Location:  Boulder, Colorado

Program: Architecture, interior design, custom furniture, and procurement

Status: Complete

This beautiful home in Boulder, Colorado offers unobstructed views of the Rocky Mountain Foothills. The design focused on creating a soft, comfortable feel within the home that reflected our clients’ desire for a serene and intimate retreat.
Part of the design included a 30′ wide operable glass wall was installed to take advantage of the magnificent Colorado weather and enhance the breathtaking view of the Flatiron Mountain range that the home is allowed. The wall creates a seamless transition between interior and exterior and floods the interior of the living room with natural light.

Custom built-ins and furniture are featured throughout the residence. In the breakfast nook next to the kitchen, banquette seating and a large table can seat the whole family.  The centerpiece of the dining room is a live edge walnut table, designed for more formal affairs.

One of the more fun pieces designed for the home is a reading and play pod that was built into a recess under the main stairway.  Crafted from fiberglass and coated with specialty Venetian plaster, the pods were designed to be comfortable and durable enough to hold up to the punishment that the boys in the family dish out.  The cave-like interior was ergonomically designed for both kids and adults to lounge in. Filled with pillows, it’s a great place to read a book or take a nap.

The house is filled with warm, comfortable materials and personal touches.  Every surface, art piece, and furnishing was carefully considered.

There is just one place in the house to watch television and movies, but what a place it is.  The entertainment room was designed for everything from family movie night to sports event watching. We went with traditional furniture on a custom tiered platform in lieu of typical ‘home movie theater’ type seating to make the space feel homier and more comfortable.  The backside of the viewing platform features a bar with additional seating.

Like most homes, the entry that gets the most use by the family is not the formal one.  To ensure that the ‘real’ entry was as nice as the one that the guests use, we created a mudroom with custom millwork cubbies for each family member.

Location: Winnetka, Illinois

Program: Full building rehab, custom furniture, interior design, and procurement

Status: Under Construction

This 2-phase project started as a bathroom and bedroom remodel for the client’s two daughters’ rooms and moved on to a full renovation of their beautiful mid-century home in Winnetka, IL.

The vision for the project was to create a timeless and luxurious design that took advantage of what was great about the existing architecture and bring it into a more modern vernacular.  A mix of wood, steel, stone, and masonry gives the residence a clean, modern aesthetic while maintaining the warm and comfy feeling of home.  The scope of work included full reglazing of the exterior, interior architecture, interior design, and procurement.

The family room features a large communal table and built-in millwork.  The bar height table can seat up to eight and is made of custom fabricated steel and a stone top. It serves as a place for day-to-day meals and studies. The wood and metal millwork piece along the wall has ample storage and incorporates a wet bar with a hidden icemaker and beverage fridge.

The kitchen continues the clean, modern design of the rest of the residence. The material palette is warm and precise.  Almost all of the appliances are hidden in the millwork in order to accentuate the clean lines of the cabinetry.  The generous center island and second prep area along the windows are great for both larger gatherings and intimate dinner parties with friends and family that happen around the kitchen.

An owner suite has his and hers closets that lead into a secluded bathing oasis.  A steam shower, sauna, soaking tub, and cold plunge pool provide ample relaxation for the hard-working, active heads of the family.

These particular clients are very fond of art and their magnificent art collection is prominently displayed throughout the residence.  Guests are welcomed into the home with an art installation composed of architectural woodblock concrete molds that are built into a dividing wall that provides privacy from the street and a more formal entry zone before stepping into the open-plan home.

A custom steel and wood piece was designed for the combined dining/Living room just off the entry. It functions as storage, a credenza, shelving, and a spatial divider.

Location: 108 W. Germania Pl., Chicago, Illinois

Program: Modern Office & Historic Preservation

Status: In Progress

This beautiful Chicago landmark building, built 1889, is full of amazing details and even a stained glass window from Pavilion of Fine Arts at the 1893 Worlds Fair.  The building has been used for various purposes since the Germania Club closed its doors in 1986, most recently a wedding venue.  The goal of this project was to create a modern office space while preserving the beauty of the buildings amazing interior.

