Aggregate Studio

07/28/2026

Progress is underway on our coach house affordable condos with Here to Stay Community Land Trust! Built in 1909, the masonry coach house is being rearranged to create two duplex 3-bedroom, 2-bath units in Humboldt Park.

While we’re making a large change to the interior, we’re respecting the historic details. Trim and doors were salvaged where possible for reuse, and we’ve incorporated the historic built-ins to the design. We’re digging down to create height for bedrooms on the lower level, allowing the existing building’s large windows to provide ample natural light to the living spaces.

A true good bones building, we can’t wait to see this one finished and for HTS’s clients to enjoy their new homes! For more info: https://aggregate-studio.com/community-land-trust-coach-house/
GC: Chicago Metropolitan Construction

07/21/2026

Is Sketchy Tuesday a thing? We might need to workshop the name, but we always put pen to paper (or Apple Pencil to iPad) when thinking through parts of our projects. Here’s a collection of recent sketches at different scales!

07/16/2026

Did you receive our newsletter yesterday? We had a great second quarter as we started our fourth year in business, with several projects under construction, including a coach house and a multigenerational two-flat with our partners at Here to Stay CLT.

We’ve also started working on site visioning for Evanston’s Fifth Ward, partnering with Architecture for Public Benefit for workshops starting next month. We’re also rethinking missing middle housing - using the lessons learned from our Flex Flat to create a design potentially deployable across the city.

We also welcome Kat back for her second summer, and she’s hit the ground running. Katia has been busy co-chairing Architects in Schools and is getting ready to celebrate two years with us. It’s not that long ago that Aggregate was just getting started. All of this and much more in our newsletter - click the link below!

http://eepurl.com/4sPK86jBI9

Sign up: http://eepurl.com/iEhtPw

07/11/2026

Earlier this week, we had a site visit for a new project - another multigenerational two-flat renovation with Here to Stay Community Land Trust! Unlike our renovation in Avondale, where we’re expanding into the attic to create a family-sized unit, the building’s two current units will be combined into a four-bed, two-bath unit with plenty of space. The basement level, through a combination of raising the first-floor framing and digging out, will become a two-bedroom, one-bathroom aging-in-place unit.

We’re looking forward to really getting into the design of this one; it has great bones for a 1906 frame building!

07/06/2026

Very excited to be working with friends Architecture for Public Benefit and the City to help the community envision the Jackson and person site in the 5th Ward. Looking forward to the community workshops!

City working with two firms to lead public workshops in the coming weeks.

07/03/2026

We love a meet and greet. Our Q2 Newsletter is coming out soon, so who are the people behind the work here at Aggregate Studio?

Josh Mings - founder, principal architect, lover of Brutalism. He started Aggregate, advocating that everyone deserves dignified housing, based on his experience living in substandard housing growing up, and on a design process that grew out of his Master’s Thesis at Tulane.

Katia Astudillo - on her way to becoming a fantastic architect, Josh’s right-hand person, and with us for 2/3rds of Aggregate’s existence. She is a mentor at her core, in the practice, with previous experience as a professor at UWM, and as co-chair of The American Institute of Architects, Chicago Architects in Schools program.

Kat Rausch - a rising 5th year at Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment and with us for her second summer, Kat believes in the power of architecture to facilitate societal change while being environmentally and socially responsive. She’ll graduate this coming year with a B.Arch and a minor in Environmental Studies. Kat is, in fact, enjoying having her own desk this year.

Esti Shapiro - our fractional marketing guide. Having known Josh for years, Esti can hone in on what Josh is trying to say, no matter how awful the wording in each draft he produces. Esti gets to the core of a project to showcase it succinctly and loves the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver (great choice).

We have a great group here at Aggregate. We’re “not the all-black-wearing, big Tom Ford glasses, serious ego type of architect. It’s a cardigan-wearing, slightly quirky, maybe bohemian architect that truly cares about the work it’s doing and the effect it might have.” Said by one of our clients, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Explore our website to learn more about us and to sign up for our newsletter: www.aggregate-studio.com

Photos: Angie McMonigal (Photos of Esti and Kat in Angie’s style by Josh)

07/02/2026

We had a great time at Landmarks Illinois Real Estate and Building Industries Council/ Skyline Council Social at the Pepper Family Wildlife Center in Lincoln Park Zoo last week! We have to ask though, what is Josh looking at in the distance?

Photo: Sophia Castro

06/22/2026

Who is Aggregate Studio?

Aggregate Studio is a mission-aligned architecture partner that specializes in dignified, community-centered affordable housing and civic projects, delivered with an experienced understanding of regulatory policy and funding complexities, and an engaged design process focused on empathy, mutual respect, and collaboration.

We help mission-driven organizations turn community investment into dignified architecture that strengthens neighborhood trust and delivers high-impact affordable housing and civic spaces within the real-world challenges of funding, policy, and place.

Our firm prioritizes process – an approach captured in our name. A true aggregation of ideas, perspectives, and approaches, our work brings together diverse and sometimes contradictory elements to create cohesive, impactful designs. We celebrate the experimental nature of the design process, beginning each project by examining the site’s history, context, and community needs.

Our team then thoughtfully develops concepts that consider program, codes, budget, sustainability, and more. The result is an architecture that serves and uplifts its users, a result that, like our namesake Aggregate, is greater than the sum of its parts.

To dive deeper into what makes us Aggregate, check out the link below.

https://aggregate-studio.com/

06/17/2026

What do we mean by Dignified Architecture?

Dignified Architecture is not a style. It is an approach that combines architectural expertise with empathy, bringing optimism while acknowledging constraints. It listens and responds to people and context, seeking to understand what is needed and bringing many voices together into unified design. Dignified Architecture celebrates real material improvement no matter the scale, enhancing people’s lived experiences and uplifting communities.

This principle guides how we approach projects, guides our mission, values, and our core firm tenets. To dive deeper into what makes us Aggregate, check out the link in bio.

https://aggregate-studio.com/mission/

06/11/2026

Lots of progress is underway on our multigenerational affordable two-flat renovation with the Here to Stay Community Land Trust! Built in 1888, this framed house in Avondale is undergoing a massive transformation for Here to Stay’s first-time home buyers who are long-term residents of the neighborhood.

On the first floor, we completely revised the layout to create an aging-in-place unit for the buyer’s parents, as much as technically feasible. On level two, we’re expanding into the attic to create a true family-sized unit for the growing family. Building-wide, we’re installing new electrical and plumbing systems, insulating the building envelope, and installing all-electric, high-efficiency mechanical systems, hot water systems, and appliances with help from Elevate.

Combining deep technical ability with empathy and collaboration helps create another lifetime of memories within its walls. We can’t wait to see this one finished and for HTS’s clients to enjoy their new home!
GC: Chicago Metropolitan Construction
Energy Efficiency: Elevate