Promotional One-Pager for Illinois Institute of Technology
The following is a promotional one-pager intended to serve fundraising and product marketing purposes for the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institutional Advancement department. It was included in a fundraising packet seeking to raise funds for a new innovation center on campus.
Lighting the Way: IIT’s Kaplan Institute First in Chicago to Use Sustainable Material
The Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship will be a state-of-the-art facility that pays tribute to IIT’s architectural legacy while providing space to support innovation for the future. Architect John Ronan designed the 90,000 square-foot, three-level building specifically for interdisciplinary innovation. Centrally located on IIT’s main campus, the Kaplan Institute will bring both programs and people together.
The Kaplan Institute itself will be a symbol of architectural innovation as ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, or ETFE, film will be used in the exterior window system of the upper-level of the building. The Kaplan Institute will be the first building in Chicago to feature ETFE, a highly sustainable new generation material.
ETFE is a co-polymer resign extruded into a thin film similar to plastic, and is lightweight, transparent, and extremely durable. Originally developed as a material for the aerospace industry 40 years ago, ETFE has proven its worth in the architectural sector through its successful use in projects such as The Eden Project in 2000, the Allianz Arena built for the 2006 World Cup, the “Water Cube” complex built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the new Vikings Stadium in Minneapolis set to open in 2016.
Dubbed by some as a “miracle material” for its inherent properties and versatility, ETFE also offers exciting sustainability possibilities. In addition to being cost-effective and requiring minimal maintenance, ETFE has a 30-50 year life expectancy. It can withstand extreme weather environments and does not degrade under UV light exposure or pollution. Compared to glass, ETFE lets in more natural light, is 1/100 the weight of glass, and has a significantly lower carbon footprint. With up to 90% transparency, ETFE has a high level of heat retention, which allows for reduced energy and indoor lighting costs–reducing overall energy consumption. ETFE will also allow the Kaplan Institute to glow at night.
The Kaplan Institute will be the first building in Chicago to use ETFE, once again placing IIT at the forefront of architectural innovation.