Q&A with Brett Rosengren: En Masse Architectural Designer
Where do you find inspiration in your day-to-day life?
Most commonly, I find inspiration on social media. My Instagram algorithm knows me best. Also, exploring and traveling, whether walking around Chicago neighborhoods and seeing historic greystones or far-out places with entirely different climates and vernaculars.
How does it feel to work in Chicago- and both live and work in Logan Square?
I love it! Even more than simply the ease of getting to work, I feel attached to Logan Square and admittedly find it hard to get out sometimes. The studio space is great to have in walking distance. Although it’s Mike’s live/work space, it's great to stop by on the weekend and grab a coffee from downstairs or hang out if I need some heads-down time.
Tell me about your own home. Where do you feel the most joy?
My living room is the most curated space in my apartment and the place I am able to host the most people. When I have larger groups over for dinner, my kitchen is too small to hold everyone, so we’ll end up sitting around the coffee table, which is an assortment of pull-apart cubes made by my great uncle. It holds a fun collection of vintage furniture either passed down in my family or collected from local vintage shops.
In thinking about ways that we can create projects that are personal, what aspects are most important to making a house into a home?
Simply put, we want to design dream homes for people to connect to. Each home should be specific to what the client wants and how they live so that no two homes are the same. Each is a special responsibility to the client and the context of living.
What’s your favorite project right now?
We have a private residence in Southwest Michigan that serves as a Chicago family’s quiet weekend getaway. The project includes three structures that create a campus around a swimming pool. They were seeking an abundance of transparency and a direct connection with nature. I enjoy working on second homes. The spaces are centered around entertaining and enjoying time away from the normal hustle and bustle.
It sounds like this project connects to themes that you’re drawn to. What is your dream project?
Similar to what we have in the Michigan home I referenced earlier, I love to work on homes designed around entertainment concepts. I am drawn to homes intended for so much life to exist inside them; as unrealistic as it may be, a home that sleeps two but can host many more.
What is your favorite stage of a project?
Of course, I love the schematic phase, where we lay out our initial ideas, but my favorite part is when we start to layer more and more detail.
If you had a magic spacesuit and could visit any planet in the solar system, where would you go and why?
If I had a magic spacesuit, I would go to Jupiter or Saturn, maybe- one of those two gas giants. Go big or go home.