images 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
Spertus Institute

Location
Chicago, Illinois

Date 2002

Description
This project was completed as an entry for the 2002 Burnham Prize Competition, for which it was awarded first place.  The competition was sponsored by the Chicago Architecture Club and the Graham Foundation, and the jury was chaired by Michael Sorkin.  The program for the competition involved the design of a new building for the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in downtown Chicago that would engage ideas about institutional space, intersecting programs and the representation of a consortium of Jewish institutions within a single building on Michigan Avenue.

The program for the institute includes a library, a museum, a research institute and a college.  Additional requirements for the project include the development of a strong civic presence along the monumental wall of existing buildings that currently define Michigan Avenue, and the augmentation of required program with new uses that may facilitate greater interaction between the institution and the surrounding neighborhood.