West and Main Campus Projects

New Hospital Pavilion

Rafael Viñoly, architect of the Charles M. Harper Center of Chicago Booth, has designed the 1.2-million-square-foot New Hospital Pavilion, which will become the core of the Medical Center campus upon its completion in 2012. The largest building project ever undertaken by the University, it will be constructed on the south side of 57th Street between Cottage Grove and Drexel Avenues. Adjacent to both the Comer Children’s Hospital and the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine, the new hospital will provide an optimal facility for patient care and collaborative clinical research.

Comer Center for Children and Specialty Care

The four-story, 122,500-square-foot Comer Center adjoins the Comer Children’s Hospital, expanding on its dedication to the highest quality pediatric care. Fourth-floor space for pediatric specialty clinics is scheduled for completion in late 2008. The remaining floors of additional inpatient and surgery facilities, as well as pediatric specialty clinics, will be completed in late 2009. A state-of-the-art pediatric emergency department opened in 2006 on the first floor of this facility.

Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery

The Knapp Center—a 330,000-square-foot, 10-story building that will provide a new home for translational research programs in medicine, pediatrics, cancer, genomics, and systems biology—is in the final phase of construction. To be completed in spring 2009, the project is located on the east side of Drexel Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets.

West Campus Utility Plant

Upon completion in September 2009, this 40,000-square-foot facility at 56th Street and Maryland Avenue will provide steam for heating and chilled water to campus academic and research buildings on the growing west and central portions of campus.

Center for Physical and Computational Sciences

The architecture firm HOK was selected to design the Center for Physical and Computational Sciences on the west side of Ellis Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets. This project will involve a total renovation and expansion of the current Research Institutes building, as well as a new building on the site of the Accelerator Building. The center will house the Departments of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Computer Science, as well as the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, Computation Institute, Enrico Fermi Institute, and a portion of the James Franck Institute. Completion is planned for spring 2013.

Joe and Rika Mansueto Library

The Helmut Jahn–designed library is under construction immediately west of Regenstein Library. Upon completion—by the end of 2010—it will have the capacity to house 3.5 million volumes of print material in high-density space and will provide a new preservation facility for rare materials, as well as additional user space. The new structure will allow the University to keep the Library’s entire collection on campus.

Searle Chemistry Laboratory Renovation

A complete renovation of Searle Chemistry Laboratory is under way to provide a state-of-the-art wet laboratory for the Department of Chemistry and office space for both Chemistry and the Computation Institute. Searle will be the campus’s first research building to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council when the project is completed in early 2009.

Harper Memorial Library

The reading rooms in Harper Library and Stuart Hall will be renovated and restored in order to create a 24-hour study space. Improvements in technology, lighting, and furniture will be incorporated while the beauty and historic character of these spaces are restored and preserved. The project—scheduled for completion in 2010—will include spaces for both individual and group study, and a small café.

5710 South Woodlawn Avenue

The remodeled and expanded house at 5710 South Woodlawn Avenue opened in March 2008 as a home for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, the LGBTQ Programming Office, and the Amandla Lounge. The center creates space for students of color and LGBTQ students to build community and a sense of belonging on campus, with staff resources in close proximity.

Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

In conjunction with the reinstallation of the restored Laura Spelman Rockefeller Carillon, a $20 million “envelope project” includes repairs to windows, masonry, downspouts, and drainage, as well as electrical and lighting upgrades. Completion is scheduled for June 2010.

Laboratory Schools Renovation and Expansion

Two award-winning architecture firms—Valerio Dewalt Train Associates of Chicago and FGM Architects of Oak Brook—have been selected for a major expansion and remodeling program to improve education for all students at the Laboratory Schools. The project will expand classroom and library space, as well as provide new and reorganized facilities for student and faculty resource services and for art, music, and theater. In addition, a new building will house early childhood education.