Camaraderie and a quest for design excellence propel three decades of achievement at Legat’s Chicago studio
Many prominent Chicago-area architecture firms started downtown, then branched out into the suburbs. Legat Architects took the opposite path.
In the mid-1990s, the firm had 32 years of experience and four suburban studios in Cook and the surrounding counties. Its leadership saw an opportunity to grow staff and boost the firm’s reputation for high-end design. What better location than downtown Chicago, a city known worldwide for its architectural innovations?
On January 2, 1996, Legat opened its Chicago studio on the fourth floor of the Washington Square building, then located in a mostly industrial West Loop neighborhood.
This month, that studio celebrates its 30th anniversary. And while it may have relocated, it has remained in the West Loop, now one of Chicago’s fastest-growing tech districts. The firm counts among its Chicago-based clientele organizations ranging from Chicago Public Schools and the University of Illinois at Chicago to the Public Building Commission of Chicago and the City of Chicago.
Designs for the Midwest’s Largest School System
Before opening a Chicago studio, Legat had a strong reputation for school design — it had already provided design services for more than 300 preK-12 facilities in Cook and collar counties. However, the firm had yet to complete a project for Chicago Public Schools (CPS). This became another motivator for opening a Loop studio.
Legat started leading increasingly larger CPS projects after the firm launched its Chicago location. Eventually, it won the commission for the district’s new Mariano Azuela Elementary School on Chicago’s South Side. The project, completed in 2010, transformed a weed-covered lot and five neglected baseball fields into a lively school that unites the residents of its West Lawn neighborhood. That same year, project manager Tom Kikta started the Azuela Architecture Club, a popular after-school program that he and coworkers continue to lead today.
In 2017, Public Building Commission of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools tasked Legat and design partner UrbanWorks with the design of the new John Hancock College Preparatory High School just three blocks from Midway International Airport. After construction finished in August 2021, the school went on to win awards for design and community engagement. Additionally, it now ranks among the top 10 in U.S. News & World Report’s recently released list of “Best Illinois High Schools” and number six in “Best Chicago Public Schools High Schools.”
Over the years, Legat’s Chicago studio has served many other preK-12 clients in the region. Additions and renovations at Highland Park High School, for example, achieved a Distinguished Building Award from the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Chicago chapter.
Higher Ed Launchpad
The West Loop studio has also been the force behind the firm’s rise in the higher education market. When that studio opened, the firm’s preK-12 portfolio dwarfed its college/university work.
Chicago studio commissions for higher education projects and especially community colleges began to roll in. The turning point came in 2006, when Joliet Junior College (JJC), the nation’s oldest community college (established in 1901), tapped Legat to pilot a campus-transforming master plan. This plan led to a successful $89 million referendum that fueled construction of six major projects, five of which Legat designed. JJC and Legat are now working on the fifth update to that initial master plan.
In the early years of the Chicago studio, Legat only had a few university clients. Today, a clientele consisting of 50 higher education institutions throughout the Midwest is close to an even split between community colleges and universities. Examples of the latter include the University of Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses, Northern Illinois University, University of Iowa, The Ohio State University, Ohio University, Augustana University, and Denison University.
One of the most recent higher education facilities based in Legat’s Chicago studio is Heartland Community College’s Agriculture Complex, one of the first net-zero college facilities in Illinois. With its superinsulation, high-efficiency systems, and rooftop solar panels, the structure produces more energy than it consumes.
A Window to the World of Television
While many projects make up the Chicago studio’s greatest-hits archive, the one that employees often point to as the most influential is the ABC7/WLS-TV State Street studio revival.
The 2006 renovation and expansion increased ABC7’s visibility and image, while preserving the details of the 1920s-era building. Legat’s competition-winning design featured a scrolling LED billboard and glass hanging from the original terracotta facade. It introduced Chicago’s first street-front studio with a glass wall that curves onto the sidewalk and encourages passersby to watch the activity. Additionally, the 42-foot-tall, twisting LED sculpture reinforced the station’s branding and introduced new opportunities for LED.
“The State Street project was a big design win for Legat,” said project manager Michael Lundeen. “It proved that we could combine high design and complex detailing while staying on budget for a high-profile client.”
The project went on to win an AIA Chicago Distinguished Building Award and a Friends of Downtown Coolest Thing Award.
New Digs Resurface Architectural Charm of 110-Year-Old Building
In 2019, Legat’s Chicago studio moved just two blocks northeast to the former Knight Building. The firm renovated the sixth-floor suite, formerly occupied by a digital development company, to uncover and celebrate some of the original architectural nuances within the timber loft structure built in 1909. The studio features exposed structural brick, high-efficiency mechanical systems, sit/stand desks for every employee, and a light well that fills interior spaces with natural light.
The location also brings employees improved access to public transit and dining options — it is across the street from the Ogilvie Transportation Center and the French Market (European-inspired indoor food market), five blocks north of Union Station, and one block south of an “L” station.
No Joke: Great Work, Great Opportunities, Great People
When he was on his way to a jobsite in March 2002, Legat employee Tom Kikta answered a call from two of the firm’s founders. They needed more experienced employees in the Chicago studio. Would he be willing to transfer from Legat’s Oak Brook, Illinois studio 18 miles to the west?
Kikta, who had already been at the firm 12 years, said he would. He could talk about it more after he attended a friend’s wedding in New Orleans that weekend.
“They said, ‘Great! Can you start coming into the Chicago studio on Monday when you get back?’” said Kikta. “That Monday was April Fool’s Day. I asked them if this was a joke. It wasn’t, so I showed up.”
Twenty-three years and hundreds of projects later, Kikta still works out of Legat’s Chicago studio. What kept him there was a combination of meaningful projects and camaraderie with colleagues.
“There’s a good mix of people to support our Chicago studio culture,” he said. “Several employees are right out of school, some are in the middle of their careers, and there are a few veterans. We all learn from each other.”
Legat Chicago Studio Director Adam Quigley believes that those seeking architectural jobs typically look for three factors: a strong portfolio of projects, opportunities for advancement, and affinity with coworkers. After nearly 20 years in the industry, Quigley joined Legat in 2019 because it offered all three.
“It’s great to see our young people taking on more responsibilities and growing in confidence,” said Quigley. “There’s an energy it creates when they’re excited and eager to learn how to lead.”
One such employee is interior designer Aileen Everitt, who joined Legat’s Chicago studio directly after graduating from Michigan State University in 2015. In the 10 years since, Everitt has not only led prominent projects but also strengthened studio culture by bringing people together and coordinating volunteer events.
“The leaders here invested their time into training me when I was straight out of college,” said Everitt. “They’re patient, encouraging, and most importantly, approachable. I never got the feeling they were too busy to help me learn. This is a place that values its people.”
Legat, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2024, operates Illinois studios in Chicago, Gurnee, Moline, and Oak Brook. It also has studios in Columbus, Ohio, Iowa City, Iowa, and Indianapolis, Indiana.
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