destinya bold plan for our future manifest>>> - Illinois Institute of ...

manifest: a campus transformed
A clear goal of the campaign was to create visual and aesthetic momentum on the Main Campus.
Leading this dynamic surge is the McCormick Tribune Campus Center. Renowned architect Rem
Koolhaas won The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation international competition for its design. In the
center’s interior, unexpected juxtapositions of spaces create a sense of urban vitality. On the exterior,
a 530-foot-long tube of stainless steel and concrete, funded by the State of Illinois, will muffle the sound
of passing “L” trains.
A $1 million gift from Irving Footlik was the motivating force behind implementation of a master landscaping
plan, starting with areas adjacent to Crown Hall and Perlstein Hall. More trees, shrubs, strolling
paths and benches are planned for the rest of the campus.
Complementing these green initiatives is a reconfigured, replanted State Street, thanks to the City of
Chicago. No longer a drab arterial, State Street has become a welcoming front door to the campus, with
375 trees in a newly created median strip.
S.R. Crown Hall, perhaps the best-known Mies structure, was granted National Historic Landmark
status by the National Park Service in August 2001. As such, Crown Hall is recognized as having
“exceptional value to the nation.”
Crown Hall received other attention. A major gift from alumna Mary Elizabeth Spies Droste, matched
by the campaign, resulted in a wireless learning environment. Architecture students can now bring
laptops to studios. Thanks to a Getty Institute Conservation Grant, exterior restoration of Crown Hall
will soon begin. A gift from another source will restore the building’s south porch, the instantly
recognizable façade of this modern masterpiece.
REPAYING A FAVOR
MARY ELIZABETH SPIES DROSTE’S MOST RECENT GIFT TO THE UNIVERSITY PUT WIRE-
PRIZE-WINNING ARCHITECT
REM KOOLHAAS,
LESS COMPUTER HOOKUPS IN CROWN HALL. WHY THIS HIGH-TECH GIFT FROM SOMEONE WHO LEARNED HER
DESIGN SKILLS THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY, AT A DRAWING BOARD UNDER MIES VAN DER ROHE’S TUTELAGE?
“I SUPPOSE IT’S BECAUSE OF MY SON,” SHE SAID. “HE WAS FOUNDING DIRECTOR OF THE VIRTUAL HIGH
SCHOOL (HTTP://VHS.CONCORD.ORG). HE’S CONSTANTLY TELLING ME THAT TECHNOLOGY OFFERS NEW AVENUES
TO EDUCATION NEVER BEFORE DREAMED OF. STUDENTS IN CROWN HALL NOW HAVE ADVANTAGES THAT NEITHER
I NOR MIES COULD HAVE IMAGINED. IT’S MY WAY OF SHOWING MY LIFELONG GRATITUDE TO IIT.”
PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE LAUREATE, IS THE
ARCHITECT FOR IIT’S STUDENT CENTER. KOOLHAAS
HAS DESIGNED MANY INNOVATIVE PROJECTS IN
EUROPE—FROM THE MASTER PLAN AND GRAND
PALAIS FOR LILLE, FRANCE, TO THE NETHERLANDS
DANCE THEATRE IN THE HAGUE. HE ALSO HAS
SEVERAL COMMISSIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.
23 ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY