Charles H. Shaw Technology and Learning Center

Originally built as a coal-fired powerhouse supplying heat and electricity to the Sears, Roebuck & Co. campus on Chicago’s West Side, this industrial landmark featured neoclassical cornices, decorative façade medallions, and a Great Hall finished in glazed Tiffany brick with soaring windows. In 2009–2010, Farr Associates led a $40 million adaptive reuse project that split the building in two: one half was converted into classroom space, while the historically significant Great Hall was preserved as an assembly hall and cafeteria. The transformation earned LEED Platinum certification and the Richard H. Driehaus National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Now known as the Charles H. Shaw Technology Learning Center, the building anchors the Foundation for Homan Square’s 55-acre campus. It is currently home to DRW College Prep, a public charter high school and part of the Noble Network of Charter Schools, established in 2012 and named for the DRW Trading Group Foundation and its founder, Don R. Wilson—serving as a living architectural classroom for the students it serves.