State Street Village at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago

The Illinois Institute of Technology embarked on a master plan to improve the university's image and enhance student amenities.

The school, which is famous for the glass-and-steel structures on the campus designed by legendary architect and German emigre Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, had not had a construction project of significance in more than 25 years when it started building several new developments. A separate project across from the residence hall is the IIT McCormick Tribune Campus Center.

IIT commissioned world-renowned architect and university alumnus Helmut Jahn to design State Street Village, the first new student housing at the university in nearly 40 years.

The $24 million complex comprises three five-story structures and includes a combination of suite- and apartment-style units.

The facility is constructed of poured-in-place concrete and clad in glass and corrugated stainless steel panels. The interiors feature exposed concrete walls, floors and ceilings, stainless steel fixtures and flexible room furnishings to meet the needs of today's students. The concrete is an architecturally finished quality because none is covered with drywall or other skin.

The main construction issues included cost, quality and time. The design and preconstruction required 10 months, and the construction needed 14 months.

Honoring Mies on Budget

It was important for the university to re-establish itself in the fields of architecture and engineering Mies helped establish at IIT.

To accomplish this, IIT held an architecture competition and invited five firms to submit a design.

Helmut Jahn's design intent was to create a building that not only displayed new ideas of how a building and its landscape should embrace new architectural concepts and work in its surroundings but also show the building blocks of construction materials. It became important to expose as much concrete, steel and glass as possible so that the engineering side of the building could also be seen.

During initial conceptual designs, budget estimates exceeded the available funds.
Because the university understood the need to have a world-class building, several decisions were made to keep the shape and style in tact but reduce costs.

This included eliminating the sixth floor. The mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems were changed to a design-build contract with the contractor. Having the building from one mechanical central heating and cooling plant, instead of using three individual plants, also helped in cost reduction.

Curtain wall components helped create a new style of profile without requiring custom fabrication. About 26,000 sq. ft. of aluminum curtain wall and 32,000 sq. ft. of storefront window were installed on the project.

Sound and screen walls were designed and built to reduce noise and vibration from adjacent trains on the Chicago Transit Authority's Green Line elevated track.

Materials were found that were inexpensive but durable and provided the stainless steel and interior concrete look that Jahn sought.

A 1-in.-thick glass sound wall dampens the noise from the Green Line, and the screen wall made of perforated stainless steel and mounted to a steel frame reduces noise from State Street traffic. The 8-ft.-thick concrete floor slabs also abate sound.

High wind loads and the differential movement of the buildings on either side of the screens were taken into account in the design.

Fulfilling Jahn's Vision

Emphasis was placed on quality during construction.

The concrete forms were symmetrically jointed. Window mullions were aligned with corrugated metal panel seams. The curved roof structure, which affected steel, windows, decking, roofing and flashings, was carefully coordinated.

The MEP fixtures were aligned with surrounding construction materials.

The 14-month schedule was tight, and four months of a hard winter contributed to the anxiety. A considerable amount of overtime was expended, but this was anticipated in the original budget.

The jury said, "They had all the details worked out. The response to a difficult site is very nice. The project proves that you can do unconventional architecture and still come in on budget and on schedule."

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