University of Illinois Chicago
ARC
Academic, Residential Complex
Completed June 2019
As enrollment at UIC, Chicago’s only public research university, continues to grow to record-breaking levels, UIC's Academic, Residential Complex (ARC) is a much-needed additional space for student housing, academic spaces, and additional amenities. College is not only about learning course content; it is about interacting with fellow students, living independently for the first time, and making connections that will last a lifetime. The ARC serves as a welcoming hub of campus life, embodying these core experiences. With its modern, welcoming design, the ARC creates an environment that affirms to every student: "You are important. You deserve the best. We are here for you"
This new facility was completed in June 2019 and includes a 10-story, 151,000- square-foot residential space that can serve 550 students. Other amenities include a fitness center, social and study lounges, gaming lounges, and laundry facilities. Attached to the residential portion of the project is a two-story, 52,000-square-foot academic building. This building has the space for lectures, active learning, small group learning, independent learning, and more. The diverse range of spaces throughout the building promotes collaboration among students and helps cultivate strong faculty-student relationships.
The beautiful design, development, and construction of this building has led it to become a wonderful viewpoint for many students. The 10th floor sky lounge has a breathtaking view of downtown Chicago and reminds students that they are part of a larger world, and their academic success will launch them into that world.
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
CIF
Campus Instructional Facility
Completed March 2021
Teaching is as much an art as a science. The Campus Instructional Facility (CIF) provides column free space along the north side of the building that allows for a variety of classroom sizes tailored to the current pedagogies and capable accommodating future pedagogies. The building is located on the north side of UIUC’s campus on the western edge of campus close to the major Grainger College of Engineering facilities. Completed in March of 2021, the CIF is the newest multi-college and multi-department building available for classes. Designed by architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, the 124,000 GSF building is UIUC’s largest geothermal installation. In 2022 it was the AIA Design Awards Capital Award Winner and High Performance Award Winner, and in 2023 it was awarded the Citation of Merit and People’s Choice Award winner.
The CIF offers a dedicated space for faculty to come together and intentionally shape the future of teaching through collaboration. Collaboration is central to the CIF’s mission and is reflected in both the physical layout, spacious classrooms equipped with current instructional technologies, and the atmosphere, which encourages ongoing exchange among educators. The CIF supports faculty in exploring innovative teaching practices, integrating new classroom technologies, and engaging in professional development. These efforts aim to improve student learning, enrich the undergraduate experience. In doing so, the CIF also addresses the needs of a growing campus and supports Illinois’s land-grant mission to serve and uplift communities across the state.
University of Illinois Health
SCB
Specialty Care Building
Completed June 2022
The UIC Health Specialty Care Building (SCB) is the first new building for the university’s academic and clinical health enterprise, UI Health, since 2014. This $197-million and 195,000-square-foot facility provides a more efficient, comfortable and patient-friendly home for outpatient surgery, that were formerly performed within the operating suite at the University of Illinois Hospital. With a growing clinical program, there was a need for more space, and this new facility enables UI Heath to handle increased demand.
In addition, the SCB helps provide a platform from which to address the inequities of access on the west and south sides of Chicago. That inequity is at the core of disparities in health outcomes, which the university is aware of and striving to address. As part of the UI Health system and in conjunction with Mile Square, a network of federally qualified healthcare centers across Chicago and Rockford, the SCB works diligently to help those who have traditionally been underserved. The funding for the new facility also reflects a powerful spirit of teamwork between the university and the public and private industry. By relying on P3 funding (public-private-partnership), this facility and its programs have a deep and wide foundation from which to serve its communities.
SCB is an important tool in helping the U of I System fulfill its mission, to serve the state of Illinois and improve the lives of its people. The project also serves as an important economic driver for the state, with the construction project employing about 500 people and the health facility expected to generate 100 full-time jobs.