Orders Architecture and Design

Excited to announce that @nick_safley and I are collaborating on a mini-golf hole for the first annual Lawn Open. It will be among a bunch of holes designed and built by artists at the Chicago arts space @the___lawn Come play some mini-golf in July and August! We’ll keep ya posted on dates and times. Images 1-3: Drawings by Nick Image 4: Our project statement. It’s a minigolf hole about…the opacity of late capitalism. And the solace of maintenance. Y’all get it.

Join us on Thursday, April 16, for the fifth edition of the MAS Context Now / Arriving series. The program will feature three Chicago-based architecture offices that will share a completed project and a project in the works. In this edition, we will have presentations by Chicago-based Jordan Hicks (@ordersarchitecture ), Casimir Kujawa and Mason Pritchett (@rangedesign ), and Tom Lee (@tomleestudio ). The program will take place at the MAS Context Reading Room (1564 North Damen Avenue, Suite 204, Chicago, Illinois 60622). • • • About Orders Orders is the architectural practice of Jordan Hicks. Through careful consideration of space and construction technique, Orders projects are functional and efficient. Through focus on unorthodox shape and material, these same projects are playful, surprising, and gently psychedelic. Orders projects have been featured in the New York Times and Dwell online. As part of his practice, Jordan also designs furniture. These pieces work simultaneously as components of architecture and as small-scale tests for new design techniques and sensibilities. Additionally, he writes to explore concepts about buildings, geometry, culture, and meaning; his critical work has been published in Log, Midwestern Architecture Journeys, The Avery Review, Avery Shorts, MONU, PLAT, Dimensions, and elsewhere. Jordan is a registered architect in Illinois, He also teaches design studios and graduate courses in architectural representation at Illinois Institute of Technology. He lives in Chicago’s Belmont Gardens neighborhood with his writer partner. • • • Link in bio. • • • Images: (1) Kitchen, Ten Portals, Chicago, 2025. © Sarah Crowley. (2) Section, Bosworth Basement, Chicago. © Orders. • • • #mascontext #nowarriving #orders #rangearchitecture #tomleestudio

Ten Portals is a “House We Love” on dwell.com. The article is full of beautiful photos by @michaelvallera and @sarahecrowley Check it out! See link in bio. In this post I’m including pictures from the article which I haven’t yet shared here. Phot 1: Article Screenshot Photo 2 (Sarah Crowley): Mantle area. Art by Abby Schindler Goldblatt, Olivia Cronk, Kiyoshi Kuromiya, and @banschultz Photo 3 (Sarah Crowley): Dining Room. Sconce surrounds by @no.office.arch . Planters by @aegagegage Photo 4 (Sarah Crowley): Skylights. Drywall work by @raulscarpentry Photo 5 (Sarah Crowley): Guest Bath. The purple panel makes room for a recessed paper holder. Photo 6 (Michael Vallera): Kitchen. Fruit Bowl by @billjonespottery , art by @davidjohnsonstudio Photo 7 (Sarah Crowley): Level 2. Bookends by @keldrenk @dwellmagazine #chicagoarchitecture #interiordesign #postmodernism #surrealdesign

Introducing Sight, Cite, Site – a collaboration between @officeofthings and Orders for the Ragdale Ring competition. The Ring is located on the grounds of a historic home built by architect Howard van Doren Shaw. We were interested in how outdoor performance spaces could interact with the house, and what new experiences for performers and audience might result. Our design deploys four “stage sets” around the site. The stage sets create unexpected optical illusions (Sight) which illustrate the house’s design (Cite) at key locations (Site). 1: The Entry Set creates an illusion of a circle aligned with the front door. 2: Site Plan 3-4: The Main Stage Set appears as a half circle, with mirrored bands which reflect the house’s back façade 5-6: The fountain set creates a striped half circle when viewed from the porch 7-8: The Corner Set features a dynamic configuration which appears as a circle from three different points 9-10: Assembly Diagrams. A: Painted marine grade plywood B: Pressure treated 2x framing C: Mirrored acrylic D: Stability fin E: Hidden diagonal braces F: Floral backside of panels mimic wallpaper from inside the house See more on the Orders website (link in bio) #chicagoarchitecture #architecturecompetition #setdesign #opticalillusion

Congratulations to @ordersarchitecture on this @nytimes feature up today!

Orders recently completed Schematic Design of a basement renovation in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. The project includes a home recording studio and vocal booth for a musician and a sauna and spa bath for a writer. The two different uses of the basement will have distinct personalities. The spa side is meant to be bright, calm, and contemporary; the client asked that the recording studio evoke a 70s basement. The design ties them together with a consistent epoxy flooring and a shared attention to rhythm and texture. Low head clearance below beams in the studio prompted a design solution which also has acoustic benefits: a coffered ceiling. On the studio ceiling and walls, fabric wrapped panels absorb sound. Updates forthcoming in 2026! #chicagoarchitecture #chicagointeriordesign #renovation #residentialdesign #psychadelic

Ten Portals: Entry and Stairs Upon entering the house, visitors sit and remove shoes at a custom stool - Dots, designed by Orders and fabricated by @bnf.studio - below an arched opening. The opening, which looks into the living room, was part of the house’s original 1928 design, but was covered up sometime in the intervening decades. Orders brings it back for a bright and open entry experience. The stair risers are clad in mirror, bouncing more light into the space. Photo by @michaelvallera Fruit Bowl in Image 2 by @billjonespottery #chicagoarchitecture #chicagointeriordesign #interiordesign #residentialarchitecture #furniture

The bedroom at Ten Portals features two new sconces and a platform bed designed and built by Orders, all in a color palette borrowed from Ray Yoshida. The creation of dining room skylights – which necessitated removal of attic space – also presented the possibility for an expanded bedroom closet. The previous reach-in closet is now a full walk-in. Photo by @michaelvallera Flowers by @jadevinechicago

Photo 1 by @michaelvallera At Ten Portals one bedroom is converted into the Writer’s Studio. Here, one of the residents – a fiction writer and teacher – works overlooking the street in the morning sunlight. The walls and furniture (including a custom desk designed and built by Orders) are all painted a rich blue, simultaneously calming and stimulating. The shelving features custom bookends by @keldrenk , inspired by the work of Christina Ramberg.

Photos 1+2: @michaelvallera The primary bathroom at Ten Portals required a complete overhaul. It is also a very tight space, and required careful planning. A new rounded sink eases tight corners. Matte black plumbing fixtures, teal tile, and beige and yellow accents all pick up on a palette from the paintings of Roger Brown. Despite the room’s tight footprint, a deep tub and clever storage solutions make it comfortable and functional. Flowers by @jadevinechicago !

In the Living Room at Ten Portals (a Bungalow Renovation) a new custom media cabinet, designed and built by Orders, houses the TV and stereo. Mirror and paint-washed marine plywood give this utilitarian object a psychedelic edge. Wall sconces feature bulbs by Hangout Lighting, reminiscent of smoke clouds. Custom couch cushions by @aegagegage and coffee table complete the space. Photos by @michaelvallera Fabrication Assist from @fabricationcenter