New york city-based tod williams billie tsien architects, have completed the ‘reva and david logan center for the arts’, a new campus building for the university of chicago in chicago, illinois. rising above the urban landscape like a silo, an eleven-storey tower permeated with light will offer views to the landmark skyline while marking the entrance to the performing arts center. the structure’s multiple levels will contain terraces and rooftop decks as well as spaces for interdisciplinary experimentation.
classrooms and presentation areas for music, theater, dance and visual arts are woven throughout the interior, creating a hybrid learning experience for students. a low profile structure containing a cafe, studios and shops anchors the 170-foot tall element.
in reference to the design, tod williams and billie tsien have stated:
‘the idea of the long, low, skylit building of studios and theaters, and the tower of the arts came from imagining the flat prairies of the midwest and the great towers of chicago. the quiet low “plains” building will provide three floors of beautifully lit studios, a gallery, music practice rooms and theaters that are spatial surprises. the presence of the tower on the south side of the midway announces a new home for the creative life of students and faculty and a public venue for residents of the city. we have put cinema, dance, performance, ensemble spaces of music, and classrooms on different floors and connected these programs with generous elevators and dramatic stairways. details such as custom made tiles and felt paneled walls attest to the importance of the creative act. moving from floor to floor, students, faculty, and residents of chicago will discover communal places to gather and secret places to be alone. the logan center is made to be explored and discovered over time. in doing so this building will be for all who use the logan center a place where arts overlap and friendships are formed and the exhilarating and the unimagined happen.’
