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
Mass Timber | Apr 25, 2024
Bjarke Ingels Group designs a mass timber cube structure for the University of Kansas
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and executive architect BNIM have unveiled their design for a new mass timber cube structure called the Makers’ KUbe for the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. A six-story, 50,000-sf building for learning and collaboration, the light-filled KUbe will house studio and teaching space, 3D-printing and robotic labs, and a ground-level cafe, all organized around a central core.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 16, 2024
Mexico’s ‘premier private academic health center’ under design
The design and construction contract for what is envisioned to be “the premier private academic health center in Mexico and Latin America” was recently awarded to The Beck Group. The TecSalud Health Sciences Campus will be located at Tec De Monterrey’s flagship healthcare facility, Zambrano Hellion Hospital, in Monterrey, Mexico.
University Buildings | Apr 10, 2024
Columbia University to begin construction on New York City’s first all-electric academic research building
Columbia University will soon begin construction on New York City’s first all-electric academic research building. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), the 80,700-sf building for the university’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons will provide eight floors of biomedical research and lab facilities as well as symposium and community engagement spaces.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Apr 2, 2024
How university rec centers are evolving to support wellbeing
In a LinkedIn Live, Recreation & Wellbeing’s Sadat Khan and Abby Diehl joined HOK architect Emily Ostertag to discuss the growing trend to design and program rec centers to support mental wellbeing and holistic health.
Student Housing | Feb 21, 2024
Student housing preleasing continues to grow at record pace
Student housing preleasing continues to be robust even as rent growth has decelerated, according to the latest Yardi Matrix National Student Housing Report.
University Buildings | Feb 21, 2024
University design to help meet the demand for health professionals
Virginia Commonwealth University is a Page client, and the Dean of the College of Health Professions took time to talk about a pressing healthcare industry need that schools—and architects—can help address.
Higher Education | Feb 9, 2024
Disability and architecture: ADA and universal design at college campuses
To help people with disabilities feel part of the campus community, higher education institutions and architects must strive to create settings that not only adhere to but also exceed ADA guidelines.
Laboratories | Jan 25, 2024
Tactical issues for renovating university research buildings
Matthew Plecity, AIA, ASLA, Principal, GBBN, highlights the connection between the built environment and laboratory research, and weighs the benefits of renovation vs. new construction.
University Buildings | Jan 18, 2024
Houston’s Rice University opens the largest research facility on its core campus
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the 251,400-sf building provides students and researchers with state-of-the-art laboratories, classrooms, offices, and a cafe, in addition to multiple gathering spaces.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Jan 17, 2024
Waterproofing deep foundations for new construction
This continuing education course, by Walter P Moore's Amos Chan, P.E., BECxP, CxA+BE, covers design considerations for below-grade waterproofing for new construction, the types of below-grade systems available, and specific concerns associated with waterproofing deep foundations.
