Ironworkers Local 63 Training Center

As automation and AI reshape the workforce, the need for skilled, hands-on professions endures. For unions and training organizations, attracting the next generation means creating environments that showcase expertise, elevate craft, and convey the rigor and innovation behind the work. Just as universities have long used architecture to embody ambition and shape identity, modern training centers must reflect technical mastery while signaling the resilience and long-term viability of these careers.

Gensler partnered with the Ironworkers Local 63 to design a new training center in suburban Chicago that redefines how trades are taught and experienced. The facility’s sweeping curved glass façade and full-scale mock structures make craft visible while providing hands-on learning for welding, rigging, and curtain wall installation. Flexible interiors support mentorship, competitions, and community events. The result is a dynamic environment that demonstrates expertise, inspires pride, and positions ironworking as an essential, forward-looking profession.

The Ironworkers Local 63 Training Center acts as a regional anchor for developing skilled labor while celebrating the union’s craft. Its bold black glass façade, coupled with sustainable strategies like passive ventilation and solar power, transforms the building into a visible testament to precision, innovation, and environmental responsibility. Through its form and presence, the facility elevates the profile of ironworking, engages partners, and inspires the next generation of tradespeople, positioning the union and the profession for a future defined by skill, ingenuity, and enduring relevance.