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For Mark Osario (B. ARCH. ’84), returning to S. R. Crown Hall years ago to not only walk the halls again but to become one of the iconic building’s primary caretakers was an opportunity that still makes him overtly emotional. 

“I started at the College of Architecture right out of high school. There’s embedded memories....It had been so long that I’d forgotten all the experiential stimulus, how beautiful it is when it’s quiet,” says Osario, tearing up as he remembers his Crown Hall homecoming. “The care with which the faculty took to educate us—it was a lot of love, and it’s still there.” 

In 2018, Osario left a life in the industry—including nearly 40 years of practice at Chicago-based architectural firms such as Gensler, Lohan Associates, Space LLC, and O'Donnell Wicklund Pigozzi and Peterson—to take a job as director of buildings and operations for Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture.  

“To help create those memories for other kids was so much more meaningful than doing architecture; it was so much more important of a product,” Osario says. “It really gave me a new appreciation for what it means to be an architect—and I kind of lost that.” 

In early April 2026, Osario retired after eight years as building manager.  

During his time as the in-the-trenches caretaker of the College of Architecture's buildings, he significantly expanded studio space and—with limited budget and staffing—rearranged offices and provided social distancing within Crown Hall and the Tech North and Tech Central buildings. The job was made more complex by another of Crown Hall’s unique features: Its numerous special exhibitions often require studio space to be dismantled and then quickly rebuilt.  

Osario also assisted in the university’s Interprofessional Projects (IPro) programs. 

“Mark's status as a graduate of the college and a licensed architect has given him a unique perspective on managing Crown Hall and our other buildings, one that's going to be difficult to replicate,” says Rowe Family College of Architecture Dean Endowed Chair Reed Kroloff. “Under his direction, we've expanded our footprint substantially with no additional staffing and no loss of quality—testimony to his commitment and great care. We've all benefited—people and facilities—from his being part of the team and will miss him.” 

Following his departure, Osario will engage in independent project management and continue his passion for “renovating derelict apartments,” he notes with a laugh. Osario has bought and renovated multiple apartment buildings in the Chicago area. 

Osario was replaced in early April by facilities manager Pat Melvin. Prior to joining the College of Architecture, Melvin was the facilities manager for Columbia College Chicago’s art and design department for eight years; he also restored pipe organs for Berghaus, an Illinois-based organ manufacturer. Melvin has a bachelor’s degree in architecture and design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

“I’m thrilled to be in a building that I studied in college,” Melvin says of Crown Hall. “It’s a landmark space.”