ACADEM IC
Founded in 1980, Booth Hansen is a nationally-recognized architecture, planning, and interiors firm. As a medium-sized firm, we provide project and design leadership with experienced principal architects who are engaged and attentive to the needs of every project, no matter the size. Through commercial, cultural and educational projects, as well as multi-family and single-family residences, our contribution to the built environment aims to capture the unique quality of each project. We address the functional needs of our clients while seeking a direct connection with the human spirit through architecture’s timeless, poetic language. We believe in the power of collaboration among designers, clients, stakeholders, and consultants to produce successful results and products of enduring quality. Clarity in communication leads to an equally defined design process, in which many voices come together in a single vision. As architects, we are agents of that vision, carefully evolving it from concept to construction. With every project, Booth Hansen looks to create beautiful places that people treasure.
STEVEN S. WYMER HALL, GIES COLLEGE OF BUSINESS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN Wymer Hall is an educational building on the UIUC campus designed to support a variety of learning opportunities for our next generation of business leaders. The building’s bold arrangement of forms and detailing signifies a forward-thinking outlook while its traditional palette of brick and masonry mimic many of its UIUC neo-Georgian neighbors. Comprised of an extensive teaching and learning ecosystem, its programming supports in-person, hybrid and remote learning opportunities by smartly collocating flexible instructional spaces with professional studios designed for synchronous or asynchronous production. Classrooms, an auditorium, and small meeting spaces for team-based learning support maximal flexibility and enhanced engagement with its users. Upper levels include offices and additional collaboration spaces to further support engagement between students and faculty. Booth Hansen worked with LMN Architects on this project.
COMPUTER DESIGN RESEARCH AND LEARNING CENTER UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CHICAGO The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university and one of the most diverse universities in the United States. The new 135,000 SF Computer Design Research and Learning Center (CDRLC) at UIC will consolidate the currently fragmented Computer Science Department in a new home and co-locate it with a large cluster of universityadministered classrooms at the heart of the east campus. The building is designed to be a welcoming, inclusive, and inviting space for the diverse student body. It will be a new campus hub, serve research needs with state-of-the-art facilities, and help accommodate the rapidly increasing undergraduate enrollment in computer science. The CDRLC is the third recent academic building to be built on east campus originally designed by Walter Netsch in 1965. The building will be delivered on an accelerated schedule to meet the demands of the department, doubling the size of the departmental space by 2023. It will create a hub for both engineering and computer science that includes research areas comprised of faculty offices, collaboration areas, dry lab and specialty lab; administrative and student affairs office spaces; collaborative teaching and learning spaces for undergraduate and graduate students; an undergraduate learning and community center; and a flexible events room; all stitched together by a five story daylit atrium. Creating a contemporary addition to this iconic brutalist campus, the building is functional, flexible, and respectful of the context. Located at a unique, prominent site on campus, the structure celebrates the natural setting and organic form of the Memorial Grove and establishes a new front door for technology in Chicago. Together with the existing lab building, the new CDRLC creates a dramatic public atrium for social interactions with visual and physical connections to all floors. The muscular precast concrete and terra cotta façade of the building are inspired by Netsch’s late modern architecture and respond to the site conditions. Booth Hansen is working with LMN Architects on this project.
I S R D I NI NG + STUD E NT CE NTE R UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN The Illinois Street Residences’ dining hall, originally built in 1964, was due for an upgrade. The University of Illinois opted to reinvest in the property, enlisting Booth Hansen to lead a partial renovation and major addition. The dining hall’s prime location near the main quad creates an ideal meeting space for students in the University’s well-renowned engineering and humanities programs. The building’s frontage along Green Street, a major retail thoroughfare within the towns of Champaign and Urbana, connects the University to this community. The new addition brings the entrance to the building closer to the street, enhancing its visibility and reinforcing the University’s presence. ISR’s two 1960s precast concrete residence halls, Townsend and Wardall, connect directly to the dining and student center. In addition, the project obtained LEED Silver Certification through a variety of sustainable strategies including an extensive green roof and water savings measures. On Green Street, students enter the facility via the lower level, which not only includes a tea bar and convenience store along with other student amenities including classrooms, a maker space, library, fitness room, and group study spaces. The lower level is also home to the University’s Innovation Living Learning Community, featuring The Garage, a dedicated workspace to help students with their creative and entrepreneurial projects. A monumental staircase with seating for students connects to the first floor, where nine different “micro-restaurants” provide a variety of cuisines and healthy made-to-order food options. Collaborating with BakerGroup, a leading dining consultant, Booth Hansen created unique identities for each of these micro-restaurants and designed an assortment of seating spaces that allow students to dine comfortably either individually or in groups. The new addition and renovation make ISR one of the largest University dining facilities in the country able to serve a capacity of more than 1,300 students at one time.
