Darren Joshua Photography Illinois American Society of Landscape Architects

Growing the Field
The Awards recognize landscape architects by honoring their innovative ideas, visions, and impact through their projects. These awards not only recognize landscape architects at every stage of their careers, but emphasize their importance of restoring habitats to to strengthen underserved communities through landscape design and planning.

Our landscape team + Caitlin joined attendees for a cocktail hour with a skyline view from the rooftop of Lacuna Lofts before delivered the keynote speech, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and restoring access to natural environments. Katherine announced award winners, and a few adlibs, for projects of several categories, including a public recognition award for Chicago Park District Superintendent Carlos Ramirez-Rosa for his continued advocacy of community driven public spaces and leadership. Congratulations and see you next year at !

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Granted!
Small businesses are the backbone of the economy. We hear that sentiment often at ribbon cuttings, events, and political platitudes. But who helps the small businesses that help the small businesses?

We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a $100,000 Catalyst Grant by the Bureau of Economic Development (BED) alongside 91 other businesses! The Catalyst Grant is an initiative designed to support businesses by accelerating growth and operations, empowering communities, and strengthening the local economy long-term. With Cook County investing into Latent, we are able to further invest in our team, expand staff, apply the funds timely to our new office move, upgrade tech, and learn from our peers at the many industry-driven networking events provided by .

Looped
We loved our time in our historic building on Michigan Avenue. We could spy on Lollapalooza attendees or stroll through Grant Park during lunch. We will miss the trees’ colors changing with the textured waves of Lake Michigan and the unexpected storms that would gathered us around the vast windows for Midwestern weather banter. It’s always a little tough to say goodbye, but we’ve got a pretty sweet hello in West Loop waiting for us.

Come visit! 328 S. Jefferson St. Suite 1030

Austin United
Celebrating the opening of the Austin United represents a significant stepping stone as the first INVEST South/West site awarded and reviewed by the Committee on Design from the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. The six story development brings 78 rental units overlooking a public courtyard spanning from the future restored Laramie State Bank building across Chicago Avenue. The building provides contemporary amenities and community spaces wrapped in a design that amplifies Austin through art and architecture of the Soul City Corridor. Swipe through a bit of the five year project history celebrating the expansive team from construction milestones, groundbreaking, and early sketches.

Project Team: -development

Public Space Systems
Volunteering with the people and organization that would become and was a critical moment in understanding how far design collaborations can go in shifting systems. The ACTIVATE! Design Competition was founded to highlight the ways design could be a catalyst for creating meaningful and joyful spacces that facilitated community engagement and growth. The competition brief challenged designers to rethink vacant spaces with a temporary, one-year installation on a $1,000 budget. Impossible, but these simple provocations of plywood, paint, and plants often became permanent public spaces, new funding for neighborhood improvements, citywide placemaking policies, toolkits, grants, biennial themes, and future possibilities to be discovered even a decade later.

Winners included:
2010 - cut.join.play by mas studio at 26th and Trumball
2011 - Grow-Quet by Mark Jirik and Sean McKay at Dyett High School
2012 - PlayFarm by designlabworkshop at Legends South
2013 - Game On! by Meghan Funk and Kevin Pazik at 62nd and Ingleside
2014 - Re:Actuate by Rahmin Statik at 18th and Paulina

Sweet Sixteen
We are taking the time to celebrate our work and revisit key projects each year through the firm's sixteen year history. One of our first projects in 2010 was for Chicago Youth Centers Rebecca K Crown Youth Center entry renovation in partnership with Designs for Dignity. This project needed to stretch a two-week construction window and $20,000 construction budget through donated materials, volunteer workdays, and hustle.

In addition to new ADA entry doors and closers which was the majority of the allocated budget, the design created more seating for families and children, improved lines of site and traffic flows, revealed a gorgeous mosaic, and provided custom surrounds for the fish tank and trophy case. These last three items exist at every Chicago Youth Center location and needed space to highlight their importance and unique part of the organizations mission. This project framed what is possible within social justice architecture work and the impact of even the smallest design interventions.

Reclaimed wood from felled Chicago trees fabricated by Icon Modern | Custom Furniture
Fabric for benches donated by Designtex
Wall coverings donated by Maya Romanoff
Lighting donated by Philips Lighting
Office furniture donated by Steelcase coalesse Interface
Entry doors by R & R Glass and Windows, Inc.
And the first time we met the amazing Jean of MOTH ARCHITECTS

Fuzzy before and during pics by Katherine Darnstadt with an iphone that literally looked like 📱. Yes, it was that dark on the interior.

Sweet Sixteen
We are taking the time to celebrate our work and revisit key projects each year through the firm's sixteen year history. One of our first projects in 2010 was for Rebecca K Crown Youth Center entry renovation in partnership with . This project needed to stretch a two-week construction window and $20,000 construction budget through donated materials, volunteer workdays, and hustle.

In addition to new ADA entry doors and closers which was the majority of the allocated budget, the design created more seating for families and children, improved lines of site and traffic flows, revealed a gorgeous mosaic, and provided custom surrounds for the fish tank and trophy case. These last three items exist at every Chicago Youth Center location and needed space to highlight their importance and unique part of the organizations mission. This project framed what is possible within social justice architecture work and the impact of even the smallest design interventions.

Reclaimed wood from felled Chicago trees fabricated by
Fabric for benches donated by
Wall coverings donated by
Lighting donated by
Office furniture donated by
Entry doors by R & R Glass and Windows, Inc.
And the first time we met the amazing Jean of

Fuzzy before and during pics by with an iphone that literally looked like 📱. Yes, it was that dark on the interior.

Six Pack
Lucie Rigaldiès has excelled as a designer over the past year at Latent and we are celebrating her passing all six AREs over a two week sprint to become a licensed architect! With versatility as one of her several strengths, she understands architecture as an exceptional intersection of art, science, and engineering. Always ready to measure a vacant building, she reveals design possibilities in our adaptive reuse projects with precision.

According to NCARB, in 2024 only 27% of new architects identified as women, but they represented half of all students and early professionals. We know the gap increases as women move through the profession and leadership. As a licensed architect and firm owner by 28, our Founder Katherine (Katherine Darnstadt) believes in moving the metrics and has made licensure and professional development support a priority. Each employee has a $500 yearly development stipend, 2 PTO days for conferences, and all passed ARE exam fees are paid for. Is your firm doing the same?

Halfway There
Burnout is very real and since 2020, we close the office and sign off for a week-long summer reprieve to take a breath and regroup from the first half of the year. It can be easy getting caught in the nonstop project cycle, but this break serves to disrupt out typical work schedules and fill them with adventurous hikes, out-of-state visits, cramming for the AREs, and get some sand in our toes. Part of loving the work we do entails embracing that balance between our professional and personal lives, and what it means to fill both cups.


📷from some of the team:
𝔻𝔸𝕄𝕃𝔸 hiking in Colorado
Tony site seeing in Juarez and Alamo Gordo
Emily Việt Lan Dương two stepping in Nashville
Lucie Rigaldiès studying for all the AREs (lessgo!!!)
gia popcorning at Movies in the Park
Nicolas Anderson grounding in Florida
Katherine Darnstadt floating away in Wisconsin

Tell your boss your want a summer break instead of summer hours!