Works

S. R. Crown Hall

Citation Formats

General Reference

Arts and Music Atlas. "S. R. Crown Hall." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-arts.interactiveatlas.org/works/s-r-crown-hall.

APA Style

Arts and Music Atlas. (n.d.). S. R. Crown Hall. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-arts.interactiveatlas.org/works/s-r-crown-hall

BibTeX

@misc{artsandmusicatlas-s-r-crown-hall,
  author = {Arts and Music Atlas},
  title = {S. R. Crown Hall},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-arts.interactiveatlas.org/works/s-r-crown-hall},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Home of the architecture school Mies led for two decades, built to his own description as the clearest expression of his philosophy: a single glazed room raised half a level above grade, its entire roof suspended so that no column stands inside the space it covers. Mies called it, of everything he built, "the clearest structure we have done, the best to express our philosophy."

Facts

Year Created

1956 1

Location

Illinois Institute of Technology campus, Chicago, Illinois, United States 1

Architectural Style

International Style modernism, structural expressionism 1

Structural System

A column-free 120 by 220 foot hall: the roof hangs from four exposed steel plate girders carried above the roofline on eight exterior columns, so no interior support interrupts the floor. 1

Primary Material

Steel and glass 1

Building Type

Academic building (college of architecture) 1

Commissioned By

Illinois Institute of Technology, built with a gift from the Crown family in memory of Sol R. Crown 1

Current Use

IIT College of Architecture building; designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001 1

Visitor Access

Open during university hours; public tours available 1

Cross-Tradition Connections