Chicago, IL
30 East Balbo Drive
Scope/Solutions
Targeting college students and young professionals in Chicago’s South Loop, 30 East offers 255 bedroom rentals in 134 shared, furnished apartments. A two-story podium with ground-level retail and second-floor indoor/outdoor amenity space supports the fourteen-story tower. The sleek glass enclosure reflects 30 East’s modern take on rental living. SGH consulted on the design of the building’s glazing and wall systems.
SGH assisted with the design for the window walls and fiber-cement rainscreen cladding. Highlights of our work include the following:
- Reviewed the proposed design for the window wall and recommended ways to improve the selected system’s performance
- Developed details to integrate the window walls with other enclosure systems
- Helped evaluate value engineering proposals and alternates submitted by the construction team
- Reviewed shop drawings to compare with the design intent
- Visited the site to observe ongoing construction and helped the contractor resolve field conditions
- Observed water and air infiltration testing of the window to compare with the specified performance requirements
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Project Summary
Solutions
New Construction
Services
Building Enclosures
Markets
Commercial | Residential | Mixed-Use
Client(s)
Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates
Specialized Capabilities
Facades & Glazing
Key team members
Peter Babaian
Managing Principal, Building Technology, Chicago
Additional Projects
Midwest
Harlem Irving Plaza
The shopping mall at 4104 Harlem Avenue was constructed in the mid-1950s. The owner wanted to reinvent the Harlem Irving Plaza by subdividing the former Carson Pirie Scott department store into multiple tenant spaces and adding elevators and escalators within a new three-story atrium to improve connectivity between floors. SGH designed structural modifications for the renovations.
Midwest
2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial, Lakeshore Kiosk Competition
As part of a broader initiative to enhance the lakefront, the Chicago Architecture Biennial solicited design submissions for four new kiosks. SGH collaborated with VOA Associates Incorporated to prepare a kiosk design submission for the international competition.



