BAC Local 8 Illinois Constructs the $50-million Siebel Center

The $50-million Siebel Center for Design, located on the campus of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), is starting to take shape after ten years of planning and almost two years of construction.  

The 59,000 square-foot building, home to five collaboration studios where up to 400 students can learn, is expected to be completed by summer, despite many days of lost concrete work due to extreme cold, snow, and rain. A team from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania office successfully designed a welcoming space that gives guests a soothing feeling, from the alignment of the joints on the stone, to the placement of the windows and columns. The building is cleverly integrated into an existing campus green space and is made accessible by a centrally sloped walkway that connects all floors of the building. From 3-D printing, to waterjet cutting, to digital media studios, the Center for Design’s students are sure to improve upon their real-world skills when the facility opens in the fall.

BAC Local 8 Illinois craftworkers, employed by signatory masonry contractor JJ Braker & Sons (Morton, IL), signatory ceramic tile contractor TSI Commercial Floor Covering (Tinley Park, IL), and signatory waterproofing contractor Western Specialty Contractors (St. Louis, MO) performed masonry, tile, and caulking throughout the project. An estimated 40,000 blocks and over 3,000 pieces of sandstone will be laid for the building, which also includes over 4,500 square feet of ceramic tile work and 1,300 square feet of Vermont Grayson Slate, quarried and cut to size specific for this project. In addition, flashing is required throughout the job, along with 5” foam insulation. Skilled craftworkers also put 6” of insulation on the outside, as well as a root barrier, a particular challenge during Illinois’ cold winter months.