Our Services & Expertise

Farr Associates is a full-service architecture and urban design firm. We collaborate with clients, design partners, and communities to create frameworks and systems that realize sustainable aspirations towards healthy, living futures.

Call on us with your problems and we’ll workshop solutions. Whether that solution fits into one of our typical services, or needs a bigger brush, we’ll work with you to bring about an action plan fit for your future. No project is too small or too large.

  • High-Performance Buildings

    We can design and deliver high performance buildings and places whether they are simply Low energy, Net Zero Energy, or Net Zero Ready.

    Our high-performance expertise extends in to all aspects of building, including embodied carbon, water use, and waste.

    Project Exemplars:
    Academy for Global Citizenship
    Galleria89
    Yannell House

  • Preservation & Adaptive Reuse

    We love old buildings! However, rarely can they be used exactly as they were built. Adaptive reuse salvages the character of the architecture while restoring function to the program.

    If your building is historic, we have experience working with local and national preservation bodies to ensure the greatest adherence to the historic character while serving client needs and modern building and fire codes.

    Project Exemplars:
    6001 Cass
    Keller Center
    Lawson House

  • Urban Design & Master Planning

    Farr Associates was early to the New Urbanist movement, combining sustainability with placemaking to create Sustainable Urbanism.

    Whether your project is a single building slotting into a larger urban context, a master plan repairing a battered area of the city, or something entirely new, we can help ensure a pleasant architectural experience for all transportation modes.

    Project Exemplars:
    25 Years of Normal, IL
    Merriman Valley Redevelopment Plan
    Granite City Green Communities

  • Community Engagement

    Our team believes in inclusive design for every project. We facilitate experiences for all groups to have a seat at the table to directly discuss and debate solutions for their communities. We work hard to land on solutions the first time, but rely on feedback loops to make sure we have accurately heard the concerns of constituents in our response. The best plans result from heavily criticized iterations that grow consensus and produce actionable next steps.

    Farr Associates is one of only a handful of firms nationally certified in the National Charrette Institute (NCI) model, the national best standard for structuring a community design and input process.

    Project Exemplars:
    Envision 8th
    Bevo Great Streets
    Colony Park Sustainable Community

  • Green Certifications

    With our long history of building certifications and staff accreditations, Farr Associates can also act as a third-party consultant for many of the top sustainability rating systems:

    Living Building Challenge, Phius, LEED for Buildings, LEED—ND, WELL Building, Energy Star, DOE Zero Energy-Ready Homes.

    Reach out to see how your project’s goals may align with the various rating systems.

    Project Exemplars:
    Academy for Global Citizenship
    University of Chicago Keller Center
    Broadway Lofts

  • Prototyping the Future

    Interested in a large-scale solution or do you need something repeatable? Great!

    We’ve worked with developers and corporations to design the first article in their fleet of high-performance buildings. Often times, these buildings are general, either lacking sites entirely, or awaiting sites by a future purchaser. 

    Project Exemplars:
    CEDA Weatherization Training Center
    Habitat for Humanity Single-Family Prototype
    Invenergy Prototype for Net-Zero Office