The Computer Design, Research, and Learning Center (CDRLC) at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) will establish a new front door for technology in downtown Chicago. The building, designed by LMN Architects in collaboration with Booth Hansen, will be located at a unique, prominent site on campus and will celebrate the natural setting and organic form of the Memorial Grove.
The 135,000-sf facility will consolidate the currently fragmented Computer & Science Department in a new home and co-locate it with a large cluster of university-administered classrooms at the heart of the east campus. The CDRLC is designed to be a welcoming, inclusive, and inviting space for the rapidly growing student body.
It will create a hub for both engineering and computer science that includes research areas comprised of faculty offices, collaboration areas, dry lab, and specialty lab; administrative and student affairs office spaces; collaborative teaching and learning spaces; an undergraduate learning and community center; and a flexible events room. All of these spaces will be stitched together by a five-story daylight atrium.
Together with the existing lab building, the new CDRLC will create a public atrium for social interactions with visual and physical connections to all floors. The atrium will be porous and dynamic with connections to the campus and the community, honoring the past and looking to the future. Reflecting a complex organization of requirements, the building will prompt students to cross paths with one another and enhance intellectual exchange. A new geo-thermal farm will be included in the Memorial Grove.
The CDRLC, which has been designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, will be delivered on an accelerated schedule to see the demands of the department.
Related Stories
| May 20, 2013
Jones Lang LaSalle: All U.S. real estate sectors to post gains in 2013—even retail
With healthier job growth numbers and construction volumes at near-historic lows, real estate experts at Jones Lang LaSalle see a rosy year for U.S. commercial construction.
| Apr 30, 2013
Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course
Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 2, 2013
6 lobby design tips
If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.
| Mar 14, 2013
25 cities with the most Energy Star certified buildings
Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Chicago top EPA's list of the U.S. cities with the greatest number of Energy Star certified buildings in 2012.
Building Enclosure Systems | Mar 13, 2013
5 novel architectural applications for metal mesh screen systems
From folding façades to colorful LED displays, these fantastical projects show off the architectural possibilities of wire mesh and perforated metal panel technology.
| Feb 18, 2013
Top 10 kitchen and bath design trends for 2013
Gray color schemes and transitional styles are among the top trends identified by more than 300 kitchen and bath design experts surveyed by the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA).
