In developing their design for the new Spertus Insitute of Jewish Studies in Chicago, architects Krueck & Sexton realized that the facade would be the public face of a very unique institution. Their solution for a triangulated, all-glass facade expressed both the diversity and oneness of the organization. Its transparency serves not only as metaphor, but practical purposes as well, bringing light into the deep, narrow lot opposite Grant Park on Michigan Avenue. Though the architects anticipated an uphill battle with the city’s landmarks commission to endorse such a modernist assembly along this historic stretch of street wall, the project was met with overwhelming support.
Krueck and Sexton’s Spertus Institute is a modernist and transparent insertion in an historic and largely masonry street wall (top). A Y-shaped mullion permits attached brackets to rotate freely along the horizontal plane (middle). On the upper levels, the bent femur-like aluminum mullions span 21 feet (above).
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