History
Tom Bassett-Dilley founded TBDA in 2006 to pursue sustainability. By 2012, TBDA designed the first Phius-certified project in the Chicago region, with many more Phius, LEED, and DOE certified new and remodeled homes and park district buildings throughout the Midwest since then. TBDA is versed in frame, ICF, masonry, and prefab systems, and is actively pursuing low-carbon material strategies to reduce embodied carbon emissions. As an Architecture 2030 Signatory firm, we have committed to deep energy reduction in all our projects, and are proud to have met carbon reduction goals portfolio-wide each year since 2018.
Our Process
Our process begins with in-depth conversations to establish project inspiration, goals, and budget, followed by a research phase that includes analysis of site, climate, neighboring context, zoning and code parameters, potential contractors, and construction methods; these establish a project concept that guides the team all the way to the end of construction.
The design process is a collaboration with owners and consultants, from early hand sketches through detailed 3d design and construction drawings, healthy and efficient component specifications, and energy models.
We work with the municipality during the permitting phase to get plans approved, and we assist the owner during bidding process with the builder. During construction our role is owner’s agent, fielding contractor questions, reviewing shop drawings and samples, and generally collaborating with the builder to clarify intent and make construction smooth. In all projects, but especially in cutting-edge ones, good communication and unity of purpose yields the best results.
See this blog post for more information on this design process.
Recent Press
The Week, August 23, 2026, “6 tranquil homes with a screened porch”
Crain’s Chicago Business, July 2, 2026, “Downers Grove house built to eco-friendly standards goes up for sale”
Forbes.com, April 1, 2026, “Passive House Comes To Affordable Housing”
Chicago Architect, Winter 2026, “2025 Architecture Awards, Part 2: Decarbonization Awards and Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards”
gb&d Magazine, October 14, 2025, “Meet the 2025 Phius Design Competition Winners”
Passive House Accelerator, October 2025, “PhiusCon 2025 – Building a Culture of Purpose”
Wednesday Journal, October 1, 2025, “Oak Park electric home tour shows off an all-electric model”
AIA Chicago, September 19, 2025, “AIA Chicago Announces Winners of the 2025 Design Excellence Awards, Unbuilt Award, Decarbonization Award, Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award and Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards”
Wednesday Journal, September 12, 2025, “ResCorp opens doors to new apartment building on Austin”
Hyde Park Herald, September 10, 2025, “Blacks in Green eyes city land for multimillion-dollar Woodlawn development”
Building Design + Construction, August 12, 2025, “Advanced energy modeling used to design net-zero multifamily building in Illinois”
America ByDesign, Season 3, Episode 8, “Phius Zero Historic Retrofit”
Dwell.com, 2025, “How They Pulled It Off: Making a Midcentury Home Sustainable for the Next Century”
Homes.com., June 2, 2025, “Absorb this: All-black homes don’t necessarily heat up on the inside”
Living Etc., April 17, 2025, “10 Sustainable Homes That Prove Interior Design Can Be Just as Easy on the Eye as It Is on the Earth”
WTMJ-TV Milwaukee, April 16, 2025, “Farming couple in Wheatland builds a ‘passive house’, one of Wisconsin’s most eco-friendly and efficient homes”
Forbes.com, January 13, 2025, “Retrofitting Chicago’s Bungalows For Their Next 100 Years”
Forbes.com, January 10, 2025, “Chicago’s Iconic Bungalow Enters Their Second Century”
Custom Builder Magazine, Dec 4, 2024, “A Sustainable, Self-Powered (and Real) Modern Farmhouse Built with ICFs”
Arch Daily, June 25, 2024, “Designing in Connection with Nature: An Interview with Tom Bassett-Dilley on Sustainable, Healthy Architecture”
Forbes.com, September 27, 2024, “Developers, Architects Stepping Up Their Biophilic Aims”
Awards
AIA Chicago, Decarbonization Citation of Merit Award for Midcentury for the Next Century, 2026
Forbes, America’s Best-In-State Residential Architects, 2026
AIA Illinois, Winner of Excellence in High Performance Buildings Under 5,000 SF for Midcentury for the Next Century, 2026
AIA Illinois, Winner of Excellence in High Performance Buildings Under 5,000 SF for Phius Zero Historic Retrofit, 2025
Phius Passive Projects Design Competition, Source Zero Winner for The Pierce at 7 Van Buren, 2025
Phius Passive Projects Design Competition, Retrofit Honorable Mention for Phius Zero Historic Retrofit, 2025
Forbes, America’s Best-In-State Residential Architects, 2025
AIA Chicago, Decarbonization Honor Award for Phius Zero Historic Retrofit, 2025
Green Builder Media’s Green Home of the Year Award for Phius Zero Historic Renovation, 2024
AIA Chicago’s Decarbonization Honor Award for Bungalow Decarbonization, 2024
AIA Chicago’s Decarbonization Citation of Merit for Lake Bluff Passive House, 2024
PHIUS Passive Projects Design Competition, Retrofit Commercial/Institutional Project Winner for Carroll Center Renovation and Addition, 2021
PHIUS Passive Projects Design Competition, Source Zero Category Honorable Mention for Carroll Center Renovation and Addition, 2021
Illinois Green Alliance 2021 Emerald Award Winner, Tom Bassett-Dilley
AIA Illinois, Winner of Design Excellence in High-Performance Buildings for Carroll Center Renovation and Addition, 2021
PHIUS Passive House Projects Competition, Single-Family Project Winner and Source Zero Winner for Acorn Glade Passive House, Downers Grove, 2019.