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
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 80 University Building Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, Jacobs, BR+A, and Salas O'Brien head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 100 University Building Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., STO Building Group, Suffolk Construction, and Skanska USA top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector contractors and construction management firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
University Buildings | Sep 27, 2023
Top 170 University Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, CannonDesign, Page Southerland Page, SmithGroup, and Ayers Saint Gross top the ranking of the nation's largest university sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Affordable Housing | Sep 25, 2023
3 affordable housing projects that serve as social catalysts
Trish Donnally, Associate Principal, Perkins Eastman, shares insights from three transformative affordable housing projects.
Adaptive Reuse | Sep 19, 2023
Transforming shopping malls into 21st century neighborhoods
As we reimagine the antiquated shopping mall, Marc Asnis, AICP, Associate, Perkins&Will, details four first steps to consider.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Higher Education | Aug 22, 2023
How boldly uniting divergent disciplines boosts students’ career viability
CannonDesign's Charles Smith and Patricia Bou argue that spaces designed for interdisciplinary learning will help fuel a strong, resilient generation of students in an ever-changing economy.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 17, 2023
How to design for adaptive reuse: Don’t reinvent the wheel
Gresham Smith demonstrates the opportunities of adaptive reuse, specifically reusing empty big-box retail and malls, many of which sit unused or underutilized across the country.
