American Association of Railroads Administration Building

Built 1950

Chicago, Illinois, USA

The American Association of Railroads Administration Building, now VanderCook College of Music, is located on Illinois Institute of Technology’s campus. Designed by Mies van der Rohe, the building has a steel system with glass and brick curtain walls following the design elements of Alumni Memorial Hall, Perlstein Hall, Wishnick Hall, and Siegel Hall (also housed on campus). In contrast to the four halls, the brick is set higher and the steel begins higher in the elevation. There is also more contrast between this building and earlier ones on campus, specifically the corner condition—back to back wide flanges running the length of the column. A similar use of the wide flange is utilized in the Mechanical Engineering Research building on campus.