minding the built environment
ADAPTIVE OPERATIONS was founded in 2013 by Charlie Vinz and is focused on cultural production and deft manipulation of our shared built environment through architecture, art, design, and education.
The Post Literate City - “Chuck Buttons” ca. 1961. As a founding member of Archigo, Chuck Buttons was interested in looking at the rising inequities faced by Chicagoans of different backgrounds and means, and the ways urban planning and design could reinforce those inequities.
Charlie Vinz
Prior to establishing Adaptive Operations, Charlie was the Creative Director at Rebuilding Exchange, a building materials reuse non profit, where he ran the in-house custom design and fabrication shop in conjunction with a jobs training program for people with barriers to employment, established an artist-in-residence program, and helped salvage and reinstall the facade of the Madison & Wabash elevated train station. He joined the RX team after years spent designing and managing projects for Theaster Gates and Rebuild Foundation in St. Louis, Omaha, and around the South Side of Chicago. Prior to working with Gates, Charlie was a Project Architect with Tom Brock Architect, a Designer with Antheus Capital, and Junior Project Architect with Holabird & Root.
Starting in 2008, Charlie established two different design/build programs with After School Matters (Learning in the Built Environment and Design Build Grow Eat), which got Chicago teens involved in their communities through design. Charlie has been an adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a guest teacher at the University of Chicago. He is currently adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he graduated from with a B. Arch in 2004. He is also currently architect in residence at Ox Bow School of Art and Artist Residency in Saugatuck, MI, focusing on the development of Ox Bow House. He serves on the board of Preservation Chicago and is a licensed architect in Illinois.
Curt MacIver
Curt has been working for Adaptive Operations since he graduated from Illinois Institute of Technology with a Masters of Architecture in May 2020, where his projects ranged from woodworking-focused furniture design to food-oriented urban planning. Whether it’s drafting floor plans in the office, documenting existing conditions on site, or ripping plywood in the field, he has developed an appreciation for the unique story behind every building and neighborhood. Beyond the studio, he continues to push his passion for craft and materiality in his own furniture/object practice. When he’s not in the studio or making something, you can find him eating gluten-free pizza or planning his next travel adventure (or maybe both at the same time!).
Adrian Rucker
Adrian is a recent graduate of the University of Chicago where he studied Sociology and Architectural Studies. He met Charlie through a carbon-neutral architecture class with Amber Ginsburg and interned at Adaptive Operations in the summer of 2021, before returning in 2022. Adrian is particularly interested in the social and environmental aspects of architecture and plans to explore these interests further in graduate school. His undergraduate thesis, “Accumulation Through Abandonment: Demolition and the Uneven Production of Vacant Lots in Chicago Neighborhoods,” explored how racial and class contexts influence patterns of destruction and redevelopment in the urban built environment. Coming to Chicago via sweltering San Antonio, Texas, Adrian has grown to love the Midwest. When he is not at work, he can be found by Lake Michigan, exploring the city by bike and CTA, or walking his cat.
Yesi Villa
Yesi is an artist and aspiring architect in the city of Chicago. She is pursuing a degree in architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture, and is set to graduate with a Bachelors in Architecture in 2024. Yesi enjoys studying architectural preservation and restoration, and hopes to pursue a career in the field once she graduates. She appreciates the inclusion of cultural context in materiality and design, and the ability to repurpose objects. In her free time, she collaborates with her local neighborhood council where she contributes her skills in creating public murals alongside the local youth. Today, you can see work she has led and contributed to as you walk through the Back of the Yards neighborhood.