2025 Lerch Bates
People's Choice Awards Finalists

Forged from legacy and built for the future, the Ironworkers Local 63 Training Facility stands as a bold architectural landmark embodying the union’s core values of craftsmanship, innovation, and sustainability. Located just west of Chicago along a high-traffic corridor, the building’s distinctive form pays homage to ironworking expertise, taking inspiration from the concave shape of a perfect weld bead. Its curved glass façade showcases the precision and artistry of the trade, serving as both a beacon of pride and an emblem of the profession’s future. Nicknamed “The Glass House,” the facility functions as an immersive laboratory of learning. Its interior supports a wide range of training activities, including pressurized curtain wall installation, rigging, and crane signaling, flexing to become a venue for industry and community events. Passive ventilation, solar power, and precast walls made with repurposed aggregate from neighboring Indiana steel mills reflect the union’s leadership in sustainable construction practices.