Client
Begin with how the house will be lived in.
An open plan or more defined rooms, a formal dining room or a larger family space: these are decisions made around the way a particular household lives.
Sergio Estenssoro · SGE Architects
The architect.
An independent residential architecture practice established in 1992.
Sergio Estenssoro earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Illinois, where he also served as a graduate teaching assistant in design. After early work in commercial architecture, he established his independent practice in 1992 and turned his focus to single-family homes.
Independent practice since 1992Single-family residencesChicago & the North Shore
A long residential record
Experience carried forward.
The practice has produced homes across Chicago and North Shore communities for decades. That experience gives each new commission a practical understanding of family life, architectural character, documentation and how a house holds up over time.
Practice
More than a catalogue of houses.
Sergio describes his work as a balance of appearance and usefulness. He listens to the character clients want for their home, but pays equal attention to whether the plan works for their particular family.
His emphasis on meticulous design and working drawings carries the architectural idea into the details that builders and project teams use. The result is a personal response rather than a house repeated from a fixed formula.
Chicago & the North Shore
Architecture rooted in place.
On sites near Lake Michigan, Sergio considers which family rooms and bedrooms should look toward the water. More broadly, the location of windows, the approach to the house and the relationships among its rooms are shaped around the site and the people who will live there.
Explore selected work
The practice
Client, place and architectural resolution.
Sergio’s priorities connect the client’s preferences with a well-organized plan, enduring materials and careful working drawings.
Place
Let the setting inform the response.
Views and daylight help guide window locations and the orientation of major rooms, while each property and its setting inform the architectural response.
Resolution
Carry the idea into drawings and coordination.
Sergio places particular importance on the quality of both the design and its working drawings, refining alternatives before carrying decisions into construction documentation.
Legacy
Designed to endure.
A successful house, in Sergio’s view, should remain comfortable and coherent years after it is built—even as a family makes changes. Good circulation and carefully chosen materials are essential to that longevity.
Stone, slate and brick are among the materials he identifies as aging well. He also emphasizes generous natural light and the sense that an addition should belong to the original house, not appear as an afterthought.
Awards, press & archive
Recognition in context.
The record includes independently documented items, historical SGE profile claims and publication material retained in the practice archive.
2003Crystal Key Award · Best Overall Custom Home DesignAssociated residence not confirmed in interview
2006Preservation Award · New Construction655 Bluff research attribution
2014Luxe Interiors + Design · Gold ListArchitecture · Chicago
Legacy profileTwo Glencoe Historic Preservation Commission New Construction AwardsHistorical SGE website claim
Legacy profileCrystal Award · Chicago Builders AssociationHistorical SGE website claim
2015–2016Luxe Interiors + Design · Winnetka residential featuresTwo identified editorial features
EditorialNorth Shore Magazine · Home Builder DigestCoverage retained in the research record
ArchiveNeighborhood housewalks · Sheridan Road publication presenceHistorical SGE profile and recovered media assets
SGE Architects · Chicago & the North Shore
Homes of enduring character.
Residential architecture shaped around the people who live there, with careful attention to natural light, circulation and enduring character.
Explore selected work
Selected residences
Architecture with room to unfold.
A focused edit from a residential portfolio built over decades — houses shaped through proportion, sequence, material and the character of their setting.
View the full portfolio
Current work · Under construction
Designs taking
shape.
Alongside its completed residences, SGE is actively shaping new homes. Explore two projects currently under construction, shown through architectural visualizations.
Explore current work
Architectural visualizationGlencoe · Under construction
488 Park Residence
Architectural visualizationArlington Heights · Under construction
Brystol Residence
Two current projects from the SGE portfolioImages represent design intent, not completed construction.
The architect
Experience carried forward.
Independent residential architecture since 1992, shaped by listening closely and designing with care.
Sergio Estenssoro approaches every home through its owners’ needs, the flow of its rooms, natural light and the practical detail of the working drawings. His long experience informs a practice that continues to evolve with how families want to live.
Meet Sergio
Approach
A house begins with listening.
Every design begins with the people who will live there. Room relationships, daylight, views and a carefully developed drawing set connect that first conversation to the finished house.
Explore the approach
Recognition & press
Work recognized over time.
Awards, editorial features and archival publications form another part of the practice record.
2014 · Luxe Interiors + Design Gold List2003 · Crystal Key AwardNorth Shore · Luxe · Sheridan Road archive
Explore recognition & press Approach
A house begins with listening.
Sergio begins by listening for how a family wants to live—how open or defined rooms should feel, what the home should look like, and how people should move through it. From there, plan and architecture develop together.
From first conversation to residence
One idea, developed at several scales.
The location of a staircase can organize an entire plan. Window placement can transform daylight and views. Exterior character and interior life are considered together, with detailed drawings developed to carry those choices into construction.
