S.R. Crown Hall is named for Sol R. Crown, Colonel Henry Crown's brother, who co-founded Material Service Corporation. Colonel Henry Crown was a member of IIT's Board of Trustees.

Crown Hall, which houses IIT's College of Architecture, is one of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's greatest masterworks. Mies considered S.R. Crown Hall the clearest statement of his philosophy of a universal space building. A masterful melding of architecture and technology, Crown Hall is an early example of a long-span pavilion, a flexible building type Mies also used in his Federal Center Post Office in Chicago and the National Gallery in Berlin. 

An early example of a large clear-span structure, Crown Hall is a column-free, flexible space, 120 feet by 220 feet, with an 18-foot high ceiling in its upper core. Four exterior columns on each side of the building stand 60 feet apart and support four plate girders from which the roof is hung. Through its careful details and clean proportions, the structure of S.R. Crown Hall is also the ornament. Inside the building, free-standing partitions suggest spaces for studios and exhibition.

The impact of the teaching and research in the College of Architecture has been worldwide. IIT architecture students and faculty have helped shape the skylines of cities around the globe. The college excels in architectural design and technology as advanced through the design studio. It seeks to instill in its students a sensitivity to the physical and cultural environments and a respect for the past, while fostering the ingenuity necessary to create for the future. Since it opened in 1956, S.R. Crown Hall, with its transparent walls framing a view of one of the world's great skylines, has been an extraordinary place in which to study architecture.

1950-56, Mies van der Rohe

Mies van der Rohe Society

The S.R. Crown Hall Restoration Study was completed in November 1997 by Fujikawa Johnson and Associates, Inc. as the lead architect. Other team members included Krueck and Sexton, TT-CBM, Environmental Systems Design and Pacific Construction Services. A programming study for the College of Architecture was also completed.

Restoring and modernizing a master work - S.R. Crown Hall

IIT's campus renewal plans include a complete restoration of S.R. Crown Hall. Recently designated a City Landmark by the City of Chicago, S.R. Crown Hall is considered by many to reflect most clearly the principles of its architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

The university aims to preserve and celebrate the building's original design while adding advanced technology for computer aided design and 3-D imaging capacity. The underlying goal remains to enhance the learning environment for the college's international student body of aspiring architects, designers and planners.

Integrating modern technology into the building will enhance its flexibility and ensure that it will continue to inspire the next generation of architects. Possible changes to the building include bringing the building up to universal design accessibility standards, modifying the service entrance on the north side of the building, creating storage and wireless computer workstation modules for the design studios on the main floor, improving emergency exiting, improving the environmental control systems, and refinishing the external steel structure.   

As of Today

	Crown Hall was awarded National Historic Landmark status in August 2001. In conjunction with NHL status, Crown Hall received a prestigious $250,000 Getty Institute Conservation Grant that was matched 2:1 through the IIT Pritzker/Galvin pledge and from the Arie and Ida Crown Foundation, bringing the grant to $750,000. Money from the Getty Grant will be used to help restore the exterior wall of Crown Hall.
	Fundraising continues for the Crown Restoration Fund, with approximately $3 million left to be raised to complete all the building upgrades and restoration.
	Mary Elizabeth Spies Droste, one of the first female graduates of IIT's College of Architecture, pledged $1 million to help renovate and transform the main floor of Crown Hall into an advanced environment for digital and information technologies. Another gift from alumni Robert Babbin and Sylvia Babbin will help upgrade digital technologies downstairs and enhance modeling and communications resources. Video conferencing stations, new computers, advanced teaching tools, and a new wireless network that connects computers inside Crown Hall to the Internet have been installed.
	In the fall of 2001, work started on rebuilding Crown Hall's south porch. Structural steel and concrete for the renovated porch have been installed. Travertine marble installation is underway with completion of the porch scheduled for late March.
	The next project will be the restoration of the building’s exterior walls. Drawings for pricing are being prepared now, and an IPRO class in fall of 2001 had an interdisciplinary student team augmenting the building’s architects’ work. The restoration of the interior sheet of the building is currently in the design phase. A team of world-renowned experts has been assembled to ensure that “sustainable technology” is incorporated in the design. The design is scheduled to be completed by Spring of 2004 at which time pricing for work will be obtained.
	Inside Crown Hall the Droste and Babbin gifts are being implemented now, with new laser cutting capability, tele-video communications stations (both fixed and roving), the best computers available, enhanced teaching tools, a wireless network and a complete reworking of every desk station to be an up to date digital technologies portal.