Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies

Photos

(Click each for a larger version)

Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies photo #1
Photo: William Zbaren
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies photo #2
Photo: William Zbaren
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies photo #3
Photo: William Zbaren

Citation of Merit

  • Krueck & Sexton Architects
  • Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
  • Consultants U.S. Equities (project management)
  • Division Institutional
  • Location Chicago, IL
  • General contractor W.E. O'Neil Construction Company

Overview

The question is how the architects got the Spertus Institute's instant-landmark faceted glass façade to come together. The answer is Y. An extruded aluminum Y-shaped mullion is the concealed part that makes the distinctive 556-piece glass front possible. The architects explain that the many shifts in the glass face are all in the X, Y and Z planes, all of them accommodated by the Y-mullion. As they describe it, the humble item allows a bracket to rotate along the horizontal plane, while a bend in the mullion accepts the varying shifts in the vertical plane. "It's a beautiful detail that enables everything to happen without having a thousand little widgets everywhere," one juror pointed out. "It's a little thing but you shouldn't underestimate how it makes it possible to do the wall they wanted to do."