Who We Are
Philosophy
The name Echo Studio uses the analogy of sound waves, a reverberation of things past which persist through the present and into the future.
We draw our inspiration from history and precedent to find applications for both traditional and new technologies in order to produce buildings with a special vibrancy, relevance, and unique sense of place.
High-performance: Not easy being green
At its core, Echo Studio strives to uphold sustainable, energy-efficient, and socially-conscious principles.
We make particular effort to drastically reduce the environmental footprint of our projects by going above and beyond the call of duty. While meeting and exceeding often inadequate local standards and codes, our projects also meet or exceed more stringent standards such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star for homes, the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and Architecture 2030.
Echo Studio’s multidisciplinary team brings design and engineering professionals together with clients early on - from client consultation to energy usage modeling to construction administration - we plan carefully, and deliver great, high-performance buildings which work with their environment rather than against.
Engaging urbanity
As I learned in architecture school, an architect should strive to make the best possible conditions out of the most challenging sites, rather than choosing the easy ones.
An urban environment such as Chicago affords a certain concentration of goods and services that become infeasible in other places, and presents a very unique set of historical and physical contexts.
Though we do enjoy the particular charms of all locales, Echo Studio chooses to work in urban places.
Echo Studio: A work in progress
Echo Studio is less a business, a place, or group of people than a product of a time and place, a set of values in the making, shaped by things greater than us.