On the shores of Lake Michigan, Loyola University Chicago’s Information Commons collects the student body, less through the amenity of internet access than through its open, daylight setting with breathtaking views, inaugurating the library of the digital age. Through the realization of a collective space for internet-based research, the essential ingredient of collaboration is folded in to digital education. This LEED Silver building combines computer technology and innovative building systems with an inspirational open and flexible design to celebrate a new era of campus architecture focused on student collaboration and resource conservation.

Collaborating with German based Transsolar KlimaEngineering, SCB’s design integrates a modern architectural vision with existing Art Deco buildings to create a space maximizing comfort while reducing energy consumption by 52%. The concept of a transparent, open link between the university’s past and its future is described by glass walls enclosed between limestone “bookends” using materials, scale, and details similar to those of the existing historic buildings. Matching the Information Commons’ inventive library program is an equally innovative approach to mechanical and structural systems, utilizing passive computer-controlled technologies to attain energy efficiency.