Here’s the McCormick Tribune Campus Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology, OMA’s first project in the United States. The building makes special tribute to Mies van der Rohe, who was the head of IIT’s architecture program and designed much of the campus. It opened in 2003.
Koolhaas bends the roof down to allow the elevated train above, which is encircled in acoustic stainless steel. This concrete roof unites the complex programs inside. The student building explodes in orange windows, translucent panels, and steel. The front entrance is dark under the train, but opens into a wide lobby space that guides you to computers, a book store, cafeteria, and various student functions.
