The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected the Academic and Residential Complex (ARC) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) for an award of merit in this year’s Educational Facility Design Awards. Each year, the Committee on Architecture for Education recognizes state-of-the-art design for educational projects throughout North America which strengthen campuses and communities, enhance learning, and champion sustainability.

The LEED Gold ARC is a testament to how the spirit of convergence and collaboration can result in transformational campus design. Working with a diverse group of UIC stakeholders including students, faculty, and staff, as well as UIC’s developer partner, American Campus Communities (ACC), SCB’s design combines a ten-story residence hall and a curvilinear, two-story academic classroom building to create a new living-learning community, the first of its kind on campus.

The ARC serves as a bridge between UIC’s architecturally significant past and its future. Designed with a ‘nod to Walter Netsch’ (the original architect of the campus), the façade and interior design echoes the geometric movement expressed in Netsch’s famous ‘field theory’ and distinctive architecture, while introducing significant glass to maximize natural light and infuse the campus with energy through transparency and connection to the activities within the building. 

See the full list of the award winners here.