Optima Verdana Apartment Building | 2024

Location: Wilmette, Illinois, USA
Architects: David Hovey Jr., Optima, Inc.
Client: Optima, Inc.
Photographers: Bill Timmerman

Optima Verdana is a seven-story, 100-unit apartment building in Wilmette on Chicago’s suburban North Shore. Standing on a corner site and clad entirely in glass with a partially exposed concrete frame, the building makes a striking first impression. The sawtooth façade emphasizes the play of light and shadow over the surface. Terraces edged with irrigated plants introduce a touch of green. Retail is at the street level, where a café is opening soon. Through the lobby and a lounge, a courtyard that has been richly landscaped with native plants is visible.

In Arizona, where the firm has an office, experiments over generations of projects have demonstrated the power of introducing computer-controlled irrigated planting on the balconies of multi-story residential projects. Initially, the firm applied this strategy on Verdana, in Illinois. Given the vast difference in climate, the architects in Chicago experimented with different varieties of evergreens in prototype planters to find one that could withstand Chicago winters and remain green. The plants, once found, were introduced into Verdana terraces, where they created a soft green fringe on the building façade. Evergreen trees were planted in the roof’s edge, where they formed a statuesque profile.

The project also contains a courtyard extensively landscaped with native plants that is quiet and connects residents with nature. Fundamental design elements that are a part of all the firm’s work promote mental health. That means floor-to-ceiling glass that floods the space with uplifting natural light, and open floor plans that allow light to penetrate the entire apartment. In addition, there are more worldly amenities at Verdana that nurture the body, including a full gym with weight-lifting equipment, aerobic equipment, and a pickleball court. There are also Pilates’s reformers, a Yoga studio, a massage room and a children’s playroom. The lobby offers access to a courtyard landscaped with native plants. An interior lap pool and sauna can be found on the top floor and extensive terraces for lounging and playing on the rooftop.