Overview
The discipline of architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology is as old as the school itself. In 1895, the Armour Institute (IIT’s predecessor institution) and the Art Institute merged their architecture offerings into the Chicago School of Architecture of Armour Institute. The program produced generations of influential architects who built Chicago, including Louis Millet, Daniel Burnham, John Root, and William Le Baron Jenney.
In the mid-twentieth century IIT became a global center of modernism under the leadership of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Mies—who had directed the renowned Bauhaus in Germany—became head of architecture at IIT in 1938. He developed a carefully thought-out curriculum that was to become standard pedagogy: students first learned to draw, then mastered the use of building materials, and finally learned the fundamental principles of construction before undertaking building design.
Within a year of Mies’s arrival, he was commissioned to design an innovative master plan for the IIT campus. The result was chosen as one of the top 200 architectural achievements in the United States. Mies conceived the showpiece of the campus, S. R. Crown Hall, as the ideal home for the study of architecture. The building became a National Historic Landmark in 2001. Because of IIT’s commitment to maintaining, renewing, and renovating its historic Main Campus, which houses the largest collection of Mies buildings anywhere, the university’s academic campus was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Mies van der Rohe
In 1938 the Armour Institute of Technology, a modest technical training school on Chicago's near south side, engaged German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) as the director of the Department of Architecture. The school strove to transform its traditional architecture program into one of international stature and innovation; Mies was a logical choice for achieving this goal. He had achieved international recognition at the forefront of modern architecture and established a reputation in the field of architectural education while serving as director of the Bauhaus school of design in Germany from 1930 through 1933.
After relocating to Chicago in 1938, Mies reshaped the architectural education of the Armour Institute and developed a disciplined curriculum to be carried out in a cooperative environment. Interaction was encouraged between students and a faculty comprised of professionals from a wide range of design disciplines. The curriculum encompassed progressive, Bauhaus-inspired courses on the visual and tactile characteristics of materials as well as fundamental classes on drawing and construction techniques. Students began their education with the methods and materials of architecture to provide them a sound foundation for future studies. Only when students fully grasped the basic concepts were they gradually advanced to applying these principles to building design.
Mies viewed architecture as embodying multiple levels of value, extending from the entirely functional to the realm of pure art. He also believed, through his interpretation of history, that the aim of architecture is to truly represent its epoch, and that the architect must search out and articulate the significance of the time.
Campus Architecture
IIT Main Campus — Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
The Main Campus of Illinois Institute of Technology is an outstanding example of the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), architect and educator and one of the 20th century's most influential architects. His design of the Main Campus and of other important buildings—such as the apartment towers at 860 and 880 North Lake Shore Drive in Chicago and the Seagram Building in New York—helped set a new aesthetic standard for modern architecture. In 1976, the American Institute of Architects designated the campus as one of the 200 most important works of architecture in the country. S.R. Crown Hall, which houses IIT's College of Architecture, was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2001. Other Mies buildings on the Main Campus include Perlstein Hall, Alumni Memorial Hall, Wishnick Hall, Siegel Hall, Robert F. Carr Memorial Chapel of St. Savior, The Commons and three IIT residence halls: Bailey Hall, Carman Hall and Cunningham Hall. In 2005, the entire academic campus of IIT was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) must be counted among the founders of modern architecture and design. One of the most emulated architects of the 20th century, he was a master teacher of architecture for nearly three decades.
Mies came to IIT to head the university's Department of Architecture soon after the closing of Bauhaus, the renowned design school that flourished in Germany from 1919 until the rise of Nazism in 1933. During his 20 years as chairman of the department (1938–58), he established a curriculum based on the Bauhaus philosophy of synthesizing aesthetics and technology. His emphasis on a strong grounding in the fundamentals of architecture and on a disciplined method of problem solving is reflected in IIT's curriculum today.
Throughout his distinguished career, Mies influenced countless architects and they in turn made his theories into a movement. His own designs—ranging from the Barcelona Pavilion in Spain to the Seagram Building in New York to IIT's S. R. Crown Hall—changed the skylines of cities throughout the world. Crown Hall, depicted on the commemorative stamp, was erected in 1955 and was considered by Mies to be one of his greatest architectural achievements. To provide for a flexible, columnless interior, Mies suspended the roof from four steel girders supported by eight external columns spaced 60 feet apart.
The home of IIT's College of Architecture, Planning, and Design, Crown Hall has been described as an "immortal contribution to the architecture of Chicago and the world." A $15 million renovation of Crown Hall, completed in August 2005, modernized the structure with energy-saving mechanicals and windows, along with needed technology upgrades for computers and the Internet—all while carefully preserving the architectural integrity of the building, inside and out.
