Earl Shapiro Hall at University of Chicago Lab School

2014

Apr 14

WHO

Architects: Valerio Dewalt Train & FGM
Installer: Trainor Glass Company

  
WHERE & WHEN

Chicago, IL 

Americas

Completed · 2015

WHAT & HOW

Education · New Build
Glass envelope with folded walls
VS1 with exterior shading

This project features the VS1 system as the primary building skin of the building. Exterior bent aluminum perforated painted fins create a texture based on the Fibonacci sequence to communicate the educational purpose of the building. The designers also tilted and crossed the fins on one facade demonstrating the extraordinary ability of the VS1 system to respond to architectural visual goals. A seamless transition from glass to perforated metal cladding was achieved for the main portion of the project to house a roof-top play ground. Although the facade wall appears continuous from glass to metal, a waterproof detail at the roof transition is cleverly concealed in the detail which resulted from an valued collaborative effort between the VS1 team and the architects. Glass roofed vestibules were used at all the side entrances demonstrating the ability of VS1 to smoothly transition from walls to glass roofs.

Gentle creases on the library facade allow the appearance of the building to change during the course of the day. Daylight can either amplify or conceal the subtle folded plates that make up the main entrance to this new development. A full scale mock-up and dynamic prototype test were successfully completed for the project.

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IN THE PRESS ARCHITECTURAL RECORD

Valerio’s solution pairs a steel-framed administrative wing—topped by a cantilevered, “look-at-me” library—with a restrained classroom wing that’s mostly framed in precast concrete. These disparate parts are effectively tied together by an elegant cladding of oversized, cream-colored brick, energy-efficient glass, and perforated aluminum fins, arranged in a variation of the Fibonacci sequence.

The building is of the city, more town than gown, but it doesn’t stray too far from the University of Chicago’s architectural roots. While making a contemporary statement with its folded south-facing facade, the design achieves a subtle allegiance to the Collegiate Gothic in its asymmetrical massing, projecting piers, and tracery-like fins.

The floor-to-ceiling glass that encloses classrooms opens the building to its surroundings... Lab administrators characterize the ever-changing views as being, rather than a distraction, a novelty that will stimulate young brains. “Dead, really controlled space is pretty deadening,” said Valerio.