University Selects Architecture Firm for Ida Noyes Modernization
New York–based firm Steven Holl Architects will conduct primary design work for the Ida Noyes renovation in a process the University said will extend through autumn quarter. The west entrance of Ida Noyes. . .
New York–based firm Steven Holl Architects will conduct primary design work for the Ida Noyes renovation in a process the University said will extend through autumn quarter. The west entrance of Ida Noyes Hall. The UniversityannouncedFriday that Steven Holl Architects will serve as the primary architectural firm for the renovation of Ida Noyes Hall. According to the announcement, the University selected Steven Holl Architects as a result of its previous experience in constructing “student-focused facilities. ” The New York–based firm previouslydesignedthe Rubenstein Commons at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and is in the process ofconstructingthe new Student Performing Arts Center at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to Steven Holl Architects, two other architectural firms were selected as subcontractors: Chicago-based firmJLK Architects, which specializes in historic building preservation, andWorkshop/APD, which was noted in the announcement for its “experience in student life programming and campus operations. ”Workshop/APD previouslydesignedand constructed a campus in Bentonville, Arkansas, for the Veterans Future Foundation, which helps transition veterans back to civilian life through educational and community programs. The campus includes training areas, dining halls, and residential and educational spaces. JLK Architects recentlycompleteda restoration of the Little Village Arch on Chicago’s Southwest Side and hascontributedto several historical preservation projects and feasibility studies on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. Detailed plans for the modernization—including a project timeline—have not been finalized, and the University is “in the process of collecting feedback to inform the design plans,” per the announcement. Opportunities for input from student organizations based in Ida Noyes, as well as the wider campus community, will be shared over the next several months as the process continues, extending into autumn quarter. The modernization will include upgrades to interior infrastructure, like air conditioning systems, and “unique opportunities for spatial reuse both within and beyond the existing footprint of the building. ” University Provost Katherine Baickersaidearlier this year that the administration’s plans to expand the College to 9,000 students would require “be[ing] very creative about spaces that… are underutilized in their current configuration. ” The University has not said whether it plans to add classroom space to Ida Noyes as part of the renovation. In the announcement, the University stated that it “intends to keep the Pub and Doc Films in Ida Noyes” after the modernization. Following the initial news of the modernization project in March, some students speculated that the renovations would force the Pub’s temporary closure,promptingthe formation of the Ida Noyes Party, whose slogan in this year’s Undergraduate Student Government election was “Save the Pub. ”The announcement noted that Ida Noyes Hall would likely be temporarily closed during the renovation but did not indicate how long the closure is anticipated to last. It also said that the University and Student Centers would be able to assist all current occupants of the building—including Doc Films and the Pub—in finding alternative meeting and event spaces in other campus buildings during construction. $2480$5000ContributedOur GoalYour support will ensure that we can continue producing powerful, honest, and accessible reporting that serves the University of Chicago and Hyde Park communities.