Coyne College

Opportunity: A leader in industrial education for over a century, Coyne prepares students for careers in a variety of fields including electrical maintenance, air conditioning, heating, and more. Growing enrollment required a modern campus for students and faculty.

Solution:  On two square blocks just northwest of the Chicago Loop, Booth Hansen created a two-story, multi-purpose space, using a U-shaped plan that maximizes the site and provides space for classrooms, laboratories, and informal student gathering. The building construction is a simple combination of pre-cast concrete and steel that forms spirited exterior and interior spaces, including an enclosed atrium seen through a glass façade. Outside, five piers rise to support a canopy and point to monumental steel letters reading C-O-Y-N-E as a bold advertisement for the school’s new location.

Value:  Designing within aggressive budget constraints, Booth Hansen used basic materials and construction systems to minimize field labor. This resulted in a construction cost that was far below other buildings of this type. These systems are left unfinished and exposed, becoming, in itself, a teaching tool. The dramatic signage unites with economical construction in a celebration of both Coyne’s industrial history and its future.