Design department buildings
In the 1950s, SIU bought World
War II surplus barracks and
moved them to campus. Most
were used for student or married
housing. In 1960, the
department took over four
barracks for use as classrooms
and office space.
Four Domes were built in
between the outermost pairs of
barracks and the space between
the center pair of barracks was
roofed over to form the “Space
Between.” The “Space Between”
was an experimental, low-cost
($1 per square foot), and
utilitarian building.
In the 1960s the “Space Between” was renovated with stained lath trim, defined seating and exhibition
areas, and a connecting bridge at floor level between the center pair of barracks.
In the late 1960s, students designed a Frei Otto-style tension tent structure to replace the auditorium in
the “Space Between.”
Design at Southern Illinois University
continued on next page