Firm Description
Patricia K. VanderBeke received her Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan in 1985, studied at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and received her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Michigan in 1987. As Principal and founder of P.K. VanderBeke, Architect, Ms. VanderBeke has supervised the design and construction of renovation work on a variety of historic landmark structures in the City of Chicago and surrounding areas. Significant projects include the Ferguson Residence in Chicago’s Hutchinson Street Historic District, the Hill House in Wilmette, Illinois and the Moncton Residence, an award-winning project in Hinsdale, Illinois. Current projects include adaptive re-use of an early 20th century industrial building in Chicago and renovation of an historic home in Amagansett, New York. Ms. VanderBeke was Project Architect with the Chicago firm of Decker and Kemp Architecture and Urban Design (now DLK Architecture) prior to founding P.K. VanderBeke, Architect.Ms. VanderBeke has written on historic preservation and contemporary architecture for Inland Architect magazine. Her ability to synthesize information while maintaining a distinct voice has led to numerous citations of her work in a variety of publications including the Boyer/Mitgang report on architectural education. She has participated on design juries for several architecture schools and has served as an informal mentor to two young women, one each from the University of Miami at Ohio and the University of Michigan, as they move through their architectural education and into the professional world. Always interested in continuing her own education, she has taken classes in the “Environmental Science and Public Policy” program at the University of Chicago and in the summer executive program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design Ms. VanderBeke’s architectural design, research, and photographic work has received several awards. In 2007, AIArchitect, AIA National’s on-line publication featured her project “Islands and their Streams” an entry in the 2004 Graham Foundation Lakefront competition.
With a research partner, stained glass artist Larry Zgoda, she was the recipient of a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Arts in 2000; the resulting digital archive of the works of artist Edgar Miller is housed in the Ryerson Library at the Art Institute of Chicago. Also in 2000, Ms. VanderBeke was one of 10 finalists in the Burnham Prize competition offered by the Chicago Architecture Club where her unique installation addressing water and natural systems was awarded a special honorable mention. The installation remained on exhibit for over 6 months following the competition at a succession of exhibition spaces in Chicago.
One of twenty-three architects in the United States chosen by AIA National to participate in its Inaugural Leadership Institute, Ms. VanderBeke is deeply interested in the role of the architect as community leader. She has volunteered in many community organizations, as an election judge for the City of Chicago and in other roles for the Glessner House Museum, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and on the Task Force charged with creating a neighborhood plan for the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR). She is president of the board of directors of the Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation and serves on the boards of the New Millennium Orchestra and The Laboratory for Enthusiastic Collaboration. Ms. VanderBeke is an active member of the American Institute of Architects most recently serving s secretary of the Chicago chapter board of directors and is a licensed architect in the State of Illinois.
