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Campus North Residential Commons

Studio Gang

Campus North Residential Commons
By Studio Gang -

The Campus North Residential Commons offers the kinds of social spaces and experiences that enhance campus and academic life for today’s undergraduates. The full-block site is designed as a new portal to campus, opening up the University to the greater Hyde Park community, while also encouraging interactions and exchange among students of different ages and backgrounds. Campus North features a mix of student residences, dining options, amenities, retail, and outdoor green spaces. The location and placement of the structures create a new “front door” for the University, strengthening connections between the campus and nearby communities. The design situates three slender bar buildings in an urban fabric of plazas, gardens, walkways, and courtyards that together form inviting, public and semi-private outdoor spaces for students and neighbors. The building is scaled to its context, with the highest structure completing the urban edge of busy 55th Street, while nearby structures are more attuned to the residential neighborhood along University Avenue. Pre-cast concrete panels are used to clad the building, a contemporary façade informed by the University’s neo-Gothic tradition. Enhancing the University’s House system, which encourages interaction and collaboration between students of different years to support social and academic success, the buildings are organized around House hubs, three-story communal spaces that are designed to feel comfortable and homey. Each hub offers distinct spaces for studying, cooking, and relaxing in small groups or individually, while also enabling all House members to assemble together to discuss household chores and energy use and to plan group activities or study sessions. All eight Houses share communal spaces such as the top-floor Reading Room, music rehearsal rooms, outdoor courtyards, and spaces for studying and gathering, creating additional opportunities for relationship building among students.

Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Completion: 2016
Client: The University of Chicago
Gross Floor Area: 120.091 m2
Architect of Record: Studio Gang Architects (Jeanne Gang, Mark Schendel, Todd Zima)
Associate Architect: Hanbury
Project Delivery: Design Build
Design Team: Aurelien Tsemo, John Castro, Emily Licht, Vincent Calabro, Wei-Ju Lai, Ashley Ozburn, Laura Ettedgui, Chris Vant Hoff, Beth Zacherle, Paige Adams, Ana Flor, Zac Heaps, William Emmick, Roger Molina-Vera, Kara Boyd, Jay Hoffman, Schuyler Smith, Weston Walker, Juan de la Mora, Christopher Ciraulo, Lindsey Moyer, Will Lambeth, Danny Jimenez, Angela Peckham, Michael Leaveck
Contractor: Mortenson Construction
Landscape Design: Terry Guen
Landscape Architects: Hood Design Studio

Consultants
Acoustics: Threshold Acoustics
Lighting: Lightswitch Architectural
Structural: Magnussen Klemencic Associates
Civic: David Mason & Associates
Sustainability: Transsolar
MEP/FP: dbHMS
Elevators: Jenkins & Huntington
Code: Jensen Hughes

Suppliers
Structural System: K&K Iron Works
Exterior Cladding: All-American EXT Solution, Contract Glazier, International Concrete Products
Roofing: Sika, Barrett
Glazing: Kawneer, Contract Glaziers
Doors: Kawneer, Steelcraft, VT Industries Hardware, Corbin Russwin, LCN, Von Duprin, Ives Architectural Hardware, Detex
Lighting: Focal Point, Covert Perless, Vista, Rotula, Winona Lighting, Peerless, Eureka, Selux
Wall Covering: Filzfelt, Sandfoot
Floor Covering: Tandus centiva
Floor and Wall Tiles: Crossville, Gotham, Kaindl-Heritage
Acoustic Ceilings: Topakustik
Woodwork: Amberleaf Kitchen Cabinets
Paints: Benjamin Moore, Lenmark, PPG Industries
Solid Surfaces: Corian
Suspension Grid: USG-Mars Climaplus, Amstrong

Exterior Cladding: Schüco

Photography by Steve Hall, © Hedrich Blessing, and © Tom Harris Photography, courtesy Studio Gang

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