WJW Architects

WJW had a recent field trip to to check out the Bruce Goff exhibit. It's always a treat to take in the creativity and imagination of a visionary like Goff. We took advantage of the Art Institute's Thursday evening hours and had a great time at the exhibit!

This April marks WJW's 35th year in business. In April 1991, architect Bill Worn and design industry entrepreneur Diane Baker had the vision to create a new architectural firm, William Worn Architecture, with both lofty and down-to-earth goals: creating architectural solutions that would advance design for accessibility. That vision has expanded over the past three and half decades as the firm designed housing and residential healthcare for a wide range of underserved populations, creating accessibility, dignity, community and a place to call home.

Today, the firm now known as WJW Architects has surpassed a milestone of working on one thousand projects. Along the way, we have developed and refined our signature approach to the design of affordable housing of many types, senior living, memory care communities, mixed-use development, transit-oriented development, permanent supportive housing, the adaptive reuse of historic buildings, and much more. Our work can be found in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, and Ohio.

WJW begins another chapter in 2026 with Michelle Sablack and Elizabeth Godbold stepping into new roles and joining Mike Jerabek, Todd Wiltse, and Heidi Wang as partners at the firm. We will also be expanding our office space in River North. It's been a terrific 35 year journey and we're excited about what's next.

This Earth Day, WJW is proud to highlight Andy’s Place II, a project that redefines what affordable housing can achieve. Expanding our commitment to supportive housing for individuals and families in opioid recovery, this project also hits a massive sustainability milestone for our firm. Andy’s Place II features the largest solar array in WJW’s 35 year history, designed to generate ~107,000 kWh of energy annually.

The Impact: This array both fulfills the building’s electricity needs for the year and according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data, feeds enough power back into the grid to sustain 5 neighboring Midwest homes for an entire year. We are proud to be a partner on this important project bridging the gap between crucial social infrastructure and cutting-edge environmental responsibility.

Michelle co-presented with Darrin Jolas of Vermilion Development at the Environments for Aging Conference in Phoenix! Their talk explored how post-occupancy evaluations of the Silver Birch communities shaped smarter design decisions and how thoughtful design can make affordable assisted living just as dignified and enriching as market-rate properties. Thank you, Darrin, for such a meaningful collaboration!