University of Chicago Campus North

Chicago, USA

Photo © Tom Harris

Photo © Iwan Baan

Photo © Steve Hall

Photo © Iwan Baan

Photo © Tom Harris

arkkitehdit: Studio Gang

Location: Chicago, USA
Year: 2016
Client: The University of Chicago
Team: Jeanne Gang, Mark Schendel, Todd Zima, Aurelien Tsemo, John Castro, Emily Licht, Vincent Calabro, Wei-Ju Lai, Ashley Ozburn, Laura Ettedgui, Chris Vant Hoff, Beth Zacherle, Paige Adams, Ana Flor, Zac Heaps, William Emmick, Roger Molina-Vera, Kara Boyd, Jay Hoffman, Schuyler Smith, Weston Walker, Juan de la Mora, Christopher Ciraulo, Lindsey Moyer, Will Lambeth, Danny Jimenez, Angela Peckham, Michael Leaveck
Design Builder: Mortenson Construction
Associate Architect: Hanbury
MEP/Fire Protection Engineer: dbHMS
Structural Engineer: Magnussen Klemencic Associates
Civil Engineer: David Mason & Associates
Landscape Concept Designer: Hood Design Studio
Landscape Architect: Terry Guen Landscape Architects
Acoustical Designer: Threshold Acoustics
Lighting Designer: Lightswitch Architectural
Code Consultant: Jensen Hughes
Food Service Consultant: Ricca Design Studios
Elevator Consultant: Jenkins & Huntington
Sustainability Consultant: Transsolar

The University of Chicago wanted a new residence hall that would deliver the kind of social spaces students were asking for. They also wanted to build on their successful “house system,” which enhances the experience of campus life for undergraduates. With these parameters in mind, Studio Gang organized each house around three-story “hubs” that are designed to feel comfortable and homey as well as to encourage collaboration. Each hub offers distinct spaces for study, movie watching, food preparation, and play while also enabling all house members to gather as a complete group. Shared destination spaces such as the top-floor Reading Room offer panoramic views of the city, campus, and Lake Michigan.

This dynamic mix of new residences, dining, retail, amenities, and outdoor spaces extends the University’s footprint to the north. The location allows the design to create a new “front door” for the University with an open and welcoming ambiance, strengthening pedestrian connections between campus and the greater Hyde Park neighborhood. With its careful assemblage of four slender bar buildings, the project integrates students and community within an urban fabric of plazas, gardens, walkways, and courtyards that offer distinct, human-scaled outdoor environments. And while the buildings are oriented to optimize energy performance by maximizing daylight and natural ventilation, they simultaneously create the kind of sunlit urban landscape and lively social vibe that students want.