LATENT DESIGN

LATENT DESIGN Latent was founded to explore the influence of architecture as small or large as the context allows.

Public Space SystemsVolunteering with the people and organization that would become and was a critical moment in under...
08/25/2026

Public Space Systems
Volunteering with the people and organization that would become and was a critical moment in understanding how far design collaborations can go in shifting systems. The ACTIVATE! Design Competition was founded to highlight the ways design could be a catalyst for creating meaningful and joyful spacces that facilitated community engagement and growth. The competition brief challenged designers to rethink vacant spaces with a temporary, one-year installation on a $1,000 budget. Impossible, but these simple provocations of plywood, paint, and plants often became permanent public spaces, new funding for neighborhood improvements, citywide placemaking policies, toolkits, grants, biennial themes, and future possibilities to be discovered even a decade later.

Winners included:
2010 - cut.join.play by mas studio at 26th and Trumball
2011 - Grow-Quet by Mark Jirik and Sean McKay at Dyett High School
2012 - PlayFarm by designlabworkshop at Legends South
2013 - Game On! by Meghan Funk and Kevin Pazik at 62nd and Ingleside
2014 - Re:Actuate by Rahmin Statik at 18th and Paulina

Sweet SixteenWe are taking the time to celebrate our work and revisit key projects each year through the firm's sixteen ...
07/23/2026

Sweet Sixteen
We are taking the time to celebrate our work and revisit key projects each year through the firm's sixteen year history. One of our first projects in 2010 was for Chicago Youth Centers Rebecca K Crown Youth Center entry renovation in partnership with Designs for Dignity. This project needed to stretch a two-week construction window and $20,000 construction budget through donated materials, volunteer workdays, and hustle.

In addition to new ADA entry doors and closers which was the majority of the allocated budget, the design created more seating for families and children, improved lines of site and traffic flows, revealed a gorgeous mosaic, and provided custom surrounds for the fish tank and trophy case. These last three items exist at every Chicago Youth Center location and needed space to highlight their importance and unique part of the organizations mission. This project framed what is possible within social justice architecture work and the impact of even the smallest design interventions.

Reclaimed wood from felled Chicago trees fabricated by Icon Modern | Custom Furniture
Fabric for benches donated by Designtex
Wall coverings donated by Maya Romanoff
Lighting donated by Philips Lighting
Office furniture donated by Steelcase coalesse Interface
Entry doors by R & R Glass and Windows, Inc.
And the first time we met the amazing Jean of MOTH ARCHITECTS

Fuzzy before and during pics by Katherine Darnstadt with an iphone that literally looked like 📱. Yes, it was that dark on the interior.

Sweet SixteenWe are taking the time to celebrate our work and revisit key projects each year through the firm's sixteen ...
07/23/2026

Sweet Sixteen
We are taking the time to celebrate our work and revisit key projects each year through the firm's sixteen year history. One of our first projects in 2010 was for Rebecca K Crown Youth Center entry renovation in partnership with . This project needed to stretch a two-week construction window and $20,000 construction budget through donated materials, volunteer workdays, and hustle.

In addition to new ADA entry doors and closers which was the majority of the allocated budget, the design created more seating for families and children, improved lines of site and traffic flows, revealed a gorgeous mosaic, and provided custom surrounds for the fish tank and trophy case. These last three items exist at every Chicago Youth Center location and needed space to highlight their importance and unique part of the organizations mission. This project framed what is possible within social justice architecture work and the impact of even the smallest design interventions.

Reclaimed wood from felled Chicago trees fabricated by
Fabric for benches donated by
Wall coverings donated by
Lighting donated by
Office furniture donated by
Entry doors by R & R Glass and Windows, Inc.
And the first time we met the amazing Jean of

Fuzzy before and during pics by with an iphone that literally looked like 📱. Yes, it was that dark on the interior.

Six PackLucie Rigaldiès has excelled as a designer over the past year at Latent and we are celebrating her passing all s...
07/18/2026

Six Pack
Lucie Rigaldiès has excelled as a designer over the past year at Latent and we are celebrating her passing all six AREs over a two week sprint to become a licensed architect! With versatility as one of her several strengths, she understands architecture as an exceptional intersection of art, science, and engineering. Always ready to measure a vacant building, she reveals design possibilities in our adaptive reuse projects with precision.

According to NCARB, in 2024 only 27% of new architects identified as women, but they represented half of all students and early professionals. We know the gap increases as women move through the profession and leadership. As a licensed architect and firm owner by 28, our Founder Katherine (Katherine Darnstadt) believes in moving the metrics and has made licensure and professional development support a priority. Each employee has a $500 yearly development stipend, 2 PTO days for conferences, and all passed ARE exam fees are paid for. Is your firm doing the same?

