Vue53

Vue53 is the newest addition to the rapidly evolving skyline of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. A mixed-use development with 267 units, modern amenities, and 28,000 sf of retail space, Once the retail center of Hyde Park, 53rd Street is lined with an eclectic mix of 3- to 4-story buildings punctuated with 8- to 10-story buildings, such as the 1920s-era Hyde Park Bank Building, which reaches the same height as Vue53.

The University of Chicago and the City of Chicago partnered on a 15 year project to create a Work/Live/Play destination for both the Hyde Park neighborhood and the University community.  Neil Kittridge of Beyer Binder Belle developed the urban design vision for the 53rd street corridor that would be anchored at the east end with a hotel, office and retail center. The west end would be anchored by a mixed use residential building with significant retail space, Vue53. The 300’ wide site aligns with Nichols Park, a beautiful green space extending due south for two long city blocks to 55th Street, the north edge of the University Campus.

From the beginning of the design process, the west end of the plan drew a greater deal of attention and concern from neighborhood residents. We partnered with Kittridge to revise the existing urban design master plan to be sensitive to neighborhood concerns while still adding needed density. A series of town halls, focus groups of both neighbors and students, and one on one meetings with neighborhood stakeholders was key to the revised plan. In one exchange, a neighborhood resident stood up, speaking to the crowd, he pointed out that he could not buy a pair of socks in Hyde Park. The plan was altered to create a single 25,000 sf retail space that attracted a Target store - where you could buy a pair of socks among many other things.

In addition to studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments, Vue53 offers amenities such as a game room, an exercise room, and outdoor sun decks, including a large communal roof deck that provides sweeping views of Nichols Park and the city’s South and West Sides. 

Although open to all, Vue53 is tailored to appeal to design-savvy University of Chicago graduate students, faculty and staff, with its exposed concrete interiors and two-story collaborative study spaces. In addition, fifteen percent or 40 apartments of the units are dedicated to affordable housing reserved for Hyde Park residents as defined by the City of Chicago, reinforcing the neighborhood’s already diverse community.

Good design is made even better through integrated design, where every element is working together to create a meaningful experience.  Our Interiors Studio and our Media-Objectives Studio integrated every aspect of interiors including everything you see and touch.  This included lighting, interior surfaces, colors, experiential graphics, signage, wayfinding, brand identity, and logos.  In this process, our Interiors Studio worked with Searl Lamaster Howe Architects to select the furniture and associated fabrics and colors.  

Good design is difficult.  Vue53 achieves that difficult whole that is so elusive.