Markow House, Prospect Heights, Illinois, Design Drawings

The Chicago firm Garofalo Architects was an early leader in digital architecture. The firm’s Markow House represents the studio’s initial foray into digital production methods, and it is one of the first realized residences created through this new technology. Using animation software, principal Douglas Garofalo conceived a 2,000-square-foot addition that radically reworked the Markows’ 1960s split-level home in suburban Chicago, allowing interior and exterior spaces to break free of compartmentalized conformity. This digital rendering, called an exploded axonometric diagram, shows the layers of forms and shapes that constitute the building. Rather than conceal the existing structure, Garofalo chose to maintain the twin-gabled rear and create a dramatically different front facade that emphasizes the home’s hybrid nature. The angular, folding roof planes are visible from all sides, and the exterior walls are boldly painted purple, blue, gray, and yellow. In the interior, a network of glass walkways and ramps weaves in and out of the structure. Garofalo transformed this typical suburban Chicago residence into a spatially complex, dynamic structure that stands apart from the surrounding architecture.