E15 PARKING STRUCTURE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN The South Campus parking structure is part of the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign’s Campus Master Plan, aimed at reshaping accessibility, sustainability, safety, and architectural cohesion. This project expands parking on the existing E15 surface lot to support the redevelopment of parking lots elsewhere on campus. It’s architectural composition and selection of materials balances contextual design and durability. Great care was taken to make the building fit within the campus context, while providing a robust modern building. The choice to use brick clad precast, allowed for an accelerated construction timeline while preserving the contextual harmony of the exterior. Perforated metal panels were used to subtly veil the structure’s interior while providing adequate ventilation. Should the University’s needs evolve in the future, the structure’s design can be easily expanded to the east to provide additional parking and it was also made “PV ready” to support the integration of photovoltaic panels should the University choose to add them in the future. Ultimately, the E15 Parking Structure serves as a testament to campus enhancement, showcasing the ongoing progress and advancement at UIUC.
COHEN COMMONS NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY This modernization project transformed an existing space in the McCormick School of Engineering into a state-of-the-art multipurpose space for Northwestern University. Cohen Commons is the largest, non-instructional gathering space in the school; a dignified and comfortable area for meetings and events for donors, alumni, visitors, and advisory boards. Movable furnishings allow users to change configurations as the need arises. The room is fully equipped with AV capabilities including projectors, recessed screens that drop from the ceiling, speakers, resident computer, and podium. Sustainable materials, low-VOC finishes, and highly efficient LED lighting provided for a high-impact space. A full renovation of a kitchen also complements the space to allow for prepared meals on site. The kitchen has the capacity to serve 30-50 for lunch and 40+ for dinner. Cohen Commons now is in constant demand for numerous events, and faculty and students are gathering in a more relaxed environment to collaborate on new ideas and build new relationships.
ANNENBERG HALL CYCLE STUDIO AND LOBBY RENOVATION NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Booth Hansen was the original architect for Annenberg Hall when it was constructed in 1993, but after more than 25 years, Northwestern University needed to update the facility. An existing office suite was renovated to provide students with a new flexible research and education space known as the CYCLE Studio. New storefront glazing assembly visually connects the interior of the CYCLE Studio to the Lobby. The existing lobby flooring, wall and ceiling materials, and lighting were upgraded, highlighting the school’s branding and digital displays. Opening up the spaces and providing a lighter, 'clean' design has increased the use of these spaces off the public circulation and showcased the academic work to a broader audience. Niches along the corridor create informal gathering areas for students and places to display school information and current work. New high performance, glazed storefronts at the east, west, and south entry points complete the renovation.
IKENBERRY COMMONS UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN The Ikenberry Master Plan at UIUC includes a Dining and Residential Programs building, Ikenberry Commons, specifically aimed at providing residents a place to gather. Completed in 2009, this building is capable of serving 3,600 students with an intimate scale and visibility. Part of a larger superblock, the building forges connections between interior and exterior to shape a series of informal social spaces, facilitating face-to-face interaction and collaboration.
The dining area radiates from a central servery with four dining rooms of different sizes; other functions such as a library, fitness center, and student activities rooms add to the multi-faceted program. At 144,000 SF, Ikenberry Commons is one of the largest such facilities in the country. With sustainable features including solar thermal energy, rain gardens, and green roofs, this project sets a new standard for University residential housing, and is LEED Silver certified.
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