SOS Children's Villages Illinois

JGMA’s design of the new SOS Children’s Villages Illinois and Maestro Cares Community Center in Chicago unites SOS’ child-fostering mission with the surrounding family “villages” of the Roosevelt Square community. The prominent corner site along the active Blue Island Avenue, just south and west of Chicago’s downtown area, welcomes engagement with adjacent residential neighborhoods while presenting a positive and compelling message to the public. The community center incorporated into the design offers academic, social and recreational programs, as well as nutrition education and job-skills training in the professional-grade learning kitchen; it also provides space for family reunions, community meetings and activities. JGMA collaborated with community organizations, local leaders and SOS Children’s Villages staff and families to cultivate a space and design that would not only embody the communities’ goals but also support and serve as an encouragement for the overall development and growth of the youth and community members connecting with the space. The project is the first public building in Chicago to fully utilize, and gain permit to use, Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), a renewable and reusable material. JGMA’s design is a powerful and symbolic physical manifestation of the innovation and responsiveness to both community and client needs of SOS Children’s Villages.