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IIT is proud to have recently unveiled the beautifully restored Wishnick Hall. The completion of the exterior restoration and full interior renovation means that the Mies van der Rohe Society has now fulfilled its initial promise to restore this building and S. R. Crown Hall. Both projects have been performed to the highest standards and not only prove the University’s new commitment to preservation of the core campus, but also the dedication to providing superior learning environments for IIT’s stellar students.
Work on Wishnick Hall has been a multi-year, multi-phase construction project. Mies Society members, Gunny Harboe and Greg Grunloh (Holabird & Root) restored key Miesian details and preserved the historic significance and character of the building while creating a highly functional facility for some of IIT’s most innovative academic programs. Wishnick Hall is in many ways the heart of IIT’s undergraduate education experience. Combining office space, research laboratories, an auditorium and classrooms, it is a three-floor, 64,500 square foot building in the center of the campus. As the home for undergraduate chemistry, Wishnick Hall has been a part of nearly every undergraduate student’s educational experience since its doors opened in 1947. Currently, the building also houses the undergraduate program in biomedical engineering, one of the most promising new academic programs on campus.
In the interior of the building, outdated labs have been replaced with four technologically advanced classrooms. The lobby has been fully restored, including stripping and refinishing the wood veneered walls, doors, and windows, and cleaning the terrazzo floors. IIT successfully conducted a worldwide search for the slow-growth white oak veneer to match that which Mies used for the original wood panels in the lobby. Further renovation to the interior of the building included renovation of the chemistry labs and general offices on the second floor (labs which had not been altered since the building opened in 1947), as well as the creation of offices for the Biomedical Engineering Department on the third floor.
On the exterior of the building, the roof has been replaced. The existing single-pane, non-thermally broken, double-hung windows have been replaced with fixed thermally broken frames and insulated glazing. Nine custom dies have been made for custom window extrusions to match the original double-hung window profiles as closely as possible. The upper and lower panes of glass are set back from one another, creating the appearance of the original double-hung windows. The lead-based paint has been removed and the exterior steel has been refurbished and covered with a high performance epoxy coating. One of our vendors has developed a color referred to as “Mies Gray” that was used on the Commons Building, S. R. Crown Hall, and now Wishnick Hall. The epoxy coating (a three-part system) is far superior to the original building paint and should last many times longer. Finally, the brick facades have been tuckpointed and cleaned.
The final phase of the project, the replacement of the concrete porch at the west entrance of the building, is scheduled for the summer of 2008. The hope is that the Wishnick Hall renovation will prove to be a model to follow in the renovation of the other Mies academic buildings on IIT’s Main Campus.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's original Master Plan gave shape to
the historic IIT campus. In 1996 Mies' grandson, prominent
architect Dirk Lohan, created a new master plan that challenged
IIT to revitalize its campus by restoring core Mies structures
and tackling daring new building projects. IIT has realized the
first stage of that plan with two innovative new buildings designed
by world-renowned architects: The McCormick Tribune Campus Center
and the State Street Village residence hall.
The opening of The McCormick Tribune Campus Center in September
2003 marked the culmination of five years of planning and construction.
Designed by famed Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, the building
boasts an array of dramatic architectural innovations while
fulfilling IIT's vision of creating a nucleus for the
campus. Koolhaas'
design was inspired by pre-existing footpaths that criss-crossed
under the Chicago Transit Authority's Green Line train tracks,
formed as students walked back and forth between residence halls
and classroom buildings during the past
70 years. Among the building's most dramatic features is the
Exelon Tube, a 530-foot concrete and steel enclosure designed
to dampen the rumble of the "El"
train that passes directly over the building. Recreational and
dining facilities, an auditorium and meeting rooms, student organization
offices, the campus bookstore, a coffee bar, a post office,
and a convenience store are all located in the 110,000 square
foot building, unifying into one place the "residence
life" functions that had
previously been scattered across campus. The new building also embraces the old—it was
uniquely designed to attach to the Mies-designed Commons Building,
which was fully restored as the new student residence hall dining facility and which reopened in January 2004.
IIT's new AIA award-winning State Street Village residence hall is the creation
of Helmut Jahn, who studied architecture here at IIT. State Street Village offers an unparalleled, state-of-the-art
student living environment. Constructed of poured-in-place concrete
and clad in glass and corrugated stainless steel panels, Jahn's
Village also features concrete and glass sound walls that reduce
commuter train noise and vibration. Interiors boast exposed
concrete walls and floors, stainless steel fixtures, and flexible
room furnishings. The six-building complex includes a combination
of suite and apartment-style units and accommodates 360 students.
Each unit is designed for student comfort and efficiency, including
voice, data, and television jacks in every suite, bedroom, living
room and lounge area. State Street Village was recently awarded an Institute Award from the American Institute of Architects.
For decades, IIT's historic Mies campus has lured architecture enthusiasts
from all over the world, and the international attention
these new buildings have received is attracting even more visitors
to our campus. The restoration of Crown and Wishnick halls will
only add to this excitement by merging the architectural ingenuity
of both past and present in a single destination.
Plan for Restoration
Crown Hall
Wishnick Hall
New Architecture at IIT
The McCormick Tribune Campus Center
Restoration Photos
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