S. R. Crown Hall

S. R. Crown Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Chicago Landmark
Location:	3360 S. State Street, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
Coordinates:	41°50′1″N 87°37′38″W / 41.83361°N 87.62722°W / 41.83361; -87.62722Coordinates: 41°50′1″N 87°37′38″W / 41.83361°N 87.62722°W / 41.83361; -87.62722
Built:	1950 - 1956[1]
Architect:	Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Architectural style:	Modernist, International Style
Governing body:	Illinois Institute of Technology
NRHP Reference#:	01001049
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	August 7, 2001[2]
Designated NHL:	August 7, 2001[1]
Designated CL:	October 1, 1997

S. R. Crown Hall, designed by the German-born Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, is the home of the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois.

History

Widely regarded as Mies van Der Rohe's masterpiece, Crown Hall is one of the most architecturally significant buildings of the 20th Century Modernist movement. Crown Hall was completed in 1956 during Mies van der Rohe's tenure as director of IIT's Department of Architecture.

Centrally located on the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology, two miles south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, the building houses the architecture school. The two level building is configured as a pure rectangular form, 220' by 120' by 24 feet high, enclosing a column free interior space on the upper level sitting above a sunken lower level. Four steel plate girders welded to eight H-columns form the primary structure from which the roof has been suspended, This design was derived from a drive in restaurant Van Der Rohe had recently built, the Cantor Drive-In Restaurant that was constructed in 1945. Crown Hall is characterized by an aesthetic of industrial simplicity, with clearly articulated exposed steel frame construction. The steel frame is infilled with large sheets of glass of varying qualities of transparency, resulting in a light and delicate steel and glass facade wrapping the open plan, free flowing interior of the upper level. While the lower level consists of compartmentalized rooms, the high upper floor level, occupying almost 50% of the total area of the building, is dedicated to a single glass-enclosed architecture studio space. Mies called it a "universal space", intended to be entirely flexible in use.

Upon its opening, Mies van der Rohe declared it "the clearest structure we have done, the best to express our philosophy". One critic calls it the Parthenon of the 20th Century.^{[citation needed]}

Landmark status and renovation

S.R. Crown Hall was named a Chicago Landmark in 1997, a National Historic Landmark in 2001, and the remainder of the IIT Main Campus was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.^[1][2][3]

In August 2005, a major renovation was completed, rescuing the building from years of lagging maintenance, enhancing its accessibility and functionality, improving overall energy and environmental performance, and restoring Crown close to its 1956 appearance. The original 'Detroit graphite' lead paint was stripped from the structural steel and replaced with a lead-free black Tnemec urethane coating. The glazing was completely replaced with panes and stops that meet current wind load requirements. True sandblasted glass, original to the building but absent since a prior renovation, was installed in the lower panes. The entire travertine-paved south terrace was replaced. Interior wood partitions and storage lockers were refinished and resurfaced, and additional electrical and ethernet wiring was added to the main floor.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "S.R. Crown Hall". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1989164123&ResourceType=Building. Retrieved 2007-10-10. 
2. ^ ^{a b} NRIS Database^{[dead link]}, National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 10 February 2007.
3. ^ Eric D. Thompson (October, 2000) National Historic Landmark Nomination: S.R. Crown Hall, National Park Service and Accompanying 24 photos, exterior and interior, from during construction until 2001.

External links

• Crown Hall page from IIT