Housing is a Human Right
Advocating for housing as a human right is my focus today. When the opportunity came to design Wentworth Commons, an affordable housing facility on Chicago’s South Side, I was well prepared to push not only for good design but also environmental friendliness as a key to affordability. Wentworth was the first multi-unit residential building in the Midwest to receive LEED certification. The project served to discredit the myth that sustainability costs more or can’t be attained on tight budgets.
As the environmental movement expands to include social equity, I continue to strive to blend the two. The recently completed Lake Street Studios also exemplifies this effort. Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood has experienced a dramatic revitalization over the last two decades, transforming from an industrial concentration of factories and warehouses to a sought-after location for renowned restaurants, high-end galleries, and luxury apartments.
With this growth came new employment opportunities across sectors, skill sets, and income levels—and expensive housing that excludes the neighborhood’s lower-income service industry workforce. Lake Street Studios provides 61 affordable, transit-oriented micro-units, ensuring Chicago’s service industry workers not only have safe, attainable, high-quality housing, but also critical access to opportunities, social services, and the jobs they depend on to survive.
Susan King became the third woman principal at Harley Ellis Devereaux (HED) in 2007. She previously served as chair of the AIA Chicago Committee on the Environment and president of Chicago Women in Architecture. King received the Women in Sustainability Leadership Award (WSLA) in 2016.