The renovation consists of thee floors and the 1st floor lobby that serves both the office and a daycare center.  The mezzanine level between the 1st floor and Ballroom level is not as tall as the ballroom spaces above but is full of light and beautiful details.  Throughout the interiors, we emphasised the historic meets modern theme by creating a harmony between the two.

The upper levels of the building are centered around two ballrooms that create a dramatic open office space.  The scale of these large volumes is broken down in the adjacent rooms, providing places to meet, private offices, a lounge, and breakout/quiet spaces.

Location:  2353 N. California Ave., Chicago, Illinois

Program: Ice Cream Store and Production

Status: Complete

We knew right away when we met with Dana Cree and her partner Michael Ciapciak about the Pretty Cool Ice Cream Flagship Store that it was something we wanted to be involved with. Their excitement for the project was palpable and we could tell that this was going to be a great experience.

The vision for the store revolves around creating a sophisticated and fun place that can accommodate an array of different guests. To set us apart from your standard fare ice cream shop, the team focused in on reinventing the guest experience. Light and playful colors paired with bamboo and dark gray flooring and wainscot create an interesting dichotomy that can be appealing to kid and adult alike.

Patrons interact with the staff (and more importantly, the ice cream) through a jewelry-style display case that is low enough for kids to peek into to see Dana’s beautiful creations. The ‘shell’ around the case is made of a multicolored, thermoformed solid surface, curved to evoke a feeling of melting-ice-cream-deliciousness.

An array of options are provided for people to inhabit the store. You can sit on the sculptural tiered seating element or stand and look out onto California Ave. Built-in banquette seating is also available for patrons that prefer a more traditional respite, as well as those with special needs.

The shop is filled with places for people to interact with each other, both digitally (social media), and physically.  Everyone is encouraged to leave their mark, on the large magnet board in the rear of the space adorned with magnetic letters.

The hallway toward the back of the store leads to restrooms, a kiddy size drinking fountain/hand-washing sink, and a large viewing window into the production area.

The project was done entirely in 3d, from design to construction documents.  This allowed Dana and Michael to see the visions of the space so that they really understood what was happening with the design before it was built.  On the fabrication end, Tumu provided detailed 3d models for the construction of geometrically complex items.

Location:  Kemeri National Park, Latvia

Program: Ecological Visitor Center

Status: Speculative

The Kemeri National Park is the third-largest national park in Latvia and covers over 380 km². The park is home to countless species of birds and wildlife, with a varied landscape that makes it a popular visitor attraction. Just 10% of the park is occupied by lakes, rivers and sulfur springs, while over half of it is forest.

Nearly a quarter of the park, however, is made up of bogs, and this is what most of the park’s visitors come to experience. The Kemeri Bog boardwalk offers guests a chance to explore the vast network of wooden boardwalks and nature paths that traverse the park. Visitors can see nature up close and venture into a world virtually untouched by man.

ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY

Sustainability plays a central role in the Visitors Center. Construction materials utilized in the design are locally available and environmentally sound. The climate of the area is cool and temperate (July ≈ 17.1°C, February ≈ -4.7°C). With only electrical service to the site, the main challenge becomes water management and heating. The environmental control system of the building combines several basic technologies in unison for optimal performance. Rain water is collected in a retaining pond that serves as a feature for the site design. This water passes through a filter and is stored for building use. A compost heating system that uses forest waste, working in tandem with a solar hot water array, will provide energy for the building’s radiant heating system and hot water for occupant use. During the summer the building will stay cool via the shaded facade and natural ventilation.

Location:  Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois

Program: Full Interior rehab, custom furniture, interior design, and procurement

Status: Complete

The scope of this project included a full renovation of an existing home in Lincoln Park along with interior design, styling, and procurement.  The design language for the home combined transitional style with a more modern flair.  Several pieces of custom furniture and built-ins were created to enhance and personalize the living spaces.

This project was featured in Modern Luxury Magazine.  Click below to see the article.

