Four generations of experience in design and construction in the Chicagoland area.
A. W. Wendell & Sons, LLC has been providing quality design and building services throughout
the Chicago area since 1914. Steve and Eric Wendell, our principals, continue that tradition
as they lend their substantial experience in design and construction
to meet clients' needs. We are proud of our heritage and the superior service that we have
provided to clients over the years and invite you to learn more about us…
Eric Steven John Alexander
Eric John Wendell:
- Eric Wendell graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Studies and Environmental Design and is licensed in the state of Illinois. He also achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in 2009.
- Before joining the family business, Eric worked at Tigerman-McCurry Architects in Chicago. At Tigerman–McCurry, Eric worked directly with the firm's principals on many private residences. He also collaborated with other architects on the World Trade Center's Memorial Competition, Chicago museum projects and numerous art installations.
- Eric visited the world's most architecturally significant sites during his travels throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America.
- Since joining A. W. Wendell & Sons, LLC in 2004, Eric has quickly developed a high level of skill in general contracting that complements his design expertise.
- He integrates innovative building management systems into the business that are designed to maximize efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and serves as the business' expert in sustainable ("green") design and construction practices.
- Eric's personal designs, like his father Steve's, most often include open floor plans and a focus on the natural landscape, and further tend toward the clean simplicity of Mid-Century Modernism.
- Eric particularly enjoys working one-on-one with his clients to understand their unique requirements and design preferences.
- He is committed to arriving at creative design solutions that successfully meet his clients' needs.
- Steve Wendell holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois and is licensed in the states of Illinois and Michigan.
- Steve joined his father, John, in 1972 and together they expanded A. W. Wendell & Sons' design-build practice into both commercial and civic developments, including the Downers Grove Reporter and Downers Grove's Fire Station Number One.
- A highlight of Steve's career is the design, build and management of the Oak Tree Towers senior living complex. The Oak Tree Towers project involved the adaptation of Downers Grove's original fire station into a seniors' activity center. Oak Tree Towers now ranks as one of the top-rated HUD senior living developments in the state of Illinois.
- Steve possesses nearly forty years of experience as a design-build architect and, in those years, has completed projects that run the gamut of architectural styles.
- When designing for himself, Steve favors open floor plans and organic designs that complement the natural beauty of the building site.
- Steve, the consummate contractor, excels in particular at driving a project to completion.
- Over the course of his career, he's established an impeccable reputation for honesty and dependability.
- John, the first architect in the business, obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Studies from University of Illinois.
- He first worked with experienced tradesmen at Bartlet Homes, where John observed first-hand the benefits to be gained from an integrated "drawing-to-occupancy" approach, and so became a lifelong devotee of the design-build philosophy.
- In 1946, after joining is father, John and his brother, Harry, transformed the family business into a progressive design-build practice active in rapidly developing Hinsdale, Downers Grove, Burr Ridge and Oak Brook.
- John was the first Wendell to couple practical building experience with an acute sense of architectural design. His projects combined unique design details with form and function.
- In 1914, Alexander Wendell, a Swedish immigrant, began building row houses and bungalows in Berwyn and Riverside and quickly expanded his business further into the western suburbs.
- It is a testament to the livability, relevance and quality of Alexander’s work that a new generation of proud owners in Berwyn, Riverside and Hinsdale now call these original structures home.
