Gill Park Cooperative

About Gill Park Cooperative

Gill Park Cooperative is an affordable apartment community located in Chicago, Illinois, containing 259 assisted rental units and 465 assisted bedrooms. Based on typical apartment occupancy limits, Gill Park is home to 891 tenants when fully occupied.

Constructed in 1969, the high-rise building needed to upgrade the window treatments installed in each unit.

The solar control challenge

The previously installed window treatments were not dependable or stable, causing frequent repair and replacement. The management team needed an economical, effective and durable window shading system.

Units with at least one bedroom required blackout shades in the bedroom and solar filtering shades in the living room. Studio units required only blackout shades.

The solution

A total of 1,768 clutch operated roller shades were installed throughout the Gill Park Cooperative building. Heavy duty clutches with 16 lbs of lift were used on each roller, controlled by a #10 stainless steel bead chain.

The bead chain hangs at the side of each individual shade while bead-stops prevent the shades from being raised or lowered too far, ensuring years of trouble-free usage for tenants.

Each shade on floors 2–4 was fitted with NoLite Fiberglass room darkening fabric in Oyster, which blocks all light and offers the ultimate in visual privacy and UV protection.

Each living room shade on floors 5–27 was fitted with Mermet E-Screen 5% woven mesh transparent fabric in Linen/Linen, which provides exceptional view-through while simultaneously protecting the interior from UV rays and glare. NoLite Fiberglass was used in the bedrooms.

Results

Each unit is now furnished with high-quality, easy-to-use clutch operated shade systems that proficiently filter or altogether block out sunlight and glare, giving tenants a more comfortable living space.

With a smooth pull on the bead chain, the shades offer a simple control method that keeps the fabric clean for months at a time.