flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Teaching on the cutting edge of design

University Buildings

Teaching on the cutting edge of design

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Campus Instructional Facility will celebrate and foster creativity and interdisciplinary cooperation.


By Jonathan Barnes, Contributing Editor | April 24, 2019

The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign's new centrally located SOM facility will celebrate and enhance connections between engineering and construction. That focus, and the open-learning approach of the structure which will be completed in 2021, relect changes in the AEC industry. All renderings: Smilodon

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones and local academic and civic leaders recently broke ground on a new Campus Instructional Facility that is meant to celebrate the cooperation between architecture and engineering.

The structure celebrates how architecture and engineering work together and is meant to enhance such collaboration. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), the building will have flexible, open spaces for learning. It also will include collaboration spaces that will be flexible enough to meet the evolving needs of the university community.

 

See Also: Curtin University library redevelopment will modernize iconic campus structure

 

“The design of the Campus Instructional Facility blends the rich history of the University of Illinois with its progressive, technology-focused approach to learning. In designing the building, we sought to celebrate the intersection of architecture and engineering, while creating an environment where experimentation and invention could thrive,” says Brian Lee, Design Partner.

Situated adjacent to the main engineering quadrangle at Springfield Avenue and West Wright Street, the building will be used for contemporary teaching and learning, with a variety of types of spaces designed to enhance collaboration between students and faculty. Additionally, this focus is meant to encourage and develop new hands-on learning technologies.

 

 

“The Campus Instructional Facility Project will ensure that we continue to create learning environments that inspire collaboration and interactive education for our students. We believe this facility will be a catalyst for innovation and creativity,” says Chancellor Robert Jones.

The 122,000-square-foot, four-story building will have spaces for lecture, classroom, collaboration, social environments, and for other uses. A central spine in the building brings together its public spaces and enables views across all floors as well as views of the engineering quadrangle. A 60-foot long-span space with flexible partitions will allow large class configurations; classrooms will be distributed along the building’s core. A 500-seat auditorium will be in the basement. The building’s 23 active learning and traditional classrooms will range in size, from small spaces for as few as 24 students, to the large auditorium

 

 

The building is scheduled to be completed in 2021. It’s state-of-the-art approach to learning reflects the dynamic nature of technological and organizational change in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. Tech tools are bringing various disciplines together, creating smarter projects.

“SOM was built on the importance of collaboration between architects and engineers, and that spirit continues to be championed today. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to create a home for interdisciplinary learning and have an impact on the education of future students,” says William F. Baker, Structural Engineering Partner, and University of Illinois Engineering alumnus.

Related Stories

| Sep 13, 2010

Richmond living/learning complex targets LEED Silver

The 162,000-sf living/learning complex includes a residence hall with 122 units for 459 students with a study center on the ground level and communal and study spaces on each of the residential levels. The project is targeting LEED Silver.

| Sep 13, 2010

'A Model for the Entire Industry'

How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.

| Sep 13, 2010

Committed to the Core

How a forward-looking city government, a growth-minded university, a developer with vision, and a determined Building Team are breathing life into downtown Phoenix.

| Aug 11, 2010

JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report

A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants

| Aug 11, 2010

Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms

A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants

| Aug 11, 2010

Stimulus funding helps get NOAA project off the ground

The award-winning design for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) new Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) replacement laboratory saw its first sign of movement on Sept 15 with a groundbreaking ceremony held in La Jolla, Calif. The $102 million project is funded primarily by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), resulting in a rapidly advanced construction plan for the facility.

| Aug 11, 2010

JanCom Technologies expands headquarters

JanCom Technologies, Inc., an Austin, Texas-based technology, infrastructure, audio-visual, and critical power systems consulting and engineering services firm, continues to grow due to an influx of high-profile international projects. The company recently expanded to a 5,000-square-foot office space at 206 Wild Basin Road. The move represents a 2,000-square-foot increase in space to accommodate the company’s growth.

| Aug 11, 2010

Rouss & Robertson Halls
University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce
Charlottesville, Va.

Rouss Hall, a historic 24,000-sf building designed by Stanford White, served as the home of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce from 1955 to 1975. Thirty years later, the university unveiled plans to have the business school return to the small, outdated 110-year-old facility, but this time with the addition of a 132,000-sf companion building to be named Robertson Hall.

| Aug 11, 2010

Steel Joist Institute announces 2009 Design Awards

The Steel Joist Institute is now accepting entries for its 2009 Design Awards. The winning entries will be announced in November 2009 and the company with the winning project in each category will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship in its name to a school of its choice for an engineering student.

| Aug 11, 2010

Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms

A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021