OMA and Jacobs reveal design for the Discovery Partners Institute’s new riverfront home in Chicago

Late last week Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and the University of Illinois System unveiled the design for the new Chicago riverfront headquarters for the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI). Designed by Jacobs and the New York office of OMA led by Partner Shohei Shigematsu, the curvilinear eight-story structure will serve as an early anchor of The 78, a nascent mixed-use innovation district set to rise along a disused 62-acre swath of land along the Chicago River between the Loop and the city’s Chinatown that for decades has been home to disused rail yards.

Slated to break ground in 2024, the dome-like glass and steel facility will yield more than 200,000 square feet of office, classroom, lab, and event space for DPI and its university and industry partners; it will also be the first element of The 78, a project of Related Midwest, to enter the construction phase as part of the first development phase. With an estimated price tag of $7 billion, The 78 ranks as one of the most ambitious real estate development projects in Chicago history. Phase 1 plans for the sprawling ground-up neighborhood (SOM helmed the mater plan) were unveiled by Related Midwest in early 2020. Later joining DPI headquarters as part of Phase 1 will be 1.5 million square feet of office space spread across a mix of high-rise and “loft-style” buildings; 700,000 square feet of residential space, with 20 percent of that earmarked for affordable housing, and 100,000 square feet dedicated to eateries, shops, hotels, and fitness locations.

Related Midwest donated the 1-acre site to DPI, which is part of the U of I System, for its new South Loop headquarters.

“Already DPI has helped launch our state’s COVID-testing system, is searching for COVID-19 and other viruses in our wastewater, and is training hundreds of students for careers in tech – and has a plan to spread the opportunities equitably,” said Pritzker in a statement. “This futuristic design from OMA/Jacobs matches our ambitions.”

Per the design reveal announcement, Illinois is committing $500 million in capital funding to launch DPI and establish Illinois Innovation Network regional hubs at universities throughout the state. DPI currently operates out of an office space at a Harry Weese–designed high-rise at 200 South Wacker Drive.

“DPI cultivates opportunities for research, learning, and innovation to diverse communities, requiring an architecture that adapts to continued growth of its programs. We wanted to provide a building that fosters interdisciplinary interaction and experimentation,” said Shigematsu. “Programs are organized to maximize efficiency and potential to converge, and variegated layouts are configured around a central zone of collisions. A soft, transparent form and public ground floor offer an open invitation for the community to the building and its network.”

The design of the building is meant to foster connections between DPI and the neighborhoods flanking the development site; its “multidirectional form is impartial to any one specific direction to engage communities on all sides nearby riverfront, future phases of The 78, and the surrounding communities,” a press announcement elaborated. As mentioned by Shigematsu, the base of the building, with its main entry fronting 15th Street and Wells-Wentworth Street, will be dedicated to public space including a café, auditorium, and multipurpose exhibition and classroom space. On the floors above will be DPI-dedicated classrooms, office space, and experimental and computational labs. Topping the structure is a rooftop event space ringed by an outdoor terrace.

“Our architects describe our central atrium as ‘an active collision zone,’ and I love that,” said DPI Executive Director Bill Jackson. “We’re here to foster new relationships and bring more women and people of color into the tech industry. We can’t wait to have a building that will help us accelerate our growth and make new connections.”

“As an anchor of The 78 and a building with world-class architecture, the Discovery Partners Institute will uphold Chicago’s tradition of innovative design,” added Ann Thompson, executive vice president of architecture and design at Related Midwest and board chair of the Chicago Architecture Center. “Related Midwest is proud to collaborate on this important project, and we welcome the way it stands as a prototype for how equitable design transforms communities.”

AN will circle back with updates as DPI’s landmark new home at The 78 begins to take shape.