Design Evanston Honors E2 Multifamily Project
Design Evanston has recognized Fifield Cos. and Carroll Properties as a 2015 award winner in the category of Significant Contribution in New Construction.
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
Evanston, Ill.—Design Evanston, a nonprofit design advocacy group, has recognized Fifield Cos. and Carroll Properties (as the developers), along with architect FitzGerald Associates and general contractor McHugh Construction, as a 2015 award winner in the category of Significant Contribution in New Construction. The companies were honored for their work on E2, a 356-unit apartment project in downtown Evanston, a close-in northern suburb of Chicago. The property opened this spring.
Designed to LEED Silver standards, E2 consists of two buildings, a 16-story tower at 1881 Oak Ave. and a 14-story tower at 1890 Maple Ave. The buildings are connected by a four-story structure with three floors of parking and an amenity deck. At the base of E2 is 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. In addition to its tower residences, E2 also has 12 rental townhomes with private entrances along Emerson St.
E2 apartment tower residences range from 500 square feet to 1,400 square feet and offer studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts. The 12 rental townhomes range from 1,750 square feet to 1,875 square feet and feature three bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a third-floor deck. The townhomes also have full access to building amenities at E2.
“This building enlivens the streetscape and illuminates this important gateway to downtown Evanston,” said members of the Design Evanston jury in awarding the honor. “Townhouses at street level are a key element in creating a livable and residential street as opposed to a ‘building-as-wall.’ ”
The jury selects the Significant Contribution award recipients based on “design projects that help to make Evanston a better place through attentive design, thoughtful planning or encouragement of certain practices that are beneficial to Evanston,” the organization explained. The group is comprised of architects, urban designers, planners, landscape architects, and graphic and interior designers, and seeks to encourage good design in Evanston.
