As the first military project of,
the Great Lakes Naval Training Center takes the form of a rectangle and
stretches along a long narrow site. The diverse program includes a
reading and writing room, reception room, lounge, terrace and
offices. Hostess House is the only surviving World War II-era building
designed by Gordon Bunshaft.


More on the Hostess House, or Great Lakes Naval Training Center after the break.


© Hedrich Blessing


Containing recreation areas, lounges, a double fireplace, and a
terrace, Hostess House is noted for its cantilevered roof and soaring
wood-laminate trusses supported by steel columns at each end. This
reception and recreation center at the Great Lakes Naval Training
Center, an early application of Som’s
mixed-use open-plan design approach, offered a welcoming, comfortable
space for cadets who trained at the base during and after the Second
World War.






Inside, the space could accommodate up to 3,000 visitors, and
perforated metal screens could be repositioned to divide the recreation
area. Designed for a narrow site facing a ravine, the structure’s
exposed-beam ceiling, rich wood siding, and extensive glazing integrate
Hostess House with both the surrounding landscape and neighboring
campus buildings.




Opened less than a year after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, today
Hostess House is an elegant example of America’s rapid wartime
industrialization. SOM
designed and erected the graceful, economic structure in less than six
months using an efficient, seven-day-a-week work schedule. Bunshaft
finished the design—one of his first—immediately before he entered the
Army in 1942.






After returning to SOM,
he went on to design several modern masterpieces (including the 1952
Lever House in New York and the 1963 Beinecke Library at Yale
University in New Haven), and was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1988.


SOM, © Hedrich Blessing


After both Hostess House and the nearby SOM-designed
Gunners’ Mates School fell into disrepair, the Navy considered possible
demolition. Recognizing both buildings as outstanding examples of
mid-century design, several organizations—including the AIA, Illinos
State Historic Preservation Office, National Trust for Historic
Preservation Midwest, and Mies van der Rohe Society—participated in the
campaign to preserve and restore the two campus buildings. Hostess
House is now under consideration for future uses, including a possible
Naval Museum.






source : archdaily.com