Omnira
Start a project
Studio founded 2008

Light, material and time.

Architecture that grows better with age, designed with the people who will use it.

Light, material and time.
22 awardsSince 2012
-41% carbonAverage vs. baseline
Sectors

Where we work

Libraries, galleries and civic rooms

Libraries, galleries and civic rooms

Buildings that belong to everyone: open, welcoming and robust enough for a hundred years.

  • Public libraries
  • Community centres
  • Galleries
Homes for many

Homes for many

Co-operative, affordable and market housing designed around shared spaces and generous private rooms.

  • Co-operatives
  • Affordable housing
  • Residential towers
Schools and campuses

Schools and campuses

Learning environments full of daylight, with every classroom opening to the outdoors.

  • Primary schools
  • Early years
  • University buildings
Private houses

Private houses

A handful of houses each year for clients who want to live somewhere quietly extraordinary.

  • New houses
  • Extensions
  • Retreats
The studio in numbers

Thirty people, one table

A converted foundry in the West Loop
Studio

A converted foundry in the West Loop

Our home since 2015.

96

Buildings completed

41%

Less embodied carbon

Average across projects since 2020.

Their drawing packages are the clearest we have ever priced.

Construction directorMain contractor, Meridian Workplace

Every project

  • A partner in charge
  • A physical model
  • A carbon budget
  • A post-occupancy visit
200+ models built
Models

200+ models built

Drawn by hand, then by computer
Process

Drawn by hand, then by computer

Careers

Join the studio

Three open roles.

Press

Published in 40+ journals

Read recent coverage of our work.

On site

From frame to finished

Drag the handle to compare the Foundry Lane structure in 2023 with the finished building.

2025 · Complete
2023 · Structure
2023 · Structure2025 · Complete
History

Eighteen years of building

  1. 2008

    Two architects, one desk

    Mira Halden and Jonas Roe start the studio in a shared office above a bakery.

  2. 2012

    First public building

    A branch library in Pilsen wins our first design award.

  3. 2015

    The foundry

    We move into a converted foundry on Foundry Lane, our home ever since.

  4. 2020

    Carbon budgets

    Every project now has a whole-life carbon target from the first sketch.

  5. 2026

    Design Excellence

    Harbourside Public Library receives the Chicago Architecture Guild Design Excellence Award.

Clients

In their words

Visit the studio

Address

Studio 3, 41 Foundry Lane, Chicago, IL 60607

Hours

Mon–Fri, 9am–6pm

Omnira

30 ready-made demos

View all demos