The new North Residential Commons on the University of Chicago campus is more than just a place for students to eat and sleep when they aren’t in class or studying. The 400,000-sf residence hall offers students a place to live that blurs the lines between a campus and a community.
Plazas, gardens, walkways, and courtyards connect four separate buildings that range from one to 15 floors. A single-story dining hall, equipped with floor-to-ceiling windows for abundant natural light, overlooks a central quad.
Eight “houses” accommodate 800 undergraduate students. Each house has its own hub, a three-story common area where students can gather, study, and relax. Also included are classrooms, music practice rooms, and 10,000 sf of ground-level retail space. A reading room resides on the top floor and offers views of the city and Lake Michigan.
An example of one of the three-story hubs. These hubs can be used by the students for anything ranging from studying to relaxing. Tom Harris Photography.
The Building Team used BIM to simplify the project’s complex geometry. Through the use of the model, the team was able to determine that the original knife-shaped edges of the exterior precast panels needed minor adjustments. The edges were susceptible to chipping, so the top edge of the panels was changed to a more blunt-shaped edge.
The building was designed to reflect the university’s distinctive housing system, where students of all years live and work together to achieve a higher level of social and academic success.
“More effective than the design was the extraordinary effort to meet the owner’s and users’ needs,” said Building Team Awards judge Peter Isaac, Vice President with Brailsford & Dunlavey, and a BD+C 2016 40 Under 40 honoree. “It is clear the Building Team worked in close coordination with the University of Chicago.”
Building Team – Submitting firm, general contractor Mortenson Construction Owner University of Chicago Architect Studio Gang Architects Structural engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates Mechanical engineer dbHMS
General Information – Size 394,020 sf Cost $161 million Construction time July 2014 to September 2016 Delivery method Design-build
Related Stories
Architects | Jan 18, 2016
EHDD’s Monterey Bay Aquarium wins AIA Twenty-five Year Award
The aquarium set new technical standards for the building type, which still influence today, such as the flow-through seawater-based heat pump system, naturalistic exhibitions, and corrosion protection.
Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015
14 projects that push AEC teaming to the limits
From Lean construction to tri-party IPD to advanced BIM/VDC coordination, these 14 Building Teams demonstrate the power of collaboration in delivering award-winning buildings. These are the 2015 Building Team Award winners.
Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015
Prefab saves the day for Denver hospital
Mortenson Construction and its partners completed the 831,000-sf, $623 million Saint Joseph Hospital well before the January 1, 2015, deadline, thanks largely to their extensive use of offsite prefabrication.
Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015
Anaheim’s soaring intermodal hub
Anaheim's Regional Transportations Intermodal Center is the largest ETFE project in North America.
Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015
Virtual collaboration helps complete a hospital in 24 months
PinnacleHealth needed a new hospital STAT! This team delivered it in two years, start to finish.
Building Team Awards | Apr 10, 2015
New arts venue reinvigorates Virginia Tech's campus
The STV-led Building Team creates a world-class performance and arts venue with learning and entrepreneurial dimensions.
Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015
Multifaced fitness center becomes campus landmark
A sloped running track and open-concept design put this Building Team to the test.
Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015
Nation's first LEED-certified bus depot
A bus garage in Harlem shows that even the most mundane of facilities can strut its environmentally sensitive stuff.
Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015
Setting the bar for port-of-entry design
Whenever you eat a tomato from Mexico, there’s a one-in-three chance it came through this LEED Gold gateway.
Building Team Awards | Apr 9, 2015
Big D’s billion-dollar baby: New Parkland Hospital Tops the Chart | BD+C
Dallas’s new $1.27 billion public hospital preserves an important civic anchor, Texas-style.
