The Hermann Union Building was named in honor of late IIT trustee Grover M. Hermann, whose large contribution made the construction possible. Hermann served as trustee from 1956-73, and as Life Trustee from 1973 until his death in 1979.

The glass-walled Hermann Union Building, like S.R. Crown Hall, has plate girders supporting the roof. Unlike Crown Hall, however, the roof girders are carried by and cantilevered from interior concrete columns. 

The HUB, as IIT's student union is known, is a popular site for conferences and meetings as well as exhibits, parties, dances, films, concerts, plays, and other live performances throughout the academic year. Home of the Student Activities Office, Student Leadeship Committee, the Center for Multicultural Programs, and Tech News, it also houses a bowling alley, billiards, video arcade and the Bog, IIT's campus tavern.

1962, Walter Netsch for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

Mies van der Rohe Society

A building transformed for a new curriculum

The development of IIT's new focus on interprofessional (IPRO) education within the undergraduate curriculum has created a demand for a new type of engineering workspace. Similar in function to the architecture studios of S.R. Crown Hall, the new IPRO Center will remain in the Hermann Union Building. In conjunction with the creation of a new $25 million Campus Center on State Street, the HUB will be transformed into a center for project-based, team-driven learning.  

Faculty and students will utilize group workstations where the new curriculum will be realized. Industrial sponsors will work alongside IIT faculty and students in the new IPRO Center to tackle real-world problems in a highly interactive environment. The transformation of the HUB into the new IPRO Center, along with remodeling the building's southern end for a new community and conference center, will cost an estimated $5 million.