University of Illinois Chicago Computer Design, Research and Learning Center

Chicago, IL
The new UIC Computer Design, Research and Learning Center will consolidate the Computer & Science Department in a new home and co-locate with a large cluster of university-administrative classrooms at the heart of the east campus. The building is designed to be a welcoming, inclusive, and inviting space for the diverse student body.

Creating a contemporary addition to this iconic brutalist campus, the building is functional, flexible, and respectful of the context. The building celebrates the natural setting and organic form of the Memorial Grove. Together with the existing lab building, the CDRLS creates a dramatic public atrium with visual and physical connections to all floors. The precast concrete and terra cotta façade of the building are inspired by Netsch’s late modern architecture and respond to the site conditions and the Memorial Grove. The building’s unique design features a curving façade with broad recessed windows, combined with terra cotta accents and metal paneling.

PRECAST ELEMENTS

505 Precast Pieces (47,054 square feet)

The finish on the pieces includes polished, acid etched, and inlay terra cotta (on 8,800 square feet).

PARTNERS

CM: Mortenson
GC: W.E. O’Neil
Architect: Booth Hansen and LMN Architects
EOR: Drucker Warner Associates (formerly known as DZSE)