01
Listen
Understand how the house needs to work.
Early conversations clarify whether the family prefers an open plan or more distinct rooms, which spaces matter most, and whether the architecture should feel classical, contemporary or somewhere between.
02
Read the site
Let place become part of the architecture.
The relationship to the landscape matters in everyday life. Where a view is central—such as along Lake Michigan—family rooms and primary bedrooms can be oriented to make the most of it.
03
Shape the house
Develop form, proportion and sequence together.
Stair placement is often a key organizing decision: it can become a focal point or move to the side, opening the arrival sequence to the rooms beyond. Exterior expression and interior flow are developed as one composition.
04
Develop the architecture
Move from character to buildable information.
Computer-aided design makes it easier to compare alternatives, but clarity still depends on precise plans, elevations and details. Sergio emphasizes the discipline of the working drawings as much as the architectural design itself.
05
Carry it through
Protect the architectural intent through execution.
Thoughtful coordination helps preserve the intent of the design. Window placement, the selection of lasting roof and wall materials, and clear construction documents all contribute to a house that is satisfying to live in.
See the completed workThe result
Architecture experienced over time.
The aim is a home whose rooms continue to function well and whose character lasts. As needs change or additions are made, the house should still feel like a coherent whole.
Start a conversationRecognition & press
Architecture inthe public record.
Awards, editorial features and archival publication history from decades of residential practice.
01 · Awards & distinctions
Recognition over time.
A chronological record combining published award references with distinctions retained in SGE’s historical profile and project archive.
Custom home design
Crystal Key Award · Best Overall Custom Home Design
Associated in the recovered project record with 970 Bluff.
New construction
Preservation Award · New Construction
Associated in the recovered project record with 655 Bluff.
Luxe Interiors + Design
Gold List · Architecture · Chicago
SGE & Associates appears in the 2014 Chicago Gold List for architecture.
Historical practice record
Two Glencoe Historic Preservation Commission New Construction Awards
Listed in SGE’s legacy practice profile.
Historical practice record
Crystal Award · Chicago Builders Association
Listed in SGE’s legacy practice profile.
02 · Editorial features
Architecture in print.
Two identified Luxe features credit Sergio Estenssoro / SGE as architect on Winnetka residences, with project-team credits retained in the research record.
2015 · Luxe Interiors + Design
Winnetka country-manor feature
Published residential feature crediting Sergio Estenssoro / SGE as architect.
2016 · Luxe Interiors + Design
Contemporary Winnetka Tudor
Published residential feature crediting Sergio / SGE as architect.
03 · From the archive
Publication history, preserved.
Two surviving publication artifacts connect the practice to North Shore residential media: a NorthShore Dream Issue cover and an SGE Sheridan Road advertising page.
NorthShore · March 2010
The Dream Issue.
A surviving NorthShore issue retained in the SGE archive, part of the practice’s longer history in North Shore residential media.
Sheridan Road · SGE archive
SGE in local residential media.
A preserved SGE advertising page from Sheridan Road documents the practice’s historical presence in local residential media.
Additional record
A wider public presence.
Home Builder Digest · Hinsdale residential architects
SGE appears in a published regional feature on residential architects in Hinsdale.
North Shore publication features
The legacy practice profile references additional North Shore publication exposure beyond the recovered cover material.
Neighborhood housewalks
The legacy profile states that SGE residences appeared in neighborhood housewalks.
Start a project
Begin with a conversation.
Tell us a little about what you are considering. A few details are enough to begin a conversation about the site, the scope and what you hope the home can become.
Portfolio · Selected work
Houses with room to unfold.
An edited portfolio spanning completed residences, the spaces within them and new homes currently under construction.
Start a conversationSGE Architects · Current work
Architecture in progress.
New residences are taking shape in Glencoe and Arlington Heights. Explore two active commissions through the architectural visualizations that communicate their design intent.
Discuss your projectResidential architecture · North Shore & Chicago suburbs
Thoughtful homes begin with a clear architectural idea. Explore two residences currently taking shape, presented through their design visualizations.
Explore completed workSelected active commissions
Two distinct residences, each shaped around its setting, its owners and a considered approach to design.
Selected residence
Blackthorn Residence.
Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka · completed residence
A Tudor-influenced Winnetka residence with detailed door and window surrounds, an extensive sequence of formal and family rooms, and preserved front and right elevations from the SGE drawing set.
Architectural perspective · Blackthorn Residence
An open arrival sequence.
Positioning the staircase away from the center of the entry creates a more expansive sense of arrival, allowing views to extend through the principal rooms toward the rear of the residence.
— Sergio Estenssoro Architect & Principal
Arrival
Formal rooms
Everyday living
Private rooms
Lower level
From the drawing set
The house on paper.
Sergio’s front and right elevations are retained here as part of the project record, connecting the completed residence back to the architectural work.