With Dirk Denison Architects and Gilbane Building Company, the Illinois Institute of Technology has recently completed a $70 million housing project that has restored three Ludwig Mies van der Rohe buildings. With the completion of the Carman Hall residential facility, the three-building project has renewed Illinois Tech’s front door as it prepares for its highest recorded enrollment numbers—more than 25% higher than last year.
Located at the campus entryway and offering views of the Chicago skyline, all three buildings were designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a pioneer of modernist architecture. Historic preservation was a top priority for the project, along with ensuring energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Dirk Denison, the project’s lead architect, is also an architecture professor at Illinois Tech. His students regularly visited the job sites for a hands-on, up-close learning experience—aligning with the school’s philosophy around learning by creating. Denison’s firm includes five Illinois Tech alumni, and two recent graduates who studied under Denison now work full-time at Gilbane. Founded in 1870, Gilbane provides comprehensive construction and facilities-related services and has more than 45 office locations worldwide.
“It was rewarding for students to have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills as part of this iconic project located on their campus,” Denison, founding principal of Dirk Denison Architects and professor and MCHAP Director at Illinois Tech, said in a statement. “It’s particularly gratifying to help deliver projects that acknowledge the timeless quality of modernist architecture and the value of preserving them. IIT has a respectful commitment to its Mies legacy and has led the way to recognize the original intent of the buildings by bringing them back to life through thoughtful reuse and sustainable strategies.”
On the Building Team:
Owner and developer: Illinois Institute of Technology
Architect: Dirk Denison Architects
Mechanical: State Mechanical Services, LLC
Electrical: Gurtz
Plumbing: The Hill Group
Structural engineer: Matrix Engineering Corp.
General contractor/construction manager: Gilbane Building Company
Related Stories
| Jul 18, 2012
U.S. engineering firms set sail for foreign ports
Other E/EA Giants 300 firms are just dipping their toes into foreign waters, still looking for international business but choosing not to establish additional offices.
| Jul 18, 2012
Architecture giants spreading their wings
A/AE Giants 300 rankings reveal firms branching out globally, merging, adding services.
| Jul 18, 2012
Green expert Kats joins GreenWizard as an advisor
Kats' role is to help further expand GreenWizard’s impact in the sustainable construction industry.
| Jul 18, 2012
Construction employment stagnates in June
Lack of hiring in construction combined with job growth elsewhere threatens to create skilled-labor gap once contractors are ready to hire again.
| Jul 17, 2012
AIA and Architecture for Humanity select Disaster Response Grant recipients
Awards help each group implement their locally driven preparedness project in the second half of the year.
| Jul 17, 2012
KM/Plaza changes name to Plaza Construction
Lands new projects including the Perry South Beach Hotel and Dadeland Mall Kendall Wing Expansion.
| Jul 17, 2012
KBE Building awarded Platinum STEP Award
STEP program provides analysis of safety and loss prevention programs, measure safety program improvements, and provide performance recognition.
| Jul 17, 2012
Dr. Phillips Charities Headquarters Building receives LEED Silver
The building incorporates sustainable design features, environmentally-friendly building products, energy efficient systems, and environmentally sensitive construction practices.
| Jul 16, 2012
BD+C Under 40 Leadership Summit scheduled
Attendee registration for U40 Summit II now open.
| Jul 16, 2012
Construction spending at 2 ½ year peak
Construction economist Ken Simonson says that four private nonresidential categories each posted 12-month spending increases of more than 25%: power and energy construction, 35%; hotels, 29%; educational and manufacturing, 27% apiece.