Waukegan City Hall
Waukegan, Ill.
Legat Architects

Glazing and cutaways symbolize open government

	Index | Project Specs
	Click here for slide show. Photo © Jim Steinkamp

Like other former manufacturing centers in the Midwest, the town of Waukegan, Ill., roughly 50 miles north of Chicago, is searching for ways to stimulate a new service-based economy. Its new City Hall plays an important role, providing a visual expression of the community's forward-looking aspirations. This 61,200-square-foot building responds to the City's desire for a landmark structure that symbolizes its revitalization and provides a greater sense of openness to government proceedings.

The project's plan mirrors the rectangular mass of the existing city hall, immediately adjacent to it, forming a new public plaza. (The older building will be converted into a police station.) A limestone wall encloses the main rectilinear volume. At the rear elevation, the envelope pivots away from the main volume, revealing a brick façade capped by glass-enclosed offices. On the street-facing elevation, by contrast, punched openings and a triangular-shaped cutaway reveal a glass curtainwall façade and the entry. This triangular shape gives City Hall its landmark quality.

Along the street façade, extending perpendicular to the main volume, a separate mass contains the council chambers. Located on the second level, this mass acts as a bridge that connects the new facility to the older building and defines a gateway into the civic plaza. Glass curtainwalls allow for passersby to see proceedings within the chamber-glimpses of government in action-and create an uninterrupted connection between the street and courtyard. Open views and expressive forms create a new landmark that symbolizes the Waukegan's rejuvenation, and presents a progressive, welcoming government.

Formal name of project:
Waukegan City Hall

Location:
Waukegan, Ill.

Gross square footage:
61,000 sq. ft.

Total Construction Cost:
$12 million

Owner:
City of Waukegan

Architect:
Legat Architects
24 N. Chapel Street
Waukegan, IL 60085
847-263-3535 tel.
847-249-0436 fax
www.legat.com

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