Singer Pavilion: Honoring Legacy through Adaptive Design

When Michael Reese Hospital opened its doors in 1881 it was one of few hospitals to admit patients regardless of their race and religion. Now the hospital’s sole remaining building, the Singer Pavilion, is poised to anchor the first phase of the $3.8 billion Bronzeville Lakefront megadevelopment on Chicago’s South Side. Graduate students in Architecture from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and 5th Year Undergraduate students in Architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology have been given the opportunity to creatively redesign the Singer Pavilion to meet these aspirations.

In this panel discussion moderated by CAC CEO Eleanor Gorski, we will explore the design ideas and discuss the role of megadevelopments in revitalizing neighborhoods. How can students and local communities meaningfully participate in these important development partnerships? Chicago is a hub for architectural education. By exhibiting innovative student work that helps drive tangible outcomes we can bring academic and professional worlds closer together for the benefit of all.

At the conclusion of the panel, there will be a small reception celebrating the opening of this exhibit.

Speaker: Susan King

Susan King is an architect and designer whose award-winning work embraces class, gender and environmental equity, demonstrating through built form that architecture can serve and support as well as inspire. In addition to her Adjunct Position with IIT she is a Principal and Housing Studio leader for HED, a national, multidisciplinary firm with over 300 professionals practicing in Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. As just the 18th named female Fellow of the AIA in Illinois, King is a visible leader in the Chicago design community and is a past editor of the Muse, Chicago Women in Architecture's (CWA) publication. Ms. King is currently serving on two Boards, the Illinois Housing Council (IHC) and the Chicago Women in Architecture Foundation. (CWAF).

Speaker: Zeb McLaurin

Zeb McLaurin is the CEO and Founder of McLaurin Development Partners (MDP), a full-service commercial real estate property development, disposition, brokerage, and management company. Since its inception nearly 20 years ago, MDP has successfully developed a national reputation committed to its core mission of developing and enhancing value from previously underutilized and de-valued assets. McLaurin received his B.S., Finance, from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. The father of four (Kristian, Zeb VI, Nikki, and Matt) lives in Chicago.

Speaker: Paula Robinson

Paula Robinson, President, PFR Chicago Inc. serves as the Managing Member of Bronzeville Partners LLC and the President of its two civic organizations, the Bronzeville Community Development Partnership, a 30- year private non-profit community development corporation (CDC) and the Black Metropolis National Heritage Area Commission, a 501c3 organization actively revitalizing Chicago's historic African American community as an international tourism destination. Through her leadership over two decades, the Commission’s advocacy has led to the completion of a formal feasibility study and a legislative nomination to the Department of the Interior for congressional designation.

Speaker: Patricia Saldaña Natke

Patricia Saldaña Natke, FAIA is founder and Principal of Chicago-based UrbanWorks, an acclaimed architecture, planning, and interior design firm. The firm has won over forty-five local and national design awards for projects including the UNO Veterans Memorial Campus, West Pullman Senior Housing, Big Bold Visionary Groundplanes for Gary Indiana, La Casa Student Housing, and Galewood School. Natke teaches at the UIUC School of Architecture and the IIT College of Architecture.

Speaker: Trina Sandschafer

Trina Sandschafer, AIA, serves as Executive Vice President and Design Principal at Kahler Slater where she provides design leadership at a firm-wide level. Trina leads the firm’s Chicago office and serves as Team Leader for the national Residential, Hospitality, and Corporate practice. Trina is well known for her exemplary design skills and her ability to build strong relationships. She leads her projects with a client-focused approach, resulting in clear conceptual analysis and engaging results. Trina serves as Chair of the Illinois School of Architecture Alumni Advisory Board. She is the Director of the Kahler Slater Studio, a collaborative graduate studio bringing together the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Speaker: Dawveed Scully

Dawveed Scully is Managing Deputy Commissioner of Planning and Development at the City of Chicago. Trained as an architect and urbanist, Dawveed has a strong passion to make design an essential tool to enhance the lives of everyday people. Prior to joining the City of Chicago, Dawveed was an Associate Principal in the urban design and planning studio at Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill in Chicago where he worked for almost 14 years on development around the world including that focus on housing, neighborhood and community planning, transit-oriented development plans, corridor plans, campus planning, inclusive placemaking and design equity.