The Technological Institute, more commonly known as "Tech", is a landmark building at Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 built from 1940 to 1942.
It is the main building for students and faculty in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

Established in 1909, the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science is one of eleven schools at Northwestern University. Most engineering classes are held in the Technological Institute, which students often refer to as "Tech." In October 2005, another building called the Ford...

. The school of engineering itself was called the Technological Institute before a major gift from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation

McCormick Foundation

McCormick Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit charitable trust established in 1955, upon the death of "Colonel" Robert R. McCormick. it had more than US$1 billion in assets.-History:...

 gave it the present name.

History

The construction of the building became possible after Walter Patton Murphy, a wealthy inventor of railroad equipment, donated $6.735 million on March 20, 1939.
Murphy wanted the Institute to offer a new kind of “cooperative education

Cooperative education

Cooperative education is a structured method of combining classroom-based education with practical work experience. A cooperative education experience, commonly known as a "co-op", provides academic credit for structured job experience...

” model for engineering, with academic courses and practical application in industrial settings closely integrated.

Construction

To make room for the new building, the Phi Kappa Psi

Phi Kappa Psi

Phi Kappa Psi is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania on February 19, 1852. There are over a hundred chapters and colonies at accredited four year colleges and universities throughout the United States. More than 112,000 men have been...

 fraternity house

Fraternity and sorority houses

North American fraternity and sorority housing refers largely to the houses or housing areas that fraternity and sorority members live and work together in...

 and the Dearborn Observatory

Dearborn Observatory

The Dearborn Observatory is an astronomical observatory located on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University. The observatory was originally constructed in 1888...

 were moved, and the original Patten Gymnasium

Patten Gymnasium

Patten Gymnasium is a multi-purpose gymnasium in Evanston, Illinois. The original building, designed by George Washington Maher, opened in 1910 and was home to the Northwestern University Wildcats Basketball Team until 1940, when it was demolished and rebuilt farther north to make room for the...

 was demolished. Ground was broken

Groundbreaking

Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...

 for the new building on April 1, 1940 and the building was dedicated on June 15–16, 1942. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Holabird & Root

Holabird & Roche

The architectural firm of Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm's designs have changed many times — from the Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern Architecture to Sustainable Architecture.-History:...

 in the shape of two letter E's, placed back to back and joined by a central structure. Each of the six departments at the time occupied one wing.
When it was built it was the largest building on Northwestern's Evanston campus.
After the construction of Tech was completed, in December 1942 Northwestern received an additional bequest of $28 million from Murphy's estate to provide for an engineering school "second to none".

New wings and neighboring buildings

In 1961, construction began on two new wings, which were added to the eastern ends of the building, along with additions to the library and physics wing. The expansion, dedicated in October, 1963, was prompted by a $3.4 million contract awarded by the Advanced Research Agency of the Department of Defense

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military...

. In 1973, a new entrance terrace was dedicated.
By the end of the 1980s, the building was again in need of repair. After a $30 million grant from the McCormick Foundation

McCormick Foundation

McCormick Foundation is a Chicago-based nonprofit charitable trust established in 1955, upon the death of "Colonel" Robert R. McCormick. it had more than US$1 billion in assets.-History:...

 in 1989, the school was renamed in honor of Robert R. McCormick

Robert R. McCormick

Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick was a member of the McCormick family of Chicago who became owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper...

.

In 1999, a ten-year, $125 million renovation of the Technological institute was completed. This renovation, undertaken by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, included extensive reconstruction of the interior of the original 1940 structure, replacing the mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems, and reconfiguring the laboratory and research space.

Additional buildings have been constructed around the original Technological Institute, connected together by pedestrian bridges to create what has been called the "Technological Campus". Among them are the Seeley G. Mudd Library for Science and Engineering opened in 1977, the Center for Catalysis and Surface Science in 1986, and Cook Hall in 1989. More recent additions to the "Technological Campus" include Hogan Hall, the Pancoe Life Sciences Pavilion, the Center for Nanofabrication, and the Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center.

External links

• The history of the Technological Institute from 1939 to 1969