Michael Wilkinson

Michael Wilkinson is an award-winning architect with a wide range of building design experience at multiple scales. For thirteen years as a partner in a widely recognized boutique architectural practice, Michael focused primarily on high-end residential and small commercial projects. Upon dissolving the firm in 2011, Wilkinson assumed an associate principal position with a large multi-disciplined architecture firm, concentrating on medium and high-density residential and mixed-use markets. In 2014, Wilkinson re-established his practice with partner Greg Gibson, focusing on housing, urban development, and construction.

Michael's work has appeared in numerous national publications, including Dwell, Metropolitan Home, Metropolis, Crain’s, The Chicago Tribune, and Architectural Record. He has received multiple AIA design awards for creativity, and was responsible for the first LEED Gold rated residential project in the State of Illinois. He also served as the chairman of the AIA Chicago Design Awards Committee and on the Board of the AIA Chicago Chapter in the role of Vice President from 2012 to 2014. Michael has held teaching positions at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology, and has lectured on his work at both schools, in addition to others.

Community involvement has included serving as a director on the Roscoe Village Neighborhood Association, where he chaired the Zoning and Land Use Committee for four years. In 2010 he served on the 47th Ward Zoning Transition Committee, leading a group charged with rewriting the zoning policies of the ward and interfacing with the newly elected freshman alderman. Michael is also a past President of the Chicago Architecture Club, during which time he spearheaded a design activism effort focused on the re-appropriation of abandoned post-industrial sites in Chicago. The ensuing publication was instrumental in demonstrating the viability of a project eventually executed by the Chicago Parks District and transportation authorities after receiving state and federal funding ("the 606").

Michael received his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He attended Miami University in Ohio as an undergraduate. Michael is a registered architect in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio, and is a member of the American Institute of Architects.

Passionate about the intersection of design, policy, and politics, Michael continues to actively and vocally participate in issues of importance which shape our urban environment. He lives in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago with his wife, two sons, and a dog. Michael hopes one day to grow all his food in his own rooftop urban vegetable garden.