Scaled model of Campus Master Plan on exhibit at Regenstein

As new campus buildings evolve from artistic renderings to physical structures, one stage of that architectural metamorphosis––the scaled model––is now on display in the lobby of the Joseph Regenstein Library.

Facilities Services installed the exhibition, which will be displayed until October 2001. It includes scaled models of the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center, the parking structure and the Max Palevsky Residential Commons. The model of the residential commons also includes the Bartlett Gymnasium renovation. Models of the Interdivisional Research Building and the Graduate School of Business will be added after the designs are completed and approved.

“The projects concentrated north of 57th Street are becoming a reality, but during construction it may be hard to visualize what the buildings will look like,” said Meredith Mack, Director of Facilities Services. “We hope the library exhibition will give everyone a better sense of these new buildings and their relationship to the surrounding environment.”

Cesar Pelli, an American Institute of Architects Gold medalist, designed both the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center and the new parking structure. The latter will open in January, after which construction will begin on the athletics center. A groundbreaking ceremony for the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center took place in conjunction with homecoming festivities on Saturday. Mack said the athletics center is scheduled to open in December 2002.

Construction on the residence halls, designed by AIA Gold medalist Ricardo Legorreta, is well underway, as is the renovation of Bartlett gymnasium to a dining commons.

“The transformation of Bartlett will be difficult to see until the building reopens because most of the progress is on the inside. But everyone should know that the renovation inside Bartlett is dramatic. Right now the interior is a wide, open space, somewhat similar to its original layout,” said University Architect Curt Heuring, adding that the exterior of the 96-year-old building will be cleaned for the first time this fall. The stone will be cleaned so that it will match the stone of a new addition, a masked loading dock that will be added on the south end of the building in 2001.

When completed next year, the residential and dining commons will form a new series of quadrangles and green space around Regenstein Library.

Sasaki Associates, a landscape design firm, has a final plan in the works for planting in that entire area, Heuring said. Sasaki also is designing the landscaping for the athletics center, Interdivisional Research Building and the Main Quadrangles.

Although some campus improvement projects––such as the new Graduate School of Business and the Interdivisional Research Building––are scheduled to open several years from now, other University building projects are already finished or will be soon. The Laboratory Schools’ Kovler Gymnasium opened last month, and the University Press Building at 60th Street and Dorchester Avenue will open in January, Mack said. The University, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District have been working throughout the summer to transform one of the center panels on the Midway Plaisance into a permanent ice skating rink with a warming house and cafÈ. Mack said the rink and warming house should open during winter quarter.

For the most up-to-date news on campus construction, please visit the campus plan and construction page at http://www.uchicago.edu/docs/mp-site/construction/.

Sasaki Associates, a landscape design firm, has a final plan in the works for planting in that entire area, Heuring said. Sasaki also is designing the landscaping for the athletics center, Interdivisional Research Building and the Main Quadrangles.

Although some campus improvement projects––such as the new Graduate School of Business and the Interdivisional Research Building––are scheduled to open several years from now, other University building projects are already finished or will be soon. The Laboratory Schools’ Kovler Gymnasium opened in September, and the University Press Building at 60th Street and Dorchester Avenue will open in January, Mack said. The University, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District have been working throughout the summer to transform one of the center panels on the Midway Plaisance into a permanent ice skating rink with a warming house and cafÈ. Mack said the rink and warming house should open during Winter Quarter.

For the most up-to-date news on campus construction, please visit the campus plan and construction page at http://www.uchicago.edu/docs/mp-site/construction/.