Interior View: Weinberg College - Northwestern University

Interior View

Kresge now opens directly onto the plaza adjoining University and Harris Halls. “Now it has a real front door facing the Rock,” architect Avi Lothan says.

Light-filled common areas. Colorful nooks that invite quiet study. Sunny classrooms enhanced with the latest in technology. Could this be the same Kresge Centennial Hall that opened in 1954 and retained much of its post-World War II ambience well into the 21st century. Indeed it is. Kresge — the nexus of the humanities at Northwestern — reopened in September 2016 after a two-year renovation that left virtually no element in the building untouched. The model for the redesign was the “small city”— an intuitively navigable community, with gathering spots designed to promote collaboration across disciplines. The renovated building is larger, with a new fifth floor and a reconstructed east wing that expanded Kresge’s square footage by 20 percent. And it is far more environmentally friendly. A host of improvements, such as a solar-panel roof and self-dimming classroom lights, put Kresge on a path to platinum-level LEED certification — the highest possible rating for environmentally responsible design.

“Virtually every undergraduate will take a class here at some point in their career at Northwestern,” says architect Avi Lothan. “It’s a very significant hub of activity, inquiry and collaboration.”

The Reinvention of Kresge Hall

Clerestory windows send light to floors below via atrium-like interior spaces. “We’ve carved ‘holes’ in the building so that it’s a little more fluid,” Lothan says. “You get a sense of movement and energy that you didn’t get before.”

Kresge’s classroom technology has been carefully chosen to support the imaginative work of the humanities. “We spent a lot of time thinking about the right technology for these classrooms,” Lothan says. “We wanted to make sure it enhanced the human connections and the ‘aha’ moments of understanding and insight.”

“In the mid-20th century, there was a sense that the way a building was built was the way it was meant to stay. But we are living in a much more dynamic environment now. That’s why you see lots of exposed utilities. The more you bury them, the harder it is to change them.”

Navigation could be challenging in the old Kresge. Now, the three stairwells are color-coded: orange, yellow or red. “Each provides a visual cue to help you find your way around,” Lothan says.

“We sought to create little ‘episodes’ throughout the building. It’s got a very urban feel, with public plazas, high points and places for small-moment ‘events’ stitched throughout.”

A sunny central lobby off the entrance features lounge seating, a digital wall and a soon-to-open café. A corridor leads to most of the building’s 20-some conference rooms and classrooms. Faculty and departmental offices have been moved to the quieter floors above.

The renovation neatly combines newly quarried stones with materials used in the construction 62 years earlier. “You can’t really tell what is original and what has been added,” Lothan says. “There’s a sense of stitching old and new together, preserving the legacy of the old building.”