The DePaul University International Language Lab consists of the renovation of five existing residential two-flat buildings, and a new 48,000 sq ft facility on an unusual site. In order to maintain the residential quality of the neighborhood, the new building was located between the renovated residential buildings and their alley. Though the new facility sits behind the existing buildings, the two components have been designed as one. The vintage existing buildings form a gateway to the Language Labs entry while the glass curtain wall of the building gently illuminates the existing buildings after sundown. This act, along with others, continually blurs the line of foreground and background between the entities.
(completed by 4240 employee, Robert Benson, while at VWA)