UIC Richard J. Daley Library IDEA Commons

A 2011 renovation by Woodhouse Tinucci Architects brought new lighting, aluminum panels, glass and steel to this Brutalist building, originally designed by SOM in 1965. Interconnected learning and living environments, lounges, study areas, seminar rooms and a cafe fill the 15,500-square-foot space, which is now considered a vibrant gateway connecting campus and the library. Students entering pass between two brightly lit prisms of steel grating.

SOM, 1965