Crown Hall is an architectural chameleon. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe intended it this way: largely transparent, completely column-free, adaptable for any purpose. These days, it houses IIT’s architecture studio. But from January 25th to 27th, the modernist landmark will be transformed—courtesy of 12 IIT students—into a “rolling landscape” for an intimate Hubbard Street Dance Chicago series. “This is as much about the process as the creative product,” says Jim Vincent, Hubbard Street’s artistic director, who sent three in-house choreographers (Alejandro Cerrudo, Brian Enos, and Lucas Crandall) to collaborate with a student group led by the architect Dirk Denison. As the dancers familiarized themselves with design principles, the IIT students sweated through movement classes, attended Hubbard Street rehearsals, and traveled to New York to see performances. The love fest between contemporary dance and architecture is nothing new: Modern movement pioneer Martha Graham called upon the sculptor/designer Isamu Noguchi to help craft more than 20 works. But both Vincent and Denison point out that theirs is a pivotal collaboration for Chicago. Says Denison: “This is a first.” The January 27th performance is open to the public. For tickets, hubbardstreetdance.org or 312-850-9744

Photograph: Katrina Wittkamp