The master plan of the IIT Main Campus, designed by Mies in 1941, was one of the largest projects he ever conceived and the only one to come so close to achieving complete realization. The campus encompasses 20 of his buildings, the greatest concentration of Mies-designed buildings in the world. Thanks to the first chairman of its architecture department, IIT's campus is considered an architectural landmark of Chicago, and in 2005, the entire academic campus was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Campus Buildings
S. R. Crown Hall — Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1956)
Nothing better expresses Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's philosophy than S. R. Crown Hall, home to the College of Architecture, and a modern masterpiece that Time magazine calls "one of the world's most influential, inspiring and astonishing structures."
Designed by Mies in 1956, Crown Hall cohesively represents his architectural concepts and theories in their most complete and mature form. A National Historic Landmark, Crown Hall is a straightforward expression of construction and materiality, which allows the structure to transcend into art. Its refinement and innovation place it among the most distinguished buildings of its age and define its importance in the history of architecture.
Photo © Bill Zbaren
The column-free open plan of the main floor of Crown Hall demonstrates Mies' innovative concept of creating universal space that can be infinitely adapted to changing use. Its expansive size of 120' x 220' feet in floor area, with a ceiling height of 18 feet, allows individual classes to be held simultaneously without disruption while maintaining creative interaction between faculty and students.
The roof of the building is suspended from the underside of four steel plate girders. The girders are themselves supported by eight exterior steel columns, spaced at 60 foot intervals. The interior is divided by free-standing oak partitions that demark spaces for classes, lectures and exhibits.
S. R. Crown Hall was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2001 by the National Parks Service, U. S. Department of the Interior. Tour groups regularly come and go.
The recent restoration of Crown Hall's exterior received the 2006 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Project of the Year from Landmark Illinois, a 2006 Citation of Merit from AIA Chicago, and a 2005 Honor Award from Chicago Landmarks Commission.
Community History
Reaffirming its historic commitment to the mid-South Side, Illinois Institute of Technology today works closely with the City of Chicago, community organizations, and residents on a host of projects designed to revitalize and redevelop the neighborhood surrounding its Main Campus.
The university's institutional commitment to its birthplace and its vision for the rebirth of the mid-South Side have been demonstrated in recent years through a variety of educational opportunities for young area residents, and through exciting new residential and commercial development plans and initiatives.
When other area institutions and residents decided to move to the suburbs and other parts of the city after World War II, IIT instead expanded its Main Campus, now considered one of the 200 most important architectural sites in the country. In 1946, IIT and Michael Reese Hospital formed the South Side Planning Board to begin a redevelopment plan for the area. Soon afterward, Mercy Hospital decided to build a new hospital on its old site.
IIT approaches its relationship to the community in many ways:
In partnership with community leaders, residents, and organizations, and the City of Chicago, IIT is working to rehabilitate the historic Bronzeville neighborhood to the immediate south of the Main Campus.
IIT is developing a master plan for refurbishment of its historic Main Campus, consistent with the vision of the great architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who designed the campus and many of its individual buildings.
IIT initiated the Urban Parade of Homes, with more than 60 new homes built in the nearby Gap community, representing an investment of more than $10 million.
IIT sponsors the Discovery Approach to Science Enhancement (DASH) program in the summer, to prepare ninth- and tenth-grade minority students for careers in engineering and science through a discovery process of learning and achievement.
IIT's Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, open to ninth- to twelfth-grade girls interested in math, science, and engineering, offers young people mentoring from successful women scientists and engineers. Participants use college-level laboratories to conduct experiments, and engage in problem-solving exercises.
The Young Scientist Summer Camp exposes young people to a rigorous four weeks of training in geometry, calculus, biology, physics, chemistry, architecture and communication, to prepare for careers in health and medicine.
A unique joint project by students at IIT's College of Architecture and the Harvard Graduate School of Design was the first inter- university effort in the country aimed at developing an urban renewal strategy for a specific neighborhood—the 35th Street corridor between Lake Michigan and U.S. Cellular Field.
IIT students, faculty and staff work with and monitor the progress of students from area schools, including the university's "adopted" school, Douglas Community Academy. At the holiday season, IIT holds a toy drive for the schoolchildren.
The Teachers Academy for Mathematics and Science (TAMS), located on IIT's campus, is the brainchild of Dr. Leon Lederman, Nobel laureate in physics and IIT's Pritzker Professor of Science. TAMS helps improve Chicago public schoolteachers' skills in math and science, which in turn enhances their students' understanding of these critical subjects.
Through a grant from the McCormick Tribune Foundation, IIT stimulated the formation of the Mid- South Planning Group, which has grown to involve area community organizations, development corporations, the City of Chicago, and historic preservation groups.
IIT has hosted trade fairs to help minority, female, and small business owners learn about IIT contract and purchasing procedures. The university hosts many other community events on campus, including meetings of area local school councils, architecture exhibits, science fairs, public housing conferences, training sessions for community leaders, and the summer Pro-Am basketball league, which allows young people who cannot afford to see NBA games to enjoy professional-quality basketball competition.