Category: GreenRise

FIRST, DO NO HARM WHEN ADDRESSING HOUSING INSTABILITY

11/8/2018

“The cause of harm is a failure of our culture to see housing as a human right”
–Ryan Spangler, Heartland Alliance Health

OVER 750 VISITORS EXPLORE ICA GREENRISE DURING OPEN HOUSE

11/8/2018

Among the crowd of curious visitors who made their way to and through ICA GreenRise over the weekend of October 13–14th, 2018, one in particular stood out.

ICA GREENRISE RETURNS TO OPEN HOUSE CHICAGO

10/2/2018

For a building like ICA GreenRise, which hosts social service providers that reach over a thousand people weekly, every day seems like an open house. However, during Chicago Architecture Foundation’s annual Open House Chicago tour, architecture buffs, curiosity seekers, and passersby alike are drawn from across Chicago to marvel at buildings which might otherwise remain a mystery.

CONVERSATIONS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE LAUNCHES WITH SPOTLIGHT ON IMMIGRATION

8/21/2018

ICA’s current community programs work at the intersection of environmental and social justice. Our programs also aim to support and showcase other organizations and individuals who are working on transforming our current inequitable systems. ICA launched a new event series called Conversations of Social Justice, which highlights local resource organizations so that Uptown residents and workers have the opportunity to further connect regarding services, partnerships, and volunteer opportunities.

INNOVATIONS CONTINUE AT ICA GREENRISE

8/20/2018

ICA’s mission of building “a just and equitable society in harmony with planet Earth” begins here at home with the ICA GreenRise, our national landmark building. In May 2018 the Chicago Community Loan Fund extended to ICA a $3.5 million loan for the purposes of anchoring the total funding needed to begin work on the historic restoration of the building.

INNOVATIONS CONTINUE AT ICA GREENRISE

12/6/2017

Since ICA’s mission is “to build a just and equitable society in harmony with planet earth,” it begins here at home with our Chicago Landmark building itself being a demonstration of our mission. Indeed, that’s what was envisioned when the building was rebranded as the ICA GreenRise and launched the solar panel project in 2014. This was a major step toward this vision as ICA now generates 25% of the building’s consumed power from solar.

Interior view of new atrium and new conference center in ICA GreenRise

"MY SOUL CRIES OUT: STOP!" SPECIAL PERFORMANCE AT ICA

7/6/2017

On May 4, 2017, nearly 100 attendees gathered at the ICA GreenRise for an abridged performance of My Soul Cries Out: Stop! The play was written, directed, and produced by Denise Gathings, a Chicago Police Officer and lifelong resident of the Fifth City neighborhood on Chicago’s west side. Gathings’s aim in creating the play was to spark community transformation throughout Chicago. The play’s content drew directly from her day-to-day interactions with local youth as a community police officer.

A NEW COMMUNITY PLAY & TOOL FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

4/12/2017

Fifty years ago the ICA launched Fifth City as its first human development project in East Garfield Park, Chicago. Today ICA is proud to host a new community play developed by Denise Gathings who grew up in Fifth City as the daughter of Ruth Carter (who served 40 years as the Fifth City Preschool Director).

ECOCHARRETTE STIRS INTEREST IN HISTORIC GREENRISE RENOVATION

12/5/2016

ICA staff have been thinking critically on how to ensure the future of ICA GreenRise, ICA’s historic 8-story Uptown building. In addition to immediate concerns, such as completing an intensive replacement and repair of the plumbing system, there have been great strides to finalize a plan to sustainably renovate and restore the building to its original grandeur.