minding the built environment
ADAPTIVE OPERATIONS was founded in 2013 by Charlie Vinz and is focused on cultural production and deftly evolving our shared built environment through architecture, art, design, and education. Adaptive Operations primarily undertakes the adaptive reuse, renovation, and research of existing structures as part of an ongoing strategy to prioritize the embodied carbon in our built environment, while also celebrating these spaces as palaces of human memory.
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 of the era reinforced those inequities, enshrining them in the built environment.
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!). He is a licensed architect in Illinois.
Melanie Gregorio
Melanie is a designer from San Diego, California. She graduated from The School of the Art Institute with a Masters of Architecture in 2021, and has since been leveraging her taste and skill for service-based, people-centered design. At a micro scale, she’s interested in objects and furniture. Beyond that, much of her career’s focus has been on democratizing design. She serves as a board member at Open Architecture Chicago and Under The Grid North Lawndale, where her ‘people first’ ethos has allowed her the opportunity to lead several youth and community projects on Chicago’s West side. Outside of Adaptive Operations she’s a professional bartender, amateur ceramicist, and film photography enthusiast.