Celebrating 200 Projects: Reflections on the HUS Journey

This December, as we celebrate our 200th project, I find myself reflecting on how far we’ve come. This achievement represents years of dedication, innovation, and collaboration with incredible clients, partners, and community members. As we close out 2024 and step into 2025 with a rebrand on the horizon and a clearer focus on our service offerings, I want to take a moment to share the journey and the values that shaped who we are today. 

Husarchitecture began with a project very close to my heart: the Cabin in the Woods. This high-design cabin reflected a personal vision – a spark of creativity and purpose that laid the foundation for what Husarchitecture would become. I imagined this project would be the start of a great design career but the world had other plans for me. 

Some of our earliest projects actually took place in China while I chased a dream of developing an international firm before I turned 40. I was flying from Shanghai to Xi’an to Beijing and numerous smaller cities in between. I was working with a local partner designing mega malls, theaters, and boutique hotels. It was an amazing experience, but I was seeing a major demolition of unique Chinese culture in favor of a Western vision. I saw how quickly projects moved and were built, so fast they often lacked the critical details to make them successful. I didn’t think I could be as impactful as I wanted to be within this environment, so I came home to Chicago. 

Cabin in the Woods, photo by Alex Garcia

After China, it took a little time to regain my bearings. I worked on code violation projects and some exhilarating renovations of homes and small businesses with passionate owners. But I also got burned a few times. The experiences demonstrated that trust between an architect and a client is a two way street; it reinforced my value for transparency throughout all projects. Throughout these challenges, I still imagined I would be a great designer changing the world through architecture.

Facade Assessments with the CHA, photo by HUSarchitecture

It was about this time that a friend recommended I certify as a Woman owned Business and a Section 3 Business Concern if I qualified. I did, and we started subcontracting on major renovations and new construction for the Chicago Housing Authority. It was refreshing to return to the complexity of large scale work. It was also enough work that I could support staff and HUSarchitecture finally started to grow. 

Building upon these public projects, I leveraged my sustainability experience to secure our first LEED projects as an office, including my first experience working on the construction side. We embraced the challenge by developing tools and processes to streamline the work. We created systems, spreadsheets, and project management tools that not only made the process more efficient but also gave us greater insight into the overall sustainability of the project. Initially I still expected this LEED work to ultimately bring in design projects but I was enjoying solving the challenges we discovered in the technical consulting realm along the way. 

From there, our focus sharpened. Following mine and the team’s personal interests we kept digging into solving problems that would deliver the greatest sustainability impact. This included Building Envelope Commissioning (BECx), Stormwater Pollution Prevention Planning (SWPPP), Erosion and Sediment Control Plans (ESCP), Affordable Housing / Electric Homes New Construction (A/EHNC) Eligibility Calculations, Energy Audits, and Energy Savings Performance Contracting. These efforts aligned with our commitment to using architecture to make healthier, more resilient communities. 

It was pure coincidence that we landed a building assessment project with EMG (now BVNA) to assess the envelope and accessibility of Chicago public schools. Unbeknownst to us, it would be a project that formed a cornerstone of our future firm. Through countless assessments, we began to realize the impact accessibility had on the overall sustainability of a project through the health and wellness of a building’s inhabitants. This understanding led to one of our most transformative partnerships with the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA). As in-house accessibility consultants, we have developed internal tools to track and evaluate the accessibility needs of CHA’s entire portfolio. This work exemplifies how we’ve unified systems thinking with compassionate design, ensuring that architecture truly serves people’s needs. 

Design & Construction LEED Gold for Altgeld, with KOO; photo credit KOO Architecture

While Architecture remains key to the work we do, our practice has grown well beyond aesthetics to include Assessments and Sustainability in their own rights. With a focus on materials usage, universal design, and energy efficiency, we redefined what it means to create meaningful spaces and successful projects. For us, architecture is a tool to uplift lives, strengthen communities, and address systemic inequities. Our work in public housing has been especially pivotal guiding us toward sustainable solutions for historically underinvested neighborhoods. 

We’re very excited about our 200th project: Assessments for the General Services Administration in Massachusetts and Rhode Island with Procon. In the last few years we’ve set the intention to expand across the US and have since won work more regionally as well as on the East and West Coasts – in bringing our compassionate, community-oriented services to a broader audience we dream of making an even bigger impact on the wellbeing of communities across our nation. 

Building Envelope Commissioning (BECx) for GSA Minnesota; photo render by Procon

As I reflect on these 200 projects, I am filled with gratitude. Every step of the journey has been shaped by our clients, partners, and team members who believed in our mission. These projects are not just milestones for HUSarchitecture, they are testaments to the power of collaboration and shared purpose.  

Looking ahead, we’re excited for what the next two hundred projects will bring. We aim to set a higher bar for sustainability practices, evolving into net zero and decarbonization initiatives. Together, we can continue to create spaces that meet today’s challenges while paving the way for a more sustainable future. 

Thank you for being part of this journey. Here’s to building a better, healthier world, one project at a time.    

With gratitude, 

Chyanne Husar