Math, econ buildings on new foundations

News The William Eckhardt Research Center and the remodeled 5757 South University Avenue will be completed by fall 2015 and January 2015, respectively.

Posted May 20, 2014 by Sara Cao

Photo: Jamie Manley

The William Eckhardt Research Center, which will house the astronomy and astrophysics department, the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the new Institute for Molecular Engineering, will be open for use beginning fall 2015. The building will be located on South Ellis Avenue between East 56th Street and East 57th Street, across from the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library.

A crucial component to the design of the William Eckhardt Research Center has been to tailor the building to accommodate the diverse facilities of its future occupants, according to Amy Lee, communications strategy manager for Facilities Services.

Every time [the University] brings in a new researcher, Facilities Services gets involved because were building a new home for a new researcher that will need to be tailored to meet that persons needs, Lee said.

Because of this, construction began on all stories simultaneously, as opposed to building floor by floor as is typical, to allow researchers to visit the building and discuss their specific needs with architects.

Many of the floors will be shared between departments, and each floor features collaboration spaces in which researchers across departments can interact and work together on projects. Furthermore, the collaborative Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility, part of the Institute for Molecular Engineering, will be housed in the buildings first lower level. The facility will feature a large clean room, which will filter out the majority of airborne contaminants and provide a space in which members of various departments can collaborate on innovation in nanotechnology.

The buildings two basement levels were specially designed to mitigate vibrations that would interfere with the precise measurements at an atomic level taking place there.

The interior remodeling of 5757 South University Avenue will prepare it to house parts of the Department of economics and the Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics. The remodeling includes the renovation and expansion of the former Chicago Theological Seminary building and the development of 58th Street into a pedestrian walkway. Faculty and staff are expected to move into the building over the summer, and classes will begin fall 2014. The project also includes the construction of a modern economic research pavilion located behind the building, which is scheduled for completion January 2015.

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Math, econ buildings on new foundations