Guild Row is a new type of social club that offers experiences around making things. Their 20,000-square-foot flagship campus, opened in Avondale in 2020, is an initiative led by development company PLATFORM and designed by emerging Chicago-based architecture practice, DAAM Projects. The four buildings, constructed throughout the 20th century in an industrial enclave by the Chicago River, long served as home to a dental tool manufacturer.
Guild Row is a dynamic hub for hosting artisan-led classes and community craft experiences. Rather than pursue a strategy of strict preservation, DAAM created a design framework using the architectural operations of addition, subtraction, and connection to create a series of flexible rooms arranged around an open-air courtyard that celebrate the buildings’ rich manufacturing legacy while embracing its future as a place for craft and community.
