Kam L. Liu Building at the Chinese American Service League

Project of the Year: Institutional

The Chinese American Service League's Kam L. Liu Building needed to bring together under one roof the distinct social service programs for recent Chinese immigrants to Chicago.

advertisement

The design mandate was for the building to be a modern Chicago building while also being familiar to Chinese immigrants. And indeed, the three-story building melds Asian-inspired art with the sturdiness of Chicago.

The 38,000-sq.-ft. facility includes adult and child daycare, after-school classes, job training, playground, administrative areas and community gathering spaces.

Has Titanium Skin

The titanium cladding provided a low maintenance exterior.

The use of two kinds titanium finishes - brushed and smooth offered the kind of variety needed to achieve a constantly changing image on the exterior.

Sometimes the panel types look identical, but in other light they appear to be dark and light.

East meets West in the double high Community Room.

The space is adorned with handcrafted, organic ceiling lights fashioned from inner tubes. The room has a balcony and lattice sunshade made of steel and features cleanly organized structure to accommodate ping-pong, ballroom dancing and large community gatherings.

The sunshade and balcony offer solar control and a visual connection to Chinese architecture on a prominent corner in the heart of the city's Chinatown.

Materials and patterns evoke a Chinese palette. Diamond-shaped titanium shingles wrap the upper two floors with scales of a dragon. Large windows are found. The building has a luminous appearance that changes with the weather.

The colors include jade green as the overriding theme. The carpets are silvery green and warm red, and the exterior is brownish silver and a dozen shades of grays and blacks.

Principal architect Jeanne Gang visited China three times over the duration of the project's design to research patterns and lattices for shading sun and incorporating authentic design.

The building was designed from the inside out and incorporates feng shui elements.

The project was obstacle free and incorporated the concerns of parties that included an entire community. The project was delivered on schedule and on budget.

League's Mission

The Chinese American Service League is the Midwest's largest and most comprehensive social service agency of its type. The agency services 15,000 clients a year.

A goal of the Chinese American Service League was consolidation of facilities. Prior to completion of the center, CASL was housed in five buildings scattered throughout Chinatown.

The grand opening was held in June.

The jury said, "It's a nice, simple building, but they used the materiality well to express the building. The use of the titanium skin is a nice feature. Architecturally, there's a lot of subtlety in the elements."