Illinois 'Houses in the Air'

David Krantz.

1967.

1 Wingfield Ave, Crawley.

Constructed from the procurement of a syndicate with the common interest to build quality apartments close to the city that exploit River views, this project is however, unique.

Whist the procurement of a syndicate is not uncommon in Krantz and Sheldon’s work, this project challenges the use of land titles. Here, a group of residents arranged for the consolidation of their adjoining blocks of land into one parcel of land under the management of an investment company.

The developer's architect, Krantz and Sheldon demonstrated the development of multi-storey housing can be of a positive contribution to the city. Viewed as “houses in the air” rather than just another block of flats, this project demonstrates for a model that advocates to urban culture for people who had no children, were single or simply assumed the preference for a diverse urban society.  In this regard, there is a consistent concern in Krantz and Sheldon’s work of social and cultural benefits that comes with implementing high density housing in close proximity to the city. Their ongoing commitment forcing a quality of a European influence, (where Robert Shelton brought with him his European experience of urbanism and Modernism) focused on a sophisticated attention to detail, this project is a good example of that exertion.