The 165,000 square feet structure is made of glass and limestone. It features a flexible theatre with a capacity of 100, which stretches from its northeast corner and can be partly viewed behind a translucent glass wall that will be illuminated at night time.
Other features incorporated in the building include floor-to-ceiling glass on the ground level which will allow glimpses of the scene shop, the student lounge as well as the thrust theatre lobby which comprises 250 seats.
The building has been designed in such a way that there are some separations between teaching and performance. The 100-seat theatre will comprise the fourth floor with the viewers passing through different classrooms and rehearsal rooms on their way to watch shows.
The building is the first one to be designed specifically for DePaul University’s The Theatre School which is the Midwest’s oldest theatre conservatory. It is expected to open by 2013.
