The New Spertus
In the News
Like a cut diamond, Krueck and Sexton Architects’ Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies fits seamlessly Chicago’s downtown street wall
Architectural Record
May 2008
By Blair Kamin - This is an excerpt of an article from the May 2008 edition of Architectural Record.
Like the imposing towers lining the edges of New York’s Central Park, the street wall of historic skyscrapers fronting on Chicago’s Grant Park exist as built topography—a man-made cliff of stone and brick that includes such seminal structures as Adler & Sullivan’s robust Auditorium Building.
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Unconventional and on Budget
Wall Street Journal
April 3, 2008; Page B19
By Joel Henning
More like a glass sculpture than a wall, the 161-foot-high crystalline front façade of the new light-filled home of the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies is -- like the rest of the structure designed by local architects Ron Krueck and Mark Sexton -- an anomalous and successful addition to Chicago's landmarked Michigan Avenue.
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Creative Visions, but for Many Millions Less
New York Times
Published: March 12, 2008
By Thomas Mullaney
Museums have been called the cathedrals of the modern age. New construction projects trumpet a $100 million redesign here, a $300 million building there, totals worthy of a Carnegie, a Morgan or a latter-day Medici.
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Blades of glass
New Spertus Institute's gemlike wall of glass a welcome counterpoint on South Michigan
Chicago Tribune
November 21, 2007
By Blair Kamin | Tribune architecture critic
Chicago's rough-hewn cityscape, already studded with architectural jewels, has a sparkling new gem. It resembles an exquisitely cut diamond dropped into the great wall of stone that rises like a cliff across from Grant Park.
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Spertus now showcase from top to bottom
10-story Institute of Jewish Studies draws visitors inside
Chicago Tribune
November 21, 2007
By William Mullen | Tribune staff reporter
It used to be that you had to look pretty carefully at the buildings in the 600 block of South Michigan Avenue if you wanted to find the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, housed in a nondescript little office building next to a vacant lot.
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New Spertus a crowning jewel for Michigan Ave.
OPENS NOV. 30 | Glass Facade resembles irregularly cut gem
Chicago Sun-Times
November 21, 2007
By Kevin Nance
The new $55 million structure, just north of Spertus' former home on one of the famous street's last open spaces, also includes the Spertus Museum galleries, a great hall, a 400-seat theater, the Asher Library, high-tech classrooms, a gift shop and a kosher cafe operated by Wolfgang Puck. An interactive children's center and an educational resource center for teachers and parents will open next spring.
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