Clad in Indiana limestone, Annenberg Hall is situated in the central area of the Northwestern University campus in Chicago, IL, on a small embankment that used to form the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The building's collegiate character evokes the spirit of adjacent early 20th century buildings that range from Neo-Gothic to Neo-Classical, according to Booth Hansen, which served as the architectural firm on the project. The architects were challenged to design the 65,000-square-foot, 4-story building to match the older stone buildings on campus in both color and material.

“We wanted to create a building that was compatible, but we also wanted to have a building that would require little maintenance,” said Principal Architect Larry Booth. To meet the desired aesthetic, the architects selected Indiana limestone from Indiana Limestone Co. of Bedford, IN, which had already been substantially used on other buildings around campus that had been built over the past 100 years. It was selected to transition from the Gothic design of some adjacent buildings to the modern design of others. According to the architect, the material wears well in Chicago's climate.

Additionally, Booth added that the project's budget was limited, and therefore it is a very economically driven building. “The limestone was factory applied to precast concrete panels, so that we could use large-sized panels of limestone,” said Booth. “This was also ideal because the joints didn't show. The panels were handled in a fabrication plant with equipment that was built to handle the large 5- x 5-foot limestone panels.”