In the heart of downtown Chicago on 162 State Street, a residence hall houses mainly first year students at School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). The hall’s new lobby marks, for many of the students, the first true home away from home. For Kwong Von Glinow , it was important the introduction to the home be welcoming. The firm renovated the lobby to create a sense of calm by deploying curves that both create an elevated sense of place and organize the flow of the space.

The 850-square-foot lobby is made up of two rectangular spaces, offset from each other and stretching deeper into the building’s footprint. An arching brown mat greets the entryway, before the lobby takes on a white color scheme. A vaulted acoustical ceiling adds depth to the interior in place of color, as it draws students down the long, narrow first half of the space down to the rear elevators. While a visual sculpture that elevates the humble lobby, the vaulted ceiling also strategically offers space for mechanical, plumbing, and electrical conduits and duct, and conceals the protrusion of the neighboring lobby’s staircase that would otherwise be visible.

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