Wright College

BGA designed Wright College as a new campus for the City Colleges of Chicago. A massive pyramid-shaped building, the Learning Resource Center, was the focal point of the design. Described by Goldberg as a learning center that "could operate for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week," the building featured an enclosed central atrium that extended to the top of the pyramid. Glass-fronted computer classrooms, faculty offices and a library occupied the floors around the atrium. By making each floor visible from the next, Goldberg hoped to facilitate experiential communication between the students, faculty and staff engaged in various activities.

Also included in the campus plan were the Omni Building, the Science Building, and the Liberal Arts Building. A small Reception Building connected the buildings. The Omni Building (so-called by Goldberg because it held "everything") contained the gymnasium, exercise areas, theater, and music department. Laboratories, student facilities, and bookshop were housed in the science building. Administrative offices and classrooms were housed in the Liberal Arts Building.

QUOTE: "One will be able to look down and say that, ‘the computer and the book I am reading are part of the same experience. I am communicating with someone else and I may be able to learn something from the experiences of communication'."
- Oral History