A Change in the Wind (continued)
Photo: Nathan Kirkman
The Mauceris found their new home by trawling the streets of Chicago, settling almost immediately on the Wis Tavern, a two-story turn-of-the-century structure built lot line to lot line on a 24-by-80-foot corner parcel. "We had some general ideas about what we wanted to do, but nothing specific until we picked our architects," says Frank. "We walked by their office, which was a storefront, and liked the work we saw, then drove by some of their projects. We thought they'd be a good fit," he continues. "They were walk-ins," says Wilkinson, laughing.
Despite the casual coupling, it was a consummate match. "Our main priorities were to use as much recycled material as possible and to generate and conserve as much power on our own as we could," says Frank. "The more we would suggest, the more engaged the Mauceris became with doing a complete project and recycling whatever they could," says Wilkinson. Soon a moderate rehab evolved into a green gut job. But since green construction can cost more, "we made a point to do things that would let us recoup our costs in the long run," Frank explains.
To that end, the building was redesigned and fenestrated with big new low-E windows and two skylights to flood its interiors with natural light, and the power-generating photovoltaic solar panels and wind turbines were complemented with a power-saving geothermal system (see What the Pros Know, next page), energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and new airtight soy-based foam-and-cellulose insulation.
Today, the tavern has four levels, each 1,900 square feet: a basement for storage and spare offices, a first-floor business headquarters, a second-floor living space and a green roof. The last is a multi-tasking design marvel that packs in three distinct zones—a bi-level recreation deck; an energy-generating "trellis" of 30 photovoltaic panels topped with wind turbines; and a structurecooling, sumptuously planted garden that swoops up three feet at the back of the building to accommodate the clerestory windows and higher ceiling of the master suite directly below it.
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