Gwen Stricker

Gwen is a Junior Associate at Nurture, where she specializes in the restoration of historic landmarks and existing buildings. With a keen focus on historic significance, Gwen excels in preservation, adaptive reuse, and master planning; she brings her expertise to a diverse range of projects, spanning institutional, residential, commercial, and religious buildings. Gwen’s skill set extends beyond design, facilitating architectural research, writing, thorough conditions assessments, and the preparation of National Register of Historic Places nominations. Additionally, she has in-depth knowledge of preservation regulations at local, state, and national levels.   

Gwen’s preservation practice bridges historic stewardship across civic, cultural, and residential work. At the Hazel M. Johnson Institute Altgeld Restoration in Chicago, she serves as Project Architect for the adaptive reuse of Building C into a sustainability and environmental justice research and learning center, advancing preservation-informed design strategies and early visioning. For the Chicago Park District’s English Stone Comfort Station in Jackson Park, part of the Obama Presidential Center area improvements, she prepared a Historic Structures Report and supported Section 106 compliance to guide infrastructure and public realm enhancements. She also contributed to the Perkins House Restoration and Electrification, a Chicago Landmark residence, leading research and documentation that informed a comprehensive restoration framework that balances material conservation with performance upgrades.  

Gwen’s commitment to her practice is further demonstrated through her active role as a Board member of the Calumet Heritage Partnership, in which she organizes and spearheads local preservation initiatives in the bi-state Calumet Region, located in Southeast Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, an area renowned for its rich industrial heritage.