the meaning of Circle campus at UIC?

Answer 1

Lea's correct, that the campus was named after the "Circle Interchange" or "Spaghetti Bowl" where three major highways come together just west of the loop. Also, the design of the original campus was based on that of a teardrop falling into water, with concentric circles moving out from a central point. If you think about it, some of the buildings (BSB, SES) echo this concept.

Originally there was a forum at the center of campus, between the library and Circle Center. It, of course, was in the shape of a circle, and was within a square defined by a plaza on the elevated walkway that ran the length of the campus (now the East Side). Smaller circular forums within squares were located above the Lecture Center buildings that are still standing.

Also, two curved ramps described a circle just in front of University Hall, making one's approach to the campus an initiation into the concept of the circle. It was all well thought out and an award winning design. However, by the late 70s, when I was a student at UICC, the walkways and stairways to them were crumbling and people had always been complaining about the hard, castle-like feel their concrete structure evoked. They were torn down in the 90s I believe, about the same time the UICC and Medical schools were combined.

I loved the walkways (I was an Art & Architecture student after all) and took full advantage of them to race from one second floor classroom to another without descending to ground level, or as a shelter from rain or snow by walking beneath them. I thought the whole campus was fascinating and would wander through buildings at all hours just exploring.

The A&A building was a real trip because it had only been partially completed at the time. It was a maze to walk through and had stairways that ran into brick walls. I wonder if it was ever completed.

Another bit of history is that there was no student housing on campus back then. Everyone commuted to the school and went home at night, unless you had a project due in the morning and had to work too late. Architecture students were known to sleep under their desks and one Art student had a pillow and blanket behind the screen in the film classroom. I remember taking advantage of the comfy spot one night when she walked in and turned on the lights. I started to get up, but she just waved me back down and said she'd sleep somewhere else. Ah, life was so different back then. Or was it?

Answer 2

Uic Circle Campus

Answer 3

Circle campus was the name given to what is currently called east campus. No one has used that term since the 1980s when it merged with the Medical Center (west) campus. It was called that because it is near Congress Circle.