BIF AT A GLANCE
Cost: More than $60 million, funded through borrowing and gifts from alumni, corporate partners and other donors. No state money was used for construction.
Size: Four stories, with more than 160,000 square feet of usable space. The U-shaped structure includes 18 state-of-the-art classrooms, student lounges and meeting rooms, a 300-seat auditorium, a laboratory that simulates market trading, and student-focused academic, counseling and career offices.
Location: The southwest corner of Sixth and Gregory streets, across from Wohlers Hall in Champaign. Wohlers, built in 1967, will continue to house the College of Business’s administrative offices as well as classrooms and faculty offices.
Architect: Cesar Pelli, a UI graduate who was named one of the nation’s 10 most influential living architects by the American Institute of Architects in 1995.
Opening: Classes began Aug. 25 with the start of the fall semester. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for Oct. 17.
Green status: The first building on the 141-year-old campus that will be certified through LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a U.S. Green Building Council rating system that promotes sustainable development. A gold or perhaps even platinum rating – the highest on the council’s four-tiered scale – is expected when the project is certified later this year.
Energy savings: Officials estimate the new instructional facility could consume nearly 50 percent less energy than a traditional classroom building of its size. If those projections hold, officials say energy savings could amount to as much as $300,000 annually.
Green features: Roof-mounted solar panels that will help power the building; photo sensors to trim electricity use; a displacement air system that uses gravity and natural air currents to heat and cool the building more efficiently than traditional forced-air systems; and drought-resistant roof plantings that will insulate the building and reduce water runoff.
Source: University of Illinois
