Project Description
The Yao Residence is an existing wood frame single family residence. Architects were hired to redefine the house in its entirety. This house is 30 feet from a CTA brown, red, and purple line train platform. With over 4 million passengers using this stop each year, a focus on sound, view, and natural light was required. The new standing seam metal panel west wall is filled with an open-cell spray foam insulation, dramatically buffering sound from the train. Window fenestration has been reduced to a single 6’x6’ deep set window. Skylights in the existing roof profile provide natural light and ventilation. A ‘slice’ in the existing roof gives lateral stability to a structurally weak existing wood frame and hides mechanical rooftop equipment from sight. A fully integrated scupper system was designed on the west roof pitch to produce a seamless wall to roof reading of the metal panel siding. The scupper has a thermostatically controlled heat-coil to monitor the potential ice built up in Chicago’s harsh winter. The sunken courtyard alters the reading of view to and from the train platform while providing private social space for the future slated pedestrian wall connection Fletcher and Belmont Avenue.