The preservation assessment—the university’s first—was developed by the design/ conservator team, addressing care and mitigation for liturgical and historic elements. With the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings as guidance, the assessment identified significant historic features and requirements. For example, masonry was conserved; stained-glass was repaired; and specialty wood paneling, terra-cotta tiling, historic lighting, specialty crafted flooring and limestone were renewed, adhering to set guidelines for preservation treatments. In select instances, religious elements—the organ and some liturgical stained-glass windows—were rehomed. Preservation and mitigations reflect care in reconsidering a religious building as a secular one.
Field mockups confirmed the approach for masonry repair and cleaning, replacement and improved energy performance of 307 windows, and conservation of woodwork and decorative inpainting (work performed by a conservator to reinstate damaged areas of colored/painted stone) within Guastavino vaulted spaces. Mockups were also performed for new design elements to refine detailing, differentiating new construction as distinct from existing but integrating it in a sensitive, decidedly contemporary way. For example, glass and metal respond to the masonry construction, and metal and terra-cotta cladding offset historic brick.
A partnering approach, initiated during the design phase, set mutual goals and opened communications among the university, architects and construction manager. Goals were revisited throughout the project, and communications managed field issues and unforeseen conditions to maintain project schedule and budget. Constructed in two continuous phases, the project set a precedent for future campus development, balancing stewardship with optimization.
Results
Historically, the seminary stood apart. Now it is knitted into the campus and neighborhood, open and accessible, creating a new identity and sense of place for its occupants within the larger campus. The city street has been transformed for pedestrians. Landscaped terraces integrate universal access. Designed by landscape architecture firm OLIN Partnership, more than 36,000 square feet of open space and 50 new trees were added, along with small gardens sited along the former alley.
The four-building complex includes a café, lounges, seminar and classrooms, offices, research areas and student spaces. The renovated houses offer small research settings, and new construction is folded into the complex, offering reconfigurable open space and high- performance design.
This campus precinct can be considered “found space”. Previously an outlier, it is now open, welcoming and active and serves as a connector from the main historic campus quad and the Booth School of Business. A dispersed academic community is unified in this setting for interdisciplinary research, teaching and programs. As a model for sustainability and adaptive reuse, the project explores the interface between historic and contemporary design.
“In the clever design mix of old and new, Saieh Hall supports our needs for work and lecture space and also nurtures important spontaneous interactions between faculty, students and the leading scholars who visit us from around the world,” says Lars Peter Hansen, David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in economics, statistics and the college. “Our first year in the building shows that it is well suited to meet the demands of an elite research institute and a premier department of economics.”
Retrofit Team
ARCHITECT: Ann Beha Architects, now Annum Architects
ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT AND FURNISHINGS CONTRACTOR: Gensler
CONTRACTOR: Turner Construction Co.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: OLIN Partnership
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Thornton Tomasetti
MEP/FP ENGINEER: dbHMS
CIVIL ENGINEER: Terra Engineering Ltd.
LIGHTING DESIGNER: Schuler Shook
ACOUSTIC CONSULTANT: Kirkegaard Associates
AUDIO/VISUAL CONSULTANT: Shen Milsom & Wilke
MATERIALS CONSERVATOR: Building Conservation Associates Inc.
RESTORED MASONRY: Bulley and Andrews Masonry Restoration
Materials
NEW STEEL REPLACEMENT WINDOWS (307): Landmark 175 Series, Steel Casement Windows, and Jamestown Series, Steel Fixed Windows, from Hopes Windows Inc.
RESTORED WINDOWS (148): History Wood and Window Restoration LLC (steel), (815) 998-2756, and Solstice Stained Glass (stained and leaded)
EXTERIOR METAL PANELS: Granex Bead-blasted Finish in Champagne from Rimex
INTERIOR METAL PANELS: Sandstone Finish in Fused White Gold from Forms + Surfaces
STRUCTURAL GLAZING: Sentech Architectural Systems
MAGNETIC PRIMER (One Wall in All Faculty Offices): IdeaPaint
INTERIOR FIRE-RATED GLAZING: SuperLite II-XL from Safti First
INTERIOR SMART GLASS: Innovative Glass Corp.
LIMESTONE PAVERS: Valders Stone & Marble
CUSTOM AREA CARPETS: Creative Matters
ACOUSTIC WOOD PANELS: Aluratone 900 and Aluratone 500 from Rulon International
INTERIOR LAMINATED AND TEMPERED GLASS PANELS: McGrory Glass
FIXED TABLES AT TIERED CLASSROOMS: Vox Series with Integral Power from Nienkämper
PHOTOS: TOM ROSSITER unless otherwise noted