S.R. Crown Hall

S.R.
CROWN HALL
BY AR. MIES VAN DER ROHE.

Sited at a focal point in landscape architect Alfred Caldwell’s campus
design, Crown Hall seems to float delicately above the lawn, reachable
by a cascading waterfall of travertine marble steps. The lower windows
are sandblasted to screen students from outside distractions, while
upper windows freely admit light and views of the surrounding trees and
sky. The expansive interior space is ever-changing with the rhythms of
the academic year.
Crown Hall is integrated perfectly into the overall campus scheme not
only by the uniformity of style, but by abiding by the exact same modular
grid that Mies used for the grounds. Approached by a low staircase at
the center of one of the long façades, the building employs thus a
classical exterior symmetry, elevated on the basement plinth, that gives
it an understated monumentality and points to the centrality of the
architecture school, which it houses, within IIT's curriculum.
Crown Hall is especially significant for the way that it demonstrates the
ability of industrialized construction to open up interior space. The entire
structure is essentially "hung" from a super structure of four flat arches of
I-beams that traverse the building from front-to-back. This eliminates the
need for any interior load-bearing structures, and to reveal this facet of
construction, Mies has left the entire main floor above ground as one
massive open studio space. (All of the auxiliary spaces - professors'
offices, the library, lecture halls - are located below in the semi-
submerged basement.)
The studio space, surrounded on all four sides by a curtain wall of

windows, helps to dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior,
thereby framing the natural world beyond and keeping it in students'
minds constantly while working. Most practically, it always admitted
natural light as much as possible inside - but conversely did not make
the building particularly energy-efficient. For Mies, the completely open
studio design was the ultimate in utility, as the room can thus be
configured and subdivided in whatever scheme that is needed for
classes and critiques. However, this flexibility often proves difficult in
practice, especially troublesome is reducing sound between spaces with
temporary dividers.
Another fact that isn’t noticeably apparent in Crown Hall is how the roof
works, especially when dealing with wind loads and lateral forces. The
ceiling being suspended, when the façade of the building has to deal
with wind loads, part of it – approximately half, go through the ceiling
back to the moment frame created by the girders and columns.
From the actual glass panes the wind then transfers to the mullions, and
in turn to the chords in the roof structure, and back to the portal frame. In
the
north - south axis this isn’t so much a problem because it is in line with
the axis of the frames themselves, so they are able to resist the loads.
On the east - west axis on the other hand, the roof has to be framed in
order to act as a diaphragm and be able to transfer the loads correctly.
Cross bracing isn’t apparent in the building itself, but it is nevertheless
present and a necessity in order for the roof act as a truss and resist the
lateral loads.
Again, by doing so they are able to give the building a lighter feel and
while they are not openly showing some of these elements, in turn they
give a batter clarity to the building as a whole.
When we shift to the inside of the building, a lot of attention has also
been to some key elements, particularly the window frames. While from
the outside they answer to the overall aspect of the building and create a
coherent and elegant framing, they also respond to the conditions inside.
Indeed, not only are their sizes appropriate for the occupants - at eight
feet tall by five feet wide they respect a human scale, but their treatment
also has a very clear intention towards the occupants.
ABDULQADIR ATTARWALA 1704-A SEM 5

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S.R.

BY AR. MIES VAN DER ROHE.

The studio space, surrounded on all four sides by a curtain wall of

ABDULQADIR ATTARWALA 1704-A SEM 5

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