SUMMARY

Conversion of a large two-bedroom loft condo unit within the historic Studebaker Lofts in Chicago's South Loop district. Owner wanted additional bedroom to accommodate growing family but the unit only had access to daylight and ventilation on one short side. We took advantage of Chicago ordinance allowing one bedroom to be declared a multi-purpose space and, since it was a top-floor unit we went through the roof for daylight and ventilation for the other two bedrooms. Additional difficulty was presented by inadequate floor loading conditions which necessitated hanging the rooftop access stair from above-we chose to make this a design feature, lavishing a lot of careful detail on the design of the stair.