In the north Chicago suburb of Skokie, Ill., surrounded by strip malls, furniture stores and restaurants, Greenhouse Dispensary is a retail outlet that the Chicago Tribune described as, “The world’s most visually arresting pot shop.” The building in which the dispensary resides was not always so aesthetically appealing, however. The job of giving the structure a long-overdue facelift was awarded to architecture firm Camburas Theodore Ltd., under the direction of project leads, Peter Theodore and Stephen Coorlas.
The challenge facing the architects was not a small one. Designed by esteemed Chicago architecture firm Epstein and built in 1956, a number of additions and aesthetic injustices left the building an architectural mess. “It was a mix of colonial and modern architecture and neither was done very well,” Theodore explains. “It was a hodge-podge of additions over the years by different people.”
The duo updated the look with a style that Theodore describes not as modern but simply “of its time”. Fluid lines give the illusion of motion; flowing waves rise to converge at a center point, framing a 2-story wall of windows. Executing the design was a feat of creative thinking involving the use of proven products and technologies in new ways—specifically an EIFS exterior wall cladding system.
The Greenhouse Dispensary design features free-flowing organic shapes that traditionally would have been rendered by skilled artisans, working tediously with their hands, literally shaving away material until the desired forms emerged. Instead, the shapes were created efficiently and accurately in G & J Services’, the applicator’s, facility. Drawings from Camburas Theodore were converted into 3D computer models, and, using CNC laser-cutting technology, G & J Services’ team shaped the foam into 2-foot sections that were numbered and delivered to the job site. Once there, it was a simple matter for the crew to assemble them following the original design.
Theodore says the EIFS system and computer-modeling tools made execution of the design possible. “We took technologies, building materials and computer animations and merged them all together to do things that typically aren’t done,” he explains. “We showed that EIFS could be used in a way that creates artful shapes, and those shapes could have gradients and degrees of complexity.”
A smooth texture adds to the free-flowing feel of the façade. A bright white finish makes the flowing organic forms pop even more, especially when illuminated at night by white LED lights. The overall effect of the building is soothing and striking, especially in relation to the neighboring buildings. “When you put this building in context to its surroundings, it’s separate, it’s unique and it stands alone, which is somewhat counter-intuitive to what you want to do in architecture, which is to be harmonious,” Theodore notes. “But the vocabulary wasn’t worth repeating in a design that, I thought, offered promise for tomorrow.”
Retrofit Team
ARCHITECT: Camburas Theodore Ltd.
EIFS APPLICATOR: G & J Services
Materials
EIFS: StoTherm ci from Sto Corp.
EIFS BRIGHT WHITE FINISH: Stolit Milano from Sto
PHOTOS: Camburas Theodore Ltd.