Six Pack has excelled as a designer over the past year at Latent and we are celebrating her passing all six AREs over a ...
07/17/2026

Six Pack
has excelled as a designer over the past year at Latent and we are celebrating her passing all six AREs over a two week sprint to become a licensed architect! With versatility as one of her several strengths, she understands architecture as an exceptional intersection of art, science, and engineering. Always ready to measure a vacant building, she reveals design possibilities in our adaptive reuse projects with precision.

According to , in 2024 only 27% of new architects identified as women, but they represented half of all students and early professionals. We know the gap increases as women move through the profession and leadership. As a licensed architect and firm owner by 28, our Founder Katherine () believes in moving the metrics and has made licensure and professional development support a priority. Each employee has a $500 yearly development stipend, 2 PTO days for conferences, and all passed ARE exam fees are paid for. Is your firm doing the same?

Halfway ThereBurnout is very real and since 2020, we close the office and sign off for a week-long summer reprieve to ta...
07/10/2026

Halfway There
Burnout is very real and since 2020, we close the office and sign off for a week-long summer reprieve to take a breath and regroup from the first half of the year. It can be easy getting caught in the nonstop project cycle, but this break serves to disrupt out typical work schedules and fill them with adventurous hikes, out-of-state visits, cramming for the AREs, and get some sand in our toes. Part of loving the work we do entails embracing that balance between our professional and personal lives, and what it means to fill both cups.


📷from some of the team:
𝔻𝔸𝕄𝕃𝔸 hiking in Colorado
Tony site seeing in Juarez and Alamo Gordo
Emily Việt Lan Dương two stepping in Nashville
Lucie Rigaldiès studying for all the AREs (lessgo!!!)
gia popcorning at Movies in the Park
Nicolas Anderson grounding in Florida
Katherine Darnstadt floating away in Wisconsin

Tell your boss your want a summer break instead of summer hours!

Halfway ThereBurnout is very real and since 2020, we close the office and sign off for a week-long summer reprieve to ta...
07/10/2026

Halfway There
Burnout is very real and since 2020, we close the office and sign off for a week-long summer reprieve to take a breath and regroup from the first half of the year. It can be easy getting caught in the nonstop project cycle, but this break serves to disrupt out typical work schedules and fill them with adventurous hikes, out-of-state visits, cramming for the AREs, and get some sand in our toes. Part of loving the work we do entails embracing that balance between our professional and personal lives, and what it means to fill both cups.


📷from some of the team:
hiking in Colorado
site seeing in Juarez and Alamo Gordo
two stepping in Nashville
studying for all the AREs (lessgo!!!)raquel popcorning at Movies in the Park
grounding in Florida
floating away in Wisconsin

Tell your boss your want a summer break instead of summer hours!

Creativity and craftsmanshipNeoCon 2026 brought design inspiration and playful exploration for the Latent team. NeoCon i...
06/18/2026

Creativity and craftsmanship
NeoCon 2026 brought design inspiration and playful exploration for the Latent team. NeoCon is an amusement park made up of color palettes, soft furniture, and getting to sit, touch, and experience the materials first-hand. There was vibrant energy in each immersive showroom, from a silent disco to a live DJ set, showcasing not only the products themselves but the endless possibilities of design.

Your CityProud and humbled to stand shoulder once again with our peers as part of Design 50 of changmakers "...building...
06/15/2026

Your City
Proud and humbled to stand shoulder once again with our peers as part of Design 50 of changmakers "...building platforms, preserving histories, challenging conventions, creatingaccess and rethinking what design can do—and who it’s for." When the firm was founded in 2010, to advocate and create spaces for social impact was considered periphery or philanthropic, generally a good golf clap, but not always architecture. And it isn't. Latent is "an evolution of Darnstadt’s spatial justice philosophy, an act restoring access to resources through a reparative design process." Sometimes buildings, sometimes policy, sometimes general contracting, always together.

📷Joseph Mietus
+ some pics with friend for from 2022 and way back from the upper deck in 2014.

Chicago CommonPerched above a rambunctious intersection of Bucktown is Reading Room. Throughout the , this room showcas...
03/17/2026

Chicago Common
Perched above a rambunctious intersection of Bucktown is Reading Room. Throughout the , this room showcased a series of recently completed and newly commissioned projects for this exhibition by Chicago-based practices that envision a shared present and future featuring large-scale drawings, collages, and conceptual models.

Our installation represented the outcome of a targeted ten-session engagement plan invited input from students at eight local elementary, middle, and high schools, along with members of six Boys and Girls Clubs. Community workshops, focus groups, and interactive charrettes ensured the design directly reflects neighborhood aspirations.. This collage represents our firm’s process from community workshops to design, through construction and use, tracking its success as students build ambitious plans for their lives.

📷 (1-2) (3-6)

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1006 S. Michigan Avenue , Suite 700
Chicago, IL
60605

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