Carman Hall

Built 1953

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Following the close of WWII, Illinois Institute of Technology’s enrollment increased, creating the need for new residential space for staff, faculty, and students. In response, Mies van der Rohe designed three residential towers on campus, Carman Hall (1953), Bailey Hall (1955; renamed George J. Kacek Hall in 2020), and Cunningham Hall (1955). (A fourth residential tower was designed by SOM.)

Mies’ three residential towers have sweeping views of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan. He used a concrete structural system for the buildings, similar to his Promontory Apartment Building (1949). The ground floor lobbies are set back from their facades to align the columnar grids of all three buildings, similar to his 860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments (1951).

Cunningham Hall was rehabilitated in 2021 by Dirk Denison Architects, along with Kacek Hall in 2020. Carman Hall is still under construction.