With classroom and administrative wings, the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools' Earl Shapiro Hall is quite simple, though atypical forms and detailing required tight coordination among specialty trades, which met regularly with contractor and designers to review intent and feasibility.
Among other features, steel frame and metal deck create a cantilevering, geometrically skewed library atop the administrative wing. The concrete-framed classroom wing incorporates projecting piers that have been likened to the flying buttresses of Gothic cathedrals. Metal ceilings within the 130,000-sq-ft facility are set at angles with the intent of creating unique and interesting spaces. Full-height glazing provides abundant natural lighting in classrooms.
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools - Earl Shapiro Hall, Chicago
Key Players
Owner University of Chicago
General Contractor Lend Lease, Chicago
Designer FGM Architects Inc., Oak Brook, Ill.; Valerio Dewalt Train Associates, Chicago
Structural Engineer RME Inc., Chicago
MEP Engineer Arup North America, Chicago
Civil Engineer Environmental Design International Inc., Chicago
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