In the heart of downtown Chicago on 162 State Street, a residence hall houses mainly first year students at School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). The hall’s new lobby marks, for many of the students, the first true home away from home. For Kwong Von Glinow, it was important the introduction to the home be welcoming. The firm renovated the lobby to create a sense of calm by deploying curves that both create an elevated sense of place and organize the flow of the space.
The 850-square-foot lobby is made up of two rectangular spaces, offset from each other and stretching deeper into the building’s footprint. An arching brown mat greets the entryway, before the lobby takes on a white color scheme. A vaulted acoustical ceiling adds depth to the interior in place of color, as it draws students down the long, narrow first half of the space down to the rear elevators. While a visual sculpture that elevates the humble lobby, the vaulted ceiling also strategically offers space for mechanical, plumbing, and electrical conduits and duct, and conceals the protrusion of the neighboring lobby’s staircase that would otherwise be visible.
A new check-in desk continues the organic curvature of the ceiling. This slightly rounded reception helps maximize the circulation space for the students. From the entry, students first see the underside of the desk, made from monolithic white seamless Corian, to help soften its placement and add warmth to the nearly all-white space.
Kwong Von Glinow’s design also repositions the security desk to the front of the lobby to give officers a greater vantage point to monitor the space. Creating a security closet, tucked away behind a curving wall, protects the equipment from view. This geometry is formed by the intersection of three curves in plan.
The curving wall then unites with the vaulted ceiling before flattening out above the back half of the space where the elevators are situated. The intersecting lines of the wall and ceiling are left exposed to create sinuous moments that emphasize the dimensionality of the room. Across from the elevators, a pin-up board acts as a central place for the residents to connect with one another. A framed display monitor supported by a column in the middle of this space continues the community-centered approach.
Other details by Kwong Von Glinow consider the student’s experiences. At the front of the lobby, oak shelving creates dedicated space for food delivery and drop-off. Across the check-in desk, a site-specific, integrated artwork was made by SAIC alumni Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero of Luftwerk. The piece, titled Polychromatic: Expanded Horizon, carves out a pill-shaped slice of the wall with acrylic on aluminum board. It integrates LED lighting and custom programming so that the vibrant artwork can change colors throughout the day. Against the white and neutral space, the bright wall art shines that much brighter.