The University of Chicago approved Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s preliminary architectural design for a 90,000-sf building that will facilitate student and faculty collaboration.
The David M. Rubenstein Forum will have a 165-foot tower, containing large and small meeting rooms, and a two-story base with a main lobby, restaurant, and several larger rooms. The University Room will hold 600 people for panels, lectures, and dinners, and the 285-seat Presentation Hall will have tiered seating for presentations, performances, and film screenings. The Lake View Room at the top of the building can hold receptions.
“We composed the tower as a stack of ‘neighborhoods’ with meeting and communal spaces of all sizes—both formal and informal, calm and animated, focused and diffuse,” DS+R Founding Partner Elizabeth Diller said in a statement. “The building prompts its varied populations to cross paths with one another where possible to enhance intellectual exchange. The lower floors of the Rubenstein Forum are porous and dynamic with connections to the campus and the community in all directions. As one climbs the building, there is a progressive retreat from the everyday to more contemplative spaces with dramatic views of Chicago and Lake Michigan.”
DS+R designed floor-to-ceiling windows to draw in as much natural light as possible, and to provide views of the main campus, surrounding neighborhoods, the city skyline, and the lakeshore.
The school and the architect held focus groups and consulted with more than 100 faculty and staff to determine the program for the building, which includes the number, size, and type of rooms. The school needs a place on campus to host university functions.
“Too often events hosted by the university are held in other parts of Chicago, and our guests are denied the opportunity to experience the intellectually dynamic and beautiful campus that we have in Hyde Park,” University of Chicago Executive Vice President David Fithian said in a statement.
DS+R was selected to design the Rubenstein Forum in October 2015. The school’s newspaper, the Chicago Maroon, reported that construction will begin this year, and the building is expected to be completed by 2018.
Rubenstein Forum. Courtesy Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Click to enlarge.
Related Stories
| Sep 13, 2010
'A Model for the Entire Industry'
How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.
| Sep 13, 2010
Committed to the Core
How a forward-looking city government, a growth-minded university, a developer with vision, and a determined Building Team are breathing life into downtown Phoenix.
| Aug 11, 2010
JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Stimulus funding helps get NOAA project off the ground
The award-winning design for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) new Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) replacement laboratory saw its first sign of movement on Sept 15 with a groundbreaking ceremony held in La Jolla, Calif. The $102 million project is funded primarily by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), resulting in a rapidly advanced construction plan for the facility.
| Aug 11, 2010
JanCom Technologies expands headquarters
JanCom Technologies, Inc., an Austin, Texas-based technology, infrastructure, audio-visual, and critical power systems consulting and engineering services firm, continues to grow due to an influx of high-profile international projects. The company recently expanded to a 5,000-square-foot office space at 206 Wild Basin Road. The move represents a 2,000-square-foot increase in space to accommodate the company’s growth.
| Aug 11, 2010
Rouss & Robertson Halls
University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce
Charlottesville, Va.
Rouss Hall, a historic 24,000-sf building designed by Stanford White, served as the home of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce from 1955 to 1975. Thirty years later, the university unveiled plans to have the business school return to the small, outdated 110-year-old facility, but this time with the addition of a 132,000-sf companion building to be named Robertson Hall.
| Aug 11, 2010
Steel Joist Institute announces 2009 Design Awards
The Steel Joist Institute is now accepting entries for its 2009 Design Awards. The winning entries will be announced in November 2009 and the company with the winning project in each category will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship in its name to a school of its choice for an engineering student.
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
SSOE, Fluor among nation's largest industrial building design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Industrial Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants