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 intended as a new portal to campus and is designed to encourage interactions and exchange between students while also opening up the university to the greater Hyde Park community.
Photography by © Tom Harris Photography
Campus North offers a mix of student residences, dining options, amenities, retail, and outdoor green spaces. Extending the campus footprint to the north, the location and placement of the structures create a new “front door” for the University, opening up to the greater Hyde Park neighborhood and strengthening pedestrian connections between the campus and nearby communities.The design situates four 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.
Photography by © Tom Harris Photography
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 facade informed by the University’s 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.
Photography by © Tom Harris Photography
Each hub offers distinct spaces for studying, movie watching, cooking, and playing 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.The Houses share additional communal spaces such as the top-floor Reading Room, which offers panoramic views of the city, campus, and Lake Michigan.
Project Info:
Location: Chicago, United States
Area: 400000 ft²
Year: 2016
Photographs: Steve Hall/Hedrich Blessing, Tom Harris Photography
Manufacturers: All-American EXT Solution, Johnson Controls, K&K Iron Works, Kawneer, Universal Design
Consultants: Hood Design Studio, Terry Guen Design Associates, Threshold Acoustics, Lightswitch, Jensen Hughes, Ricca Design Studio, Jenkins & Huntington, Transsolar
Design Builder: Mortenson Construction
Design Team: Jeanne Gang, Mark Schendel, Todd Zima with 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
Associate Architect: Hanbury
Engineers: dbHMS – MEP/Fire Protection Engineer Magnussen Klemencic Associates – Structural Engineer David Mason & Associates – Civil Engineer
Client: The University of Chicago
Isabelle Laurent is a Built Projects Editor at Arch2O, recognized for her editorial insight and passion for contemporary architecture. She holds a Master’s in Architectural Theory from École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville. Before joining Arch2O in 2016, she worked in a Paris-based architectural office and taught as a faculty adjunct at the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris. Isabelle focuses on curating projects around sustainability, adaptive reuse, and urban resilience. With a background in design and communication, she brings clarity to complex ideas and plays a key role in shaping Arch2O’s editorial