Client // Vosges Haut-Chocolat
Location // Chicago, Illinois
Date // Spring 2007
Project Team // Seth Ellsworth, Prof. Randal Kober
Materials // Precast & in-situ concrete
Vosges Haut-Chocolat is an up-and-coming exotic chocolate company based in Chicago. The owner requested a new chocolate factory that would serve as an icon for the company, but also deal responsibly with the surroundings and the environment. This design is based on the work of modern artists Daniel Buren, Donald Judd, and Sol Lewitt. The mass of the factory is composed of repetitive concrete frames, which contain suspended garden beds for growing spices in-house. The tower is another repetitive concrete frame which has exploded, leaving large voids. These voids form large atria and connect adjoining spaces, including retail, office, and restaurant. Environmental strategies include wind turbines, solar heating, and natural light & ventilation.