David Rubenstein Forum at the University of Chicago Named Best Tall Building Worldwide in 2022 by Co

The ten-story David Rubenstein Forum contains a 285-seat auditorium along with lecture halls and numerous multipurpose rooms for learning. It serves a wide range of users with six stacked and rotated blocks that cantilever out from a central spine. The stacked “neighborhoods” are oriented toward the University of Chicago’s campus in Hyde Park, the Chicago Skyline, and lake Michigan to the north, as well as the nearby Woodlawn community and others further south.

In announcing this recognition, CTBUH CEO Javier Quintana de Una said, “The projects selected for our yearly Award of Excellence competition represent the most advanced concepts and technologies currently employed around the world, and the David Rubenstein Forum in particular exemplifies the diversity of interdisciplinary ingenuity required to address the complex needs of students, workers, communities and the public in general.”

The Forum establishes a strong connection to the natural environment and achieved a sustainability certification of LEED Gold. The building has green roofs, rain gardens and landscaping that incorporates native flora, and integrates bird-safe technology in its glass façade to make the glass visible to birds as it is located on the Mississippi Flyway Zone. The building has large amounts of natural light in all meeting rooms, thereby reducing energy use. It also employs the use of energy efficient conditioning systems that achieve indoor comfort levels primarily via passive radiant technology, significantly mitigating its carbon footprint.

Recognition from the CTBUH adds to the awards received by the Forum including the 2022 IES Illumination Award of Merit, the 2022 International Lighting Design Award of Merit, and Design Excellence Awards from AIA Chicago.

Image @Brett Beyer