Isabella Marino & Julian Brooks

Isabella had just finished a contentious design review when Julian’s first message arrived. Ordinarily she would have answered the next morning, but the message referenced the Robie House. She replied within an hour.

Their first meeting was a Sunday walk — the city’s best kept summer secret. They started at The Bean, drifted along the river, and ended up at a small bar in Wicker Park where Julian knew the bartender from his student years at DePaul. They talked for six hours, mostly about Chicago itself: its architectural scars, its summer lakefront, its uncompromising winters.

They bought a three-flat in Logan Square the following year and renovated the top unit together. Julian’s Saturday rehearsals and Isabella’s site visits have made them careful about their time. When they have it, they spend it walking.