Tour of Hyde Park-Kenwood. Part 2, buildings and scenes east and northward from the UC campus

A service of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference and its website, www.hydepark.org. Help support our program: Join the Conference!

Frederick Robie House, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1909. 5757 S. Woodlawn. More views, and about.

The new gym and swimming pool northwest of 56th and Ellis, designed by Cesar Pelli, across the corner from Atomic Energy. It suggests a huge land sculpture.The Ratner Athletic Center was awarded a citation of honor by the American Council of Engineering Companies (AISC), the American Institute of Steel Construction and the Consulting Engineers Council of Illinois. Designer: Cesar Pelli & Associates and local partner OWP/P. The serpentine counter-curved multi-sectional yet unified structure is most notable for its tilted sets of white, concrete-filled masts and cables running from the base to far above the roof. Then University Architect Curt Heuring says the masts and cables are the support for the s-shaped roof in a unique, forward-looking solution to providing large, column-free spaces in the gym and pool. The AISC noted, "the three-dimensional configuration of splayed cables at multiple levels make this structure an engineering breakthrough. The structural solution adds a new classification of masted structures in the United States, providing a precedent for future structures with similar goals." The structure also used local supplies and recycled materials wherever possible, including 100 percent recycled steel fabricated at a plant close to Chicago.
A future landmark.