Gerald Ratner Athletics Center
- Architect
- César Pelli
- City
- Chicago, IL
The Gerald Ratner Athletics Center, nicknamed 'the Rat,' is a $51 million athletics facility on the University of Chicago campus in Hyde Park, named for alumnus Gerald Ratner. Designed by architect César Pelli and approved for use in September 2003, it sits at the southwest corner of Ellis Avenue and 55th Street and houses a competition gymnasium, a multilevel fitness facility, an Olympic-size pool, a dance studio, and athletic department offices.
the building
Mast-and-counterweight structure. Instead of interior columns, the building is suspended by an award-winning system of masts, cables, and counterweights, freeing up large open spans inside for the gymnasium and fitness spaces.
the style
The Ratner Center is an example of high-tech architecture, a style that puts structural elements like masts and cables on visible display rather than hiding them behind a conventional facade.
More on Structuralism / High-Techthe architect
César Pelli designed the Ratner Center; he's best known as the architect of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
significance
The building has hosted numerous NCAA Division III regional and University Athletic Association conference championship events.
nearby
- Snell–Hitchcock
- Keck-Gottschalk-Keck Apartments
- Hyde Park Union Church
- Robert A. Millikan House
- Arthur H. Compton House
- American School of Correspondence