LOGAN SQUARE — A Chicago designer's new project shows some love to the city's unappreciated architecture: the homes everyday people live in. Chicagoans know the houses they and their neighbors live in. It's a thing of pride.
Two-flats, bungalows, greystones, workers cottages and courtyards are terms most people who have lived in the city more than a few years can rattle off.
Over the past 10 years, Matt Lamothe, a Logan Square-based designer, took a lot of walks around the neighborhood and took a liking to examining each distinct style of home.
"Chicago is just so filled with different styles. On one block every house can be completely unique," Lamothe said.
This sense of respect he found for architecture around the neighborhood lead him to create a series of prints of Chicago's most distinct home styles.
The side project was one of love for Lamothe, who traditionally creates website, book designs and animations for his firm ALSO, which he runs out of the first floor of his two-flat along with his girlfriend, Jenny Volvovski.
"I find that it was like you could find tons of stuff out there on the Willis Tower, skyscrapers, downtown or unique Frank Lloyd Wright homes, but there isn't a whole lot visually documenting average Chicago homes," said Lamothe, 32.
The prints, which are available at www.also-online.com, feature 10 different types of homes ($30) as well as an overall print that includes an illustration of every home ($45).
The choices include frame two-flat, bungalow, courtyard, greystone, brick cottage, workers cottage, dutch colonial, brick three-flat, ranch and four-square. There are plans to produce a few more in the future.
About 10 years ago, Lamothe bought a Logan Square two-flat to live and work in. It needed a lot of restoration work.
He was really interested in figuring out what the home originally looked like — down to design and color choices — and began investigating other houses in the neighborhood.
Those long walks of exploration into hyper-local Chicago architecture stuck with him over the years of renovations.
"Every time I walk around now it's always, 'What have people changed? What do they keep? Is that some strange hybrid of a style?' " Lamothe said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
