LGBT Community Center on Halsted in Chicago, United States

February 25, 2011 Category: Cultural, Public Buildings

The LGBT Community Center on Halsted designed by Gensler is located in Chicago, United States. Chicago has long been the center of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, the Center enables Chicago’s wide array of LGBT organizations to come together to collaborate, extend their reach, and share resources. Literally tens of thousands will be served each year through the organizations that become partners in this bold project. A highly visible symbol of LGBT pride, the three-story,185,000-square-foot complex houses an entertainment venue, a Whole Foods grocery store, a café, offices for more than a dozen community service partners, a technology center, a gymnasium, a theater, a public roof garden, an underground parking structure, and a number of other unique gathering spaces.

Composed of the restored terra cotta and brick façade of a 1924 building wrapped by a new glass structure, Gensler’s design creates a visible neighborhood presence for both the grocery store and the community center, with the historic facade serving as the visual indication of the retail space on the first floor, and the glass composition providing a clear identity for the Center, which is housed on the building’s second and third floors.

LGBT Community Center on Halsted design by Gensler