Pelli Clarke & Partners

The Theatre School, DePaul University

The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO

The Theatre School, DePaul University

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

DESIGNERS
Katherine Harp-dinnen; Hojin Nam; A. Talley Burns

MANUFACTURERS
Terrazzo & Marble, Acgi, Eclad, Kawneer, Novum Structures, Viracon, Advance Lifts, Amici Terrazzo

MEP ENGINEER
Wma Consulting Engineers

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Thornton Tomasetti

SENIOR DESIGNER
David Coon

LIGHTING DESIGNER
Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design

THEATER PLANNER
Schuler Shook

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
Hitchcock Design Group

ACOUSTIC DESIGN
Kirkegaard Associates

ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT
Cannondesign

PROJECT ARCHITECT
Gina Narracci

DESIGN PRINCIPAL IN CHARGE
Mitch Hirsch

SENIOR DESIGN PRINCIPALS
Fred Clarke, Cesar Pelli

AREA
15329 m²

YEAR
2013

LOCATION
Chicago, United States

CATEGORY
Theaters & Performance, University, Classrooms

The Theatre School is a gateway to DePaul University’s Lincoln Park campus. Used for both instruction and performance, the building welcomes students, faculty and staff during the day and theatergoers at night.

The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO

Emphasizing openness and transparency, the building puts the excitement of a theater education on view for the neighborhood.

The five-story building is a composition of rectangular forms clad in limestone, translucent glass and transparent glass.

The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO

Projecting from the building at the corner is the Sondra & Denis Healy Theatre, serving as a sign for the university.

The north façade softly glows at night, a beacon for the Theatre School. Similar to a scrim, the translucent glass wall can reveal the 100-seat flexible theater behind it.

The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO

Behind-the-scenes activity is visible to both theatergoers and passersby. Floor-to-ceiling glass on the ground floor places the scene shop, metal shop and paint shops on display.

Theatergoers gathering in the glass-enclosed lobby for the Fullerton Stage, a 250-seat thrust theater, are also visible from the street. Inside, visitors attending a show at the fourth-floor flexible theater pass classrooms and rehearsal rooms. Students and faculty enter the building midblock at Racine Avenue, which connects with paths to the heart of the DePaul campus.

The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO

The school entrance opens into a lobby, lounge and concessions space shared with the public entrance at the corner. The thrust theater lobby is the “living room” of the building, where theater patrons and students congregate.

Wide corridors, open lounges and rooftop courtyards encourage interaction between students and faculty and among theatergoers. An interior courtyard brings light, views and air to offices and design studios.

The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO

Rooftop courtyards are surrounded by all elements of the Theatre School—administration, classroom and rehearsal spaces, public lobbies, faculty spaces, and the script library.

The building is designed for LEED certification. Strategies to reduce energy consumption include fritted glass throughout the building, green roof areas, and daylighting for offices, design studios, and classrooms.

The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO


The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO
The Theatre School, DePaul University
© Jeff Goldberg/ESTO


The Theatre School, DePaul University
Siteplan

The Theatre School, DePaul University
Ground floor

Pelli Clarke & Partners
T +1 203 7772515 F +1 203 7872856
Pelli Clarke & Partners
1056 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510, United States