Hull House Museum Expansion Concept
The Hull House historic site on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago formed the base of operations for Chicago’s first Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jane Addams, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. UrbanWorks was hired to expand the existing two-building complex to provide spaces that will facilitate the viewing, learning and making of art. The two-story addition includes new orientation and research classrooms, studio space, meeting rooms and offices.
The brick and glass art education center employs a rhythm of solids and voids that mimic the pattern of the existing museum. The addition is connected to the existing buildings through a glass walkway that provides increased gallery space. Landscaping, along with a new green roof and a Heritage Garden use the Museum’s existing exhibition materials and seed library as a basis for an increased educational experience. Universal accessibility and gender neutral rest rooms continue the Hull House’s historic mission of inclusivity.