SOFT, STRONG, SAFE
Universal appeal, durability and healthfulness were key considerations in the selection of finish materials. Wanting to incorporate soft surfaces inviting to children, the team looked to sustainable, hospital-grade product lines for fabrics and flooring and met with an experienced upholsterer to design upholstered pieces that would be easy to maintain.
Frisch finds that cleanable surfaces allow staff to be gracious about inevitable mishaps. “I really wanted to honor our guests with a beautiful space,” she says. “This is a community space and guests take ownership for its upkeep, cleanliness and wellbeing. If a spill or mess occurs—and with kids, that’s going to happen—cleanup is quick and easy. Guests aren’t made to feel uncomfortable and we can be good hosts.”
Mindful of the direct contact children would have with the finishes, concern for children’s health dictated a “do no harm” approach to material specifications. The team prioritized low-VOC-content products and avoided chemicals of concern. To improve thermal comfort and energy efficiency, the existing single-pane storefront system was upgraded with the simple but innovative retrofit of a secondary glazing panel within the existing storefront frame.
SURPRISES AND DISCOVERIES
Anticipating the joy of children made it fun to design special surprise elements into the space. Custom vinyl wall graphics of friendly forest animals provide an engaging “I-spy” activity. The wheeled ride-on toy parks in a custom millwork garage under the cozy nook. In the art area, resilient flooring and slate wall panels create a “yes space” where it’s fine to get messy and write on the walls. Staff decorates the permanent window tree graphics with seasonal paper cutouts, adding apples and snow to mark the changing weather. In this way, the space is both consistent and changing, providing stability and interest at each visit.
ADAPTABILITY
Adaptability was built into this pilot renovation to ensure the investment will yield a long life cycle. Contractor Bob Brobson with FORGE Design + Builders, Chicago, worked with Frisch to execute demountable modules in a manageable scale. Brobson advises, “Adding temporary versus permanent elements, such as furniture pieces, art and millwork, not only provide personality and flexibility, but these elements can be relocated” if the not-for-profit outgrows its current space or launches additional locations.
CHALLENGES
Renovating a former daycare into a community space was no easy task. Making the best use of space and meeting accessibility goals entailed a nearly gut retrofit of the interior, as well as repairs and enhance- ments to the exterior. Challenges posed by the existing plumbing infrastructure sent the team back to the drawing board more than once while the highly unique purpose of the space complicated efforts to narrow down local code requirements.
To encourage creativity and nimbleness, the team tapped a colleague trained in improvisational comedy to facilitate interactive team-building breaks during a planning session. Ao recalls, “HelloBaby was a lot more challenging than comparable projects of this size but I did enjoy working on an unusual project type, which means something great to the community.” Trust among team members and passion for the project’s meaning sustained the team’s energy.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
In addition to fulfilling its mission of play and community, HelloBaby’s flexible open space has quickly become a community hub for family activities, ranging from story hour and book clubs to parent-tot yoga. Social workers love the location for supervised visitation because of the good cross-room visibility and positive setting.
Of the renovation experience, Frisch shares that it has been particularly thrilling to see the design intention come to life. “You can’t be it if you can’t see it,” she says. “The HelloBaby space is transforming lives and reframing experiences. The impact of HelloBaby has exceeded my wildest dreams.”
PHOTOS: Andrews Braddy Photography, Chicago
Retrofit Team
ARCHITECT AND INTERIOR DESIGN: Perkins+Will, Chicago
- Eric Mersmann, AIA, senior interior project manager
- Shannon Gedey, AIA, architect
- Pamela Steiner, Branded Environments designer
- Sunny Ao, interior designer
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: FORGE Design + Builders, Chicago
CLIENT: Debbie Frisch, founder and executive director of HelloBaby, Chicago
BRAND IDENTITY: Grady Campbell Inc., Chicago
MEP CONSULTANT: Kroeschell Engineering, Chicago
- PLUMBING/MECHANICAL ENGINEERING: William Bauer and Mike Evensen
- ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: Edward Morrison
Materials
CLOUD BAFFLES: OWA
CARPETS: Mohawk and Interface
RESILIENT FLOORING: Gerflor
PAINT: Benjamin Moore
TILE: Daltile
CUSTOM WALL GRAPHICS: Cushing
UPHOLSTERY: Designtex
RETROFIT GLAZING: Thermolite RetroWAL
LAMINATE: Abet Laminati
MICROTHIN SLATE: Interlam Corp.
PLAY STRUCTURE: CedarWorks
STOOLS: Eastabrooks TreeWorks