MODERN LUXURY INTERIORS, AUGUST 2020 

Location: 2840 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago, Illinois

Program: Restaurant and Brewery

Status: Complete

Middle Brow is doing exciting things in the world of beer.  Their brew is sophisticated and approachable.  The owners are a great inspiration and designing their new home base for their business was fantastic and rewarding.

The existing building that Bungalow occupies was once a dark room for the camera store next door.  The space was long, narrow and dark. The design team met that challenge by opening up the building and providing a sequence of spaces that take advantage of the length of the building by creating a series of experiences.

The front area of the restaurant is designed as an informal, café like space. This area is used in the mornings to serve breakfast, coffee, and artisan bread that is made fresh on site. The scale of the space creates a relaxed environment and hosts a piano for those that may fancy a go.

A small retail area and a beautiful open bar and kitchen greet patrons when they walk into the building. Because the menu was kept simple (and delicious) we were able to keep most of the active kitchen out font, where people could watch the chef work.  The kitchen and bar are organized into two zones in order to keep things moving along smoothly.

Location:  Beiyuan District, Nanjing, China

Program: Urban Planning

Status: Design Complete

Tumu Studio collaborated with U+ Design Partners to develop this urban design for the Beiyuan District in Nanjing China.  The Beiyuan District sits just north of Nanjing’s central business district, nestled between the Laoshan and Longwang mountains.  The existing zoning called for a mix of high-tech incubator with offices, retail, and apartments. One issue that our team quickly identified was that the surrounding area had lot of residential housing but no real destination for the local community to gather.  This was resulting in most residents traveling out to other parts of the city for work, dining, and entertainment.  Our team proposed a development that would serve as a focal point for the community.

The long site is situated between two streets of vastly different characteristics. The eastern side features a fast-moving state highway, whereas the west faces an old industrial neighborhood that has more narrow streets with less traffic. The design concept for the building’s massing within the district is to create a juxtaposition that reflects the varied character of the two sides. The fast-paced eastern side features more uniform, flush facades to create an impressive unified front. On the west side of the site, outdoor patios and building setbacks cascade down to street level and break up the building masses. This lowers the volume of the large buildings to a more human scale and creates outdoor space for residents and workers that affords beautiful views to the mountains.

A linear park creates a buffer zone on either side of the highway and activates retail at grade.  Each site within the district is envisioned to have a retail podium with green space at grade and above.  A generous landscaped bridge connects the development with a large residential area to the east.

We used green space to create a more people-friendly pedestrian experience. Larger public spaces welcome occupants at the main entry points within the plan.  Pocket parks provide breaks in the massing of the buildings and create public and private amenities throughout the district.

Location:  Chicago, Illinois

Program: Architecture, Interior Design

Status: Complete

For this primary suite renovation, we helped our client turn a cramped linen closet and unsightly built-in wardrobe into two shallow walk-in closets.  The main direction from the client was to create a calming element within the bedroom. Right from the start, we wanted to consider what ‘calming’ meant more beyond just creating something aesthetically serene. One thing we noticed was that the room was full of hard surfaces and was very live acoustically. We designed a slatted wood wall with seamless, concealed pivot doors for entry to each closet. The wall was designed in a way where just behind the wood slats there is a black acoustical foam.

Location:  355 East Riverwalk South, Chicago Riverwalk, Illinois

Program: Riverwalk Concessionary

Status: Design Development

Design Team: Tumu Studio (Architect), Element Engineering (MEP), Goodfriend Magruder (Structural), Eriksson Engineering (Civil)

Island Party Hut currently operates out of several modified shipping containers on the Chicago Riverwalk.  Tumu has been hired to expand their capacity by adding a new restaurant, restrooms, and riverfront bar to their existing facilities.  The project is currently under design and is planned to open in the spring of 2019.

The project is located on the southern side of the main branch of the Chicago River.  The site spans the riverwalk between the Columbus Drive Plaza and Bridge on the west and the Vista Tower riverwalk plaza on the east.  Using prefabricated modules as the main component of the building structure will allow the project to be constructed over the winter and shorten the construction schedule allowing Island Party Hut to make the most of the summer season.