The Illinois Capital Development Board approved a contract for the Discovery Partners Institute project for a Technology Center that will be designed by a team that includes architect Rem Koolhaas.
An article in the Chicago Sun Times states that an international team of engineers and designers were chosen to create a $250 million technology incubator and teaching center for the University of Illinois on the Near South Side development site known as The 78.
The new home for the school's Discovery Partners Institute will be the work of design and consulting firm Jacobs and OMA-AMO, a Rotterdam architectural firm. The Illinois Capital Development Board has approved a $15 million contract for the partnership at a virtual meeting.
The Board, which authorizes major construction projects of state agencies, selected the team from 35 other applicants for this job. The University has hopes of creating a futuristic landmark with the new building that would attract technology talent to Chicago.
The DPI center would connect thousands of students with academics and private industry to accelerate innovation and create life-changing products, thereby taking them to market faster than ever before.
The center would also provide an impetus for other development at The 78, a 62 acre site running southwest from Roosevelt Road and Clark Street. The development is being led by Related Midwest and is being marketed as a new Chicago neighborhood, the 78th, in the making.
Due to the pandemic, it is unclear how massively scaled projects will continue because corporations have had to alter how they use office space and possibly change people's desires for city living. Another unknown is whether the state of Illinois with its deficit-addled budgets, can follow through and fund construction.
The development board's spokesperson has declined to discuss details pending a release to be issued by Governor Pritzker.
Koolhaas, a Dutch architect and a leading thinker about urbanism, is the most prominent name in the partnership. His designs feature unusual forms that always draw a great deal of praise and criticism.
Some of his works include:
- Seattle Central Library
- China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing
- McCormick Tribune Campus Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology
The development board stated that this competition is meant to be the first step towards realizing a once in a generation facility that can have meaningful impact on society as a whole.
DataBid is currently reporting on this project - University of Illinois at Chicago (0047021214)
