With 12 institutions, 280 national championships, and 120 years of historic intercollegiate sports, the Big Ten Conference will continue its mission of “honoring legends and building leaders” in a new $20 million, 50,000-sf headquarters in Rosemont, Ill.
The mixed-use HQ features a 3,500-sf interactive museum on the first floor showcasing past and present legends. The building also includes a conference center on the second floor for more than 130 annual Big Ten academic and athletic meetings that educate tomorrow’s Conference leaders. Oh, and don’t forget the 10,000-sf Brazilian steakhouse, Fogo de Chao, on the first floor. Athletes need to eat, too.
The facility will also include an office for the Village of Rosemont, a Big Ten visitor’s center, catering kitchen, fitness center, dining area, office space for the Conference’s 40 on-site staff members, and a third floor video command center, where conference officials can train and monitor games on eight, 60-inch LCD screens and one 130-inch screen with separate, sound-isolated booths. Conference officials also have the ability to broadcast on the Big Ten Network from the command center.
“The completion of our hew headquarters has given us the space needed for our staff to function properly while leaving room for future growth,” said Brad Traviolia, Deputy Commissioner, Big Ten Conference. “The state-of-the-art conference center allows us to host gatherings of leaders from our member institutions as well as from across the country.”
Fast-tracked construction
Fast-tracked to meet the first of the Conference’s meetings last year, Leopardo Companies, Inc. (www.leopardo.com), the project’s contractor, worked with base-building and other space-specific architects as well as the building’s structural and MEP engineers to complete the facility in just under a year, opening in October 2013.
Beginning construction in the late fall of 2012 created a challenge for Leopardo, which had to battle Chicago’s severe winter weather on multiple occasions.
“We needed to get the pad constructed and complete all the underground utility work as quickly as possible, pouring the slab on grade before we even erected the steel to save time and money for the client, relative to the imminent winter weather at the time,” said Leigh McMillen, vice president, Leopardo. Even so, a massive wind tunnel threatened the completion of the second and third floor concrete, and a temporary enclosure had to be rebuilt during construction before successfully completing the slab.
Once construction started, the decision was made to finish the interior of the museum space instead of just a core and shell build out, with the same fast-tracked delivery. Leopardo suggested a depressed slab, or 6-inch computer access floor, to provide the flexibility to both move interactive displays as needed over time and also the right amount of cooling/heating. With a depressed slab, Leopardo successfully finished the slab-on-grade pour before the weather worsened, saving money on winter conditions and expediting the schedule. Improved safety was another benefit of having the slab-on-grade poured early. Working off of a flat, finished concrete slab ensures each ladder, scaffold and lift had a firm footing to the ground.
A unique terra cotta rain screen was specified for the building’s exterior in orange to resemble real brick. Manufactured in Europe, the 1x4-foot clay panels hang on a steel rail system that’s mounted to the building’s exterior framing. In its highest profile application to date and its debut in the Chicago area, Leopardo teamed with another Midwest contractor to meet the distinctive challenges that came with its installation.
"I think the idea and execution of a multi-functional space?office, museum and restaurant?is a good example of the construction team finding an innovative solution," said Brad Traviolia, Deputy Commissioner, Big Ten Conference. "Working with Leopardo on solutions like this make the building what it is today and we are extremely pleased with the finished product."
Located in the heart of Rosemont’s new MB Financial Bank entertainment district, the most recognized brand in intercollegiate sports history just got BIGger.
Related Stories
| Dec 17, 2014
ULI report looks at growing appeal of micro unit apartments
New research from the Urban Land Institute suggests that micro units have staying power as a housing type that appeals to urban dwellers in high-cost markets who are willing to trade space for improved affordability and proximity to downtown neighborhoods.
| Dec 17, 2014
11 predictions for high-rise construction in 2015
In its annual forecast, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat predicts that 2015 will be the "Year of the Woodscraper," and that New York’s troubled B2 modular high-rise project will get back on track.
| Dec 17, 2014
Demand softens, but outlook for Architecture Billings Index remains positive
The AIA's Architecture Billings Index for November was 50.9, down from a mark of 53.7 in October. Despite the drop, the ABI continued its seven-month run of positive scores (above 50).
Sponsored | | Dec 16, 2014
Quadcopters save project team $15K in warranty work
On a recent trip to see what technology Todd Wynne and the rest of the team at Rogers-O’Brien Construction have been tinkering with, I had a chance to experience firsthand which new hardware innovations will one day be applied in the AEC space.
| Dec 16, 2014
Architect Eli Attia sues Google over tall building technology
Attia and tech company Max Sound Corp. have brought a lawsuit against Google because of Flux, a Google X-developed startup launched in 2014. Flux creates software to design environmentally-friendly buildings in a cost-effective way.
| Dec 15, 2014
SHoP Architects plans to turn NY's Seaport District into pedestrianized, mixed-use area
The scheme includes a proposed 500-foot luxury residential tower that would jut out into the harbor, extending the Manhattan grid out into the waterfront.
| Dec 15, 2014
Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture launches fundraising campaign for independent incorporation
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation announced today that it approved a possible path toward independent incorporation of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture by raising $2 million before the end of 2015.
| Dec 15, 2014
Studio Gang tapped for American Museum of Natural History expansion
Chicago-based Studio Gang Architects has been commissioned to design the $325 million Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
| Dec 12, 2014
Dunkin’ Donuts launches certification for green restaurant buildings
The company aims to build 100 new DD Green-certified restaurants by the end of 2016.
| Dec 12, 2014
COBE's striking 'concrete finned' scheme wins competition for Adidas' flagship building in Germany
Danish firm COBE has been announced the winner in a contest to design a new Adidas flagship building in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It beat out 29 other teams, including REX and Zaha Hadid.