The new Spertus Institute

An exterior view shows the the Spertus Museum on South Michigan Avenue

The new Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies strikes an extraordinary balance between novelty and neighborliness as it takes its place in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District, a row of historic buildings that extends from Randolph Street on the north to 11th Street on the south. Like other buildings in the district, the new Spertus has a clearly articulated bottom, middle and top as well as a vigorously three-dimensional facade. The proportions of its windows even match those of nearby buildings. And yet, the building offers a dramatic counterpoint to its surroundings, due to its projecting (and receding) facets of glass, their pronounced diagonal geometry, the play of light on the glass as well as its inviting transparency. As a result, the new Spertus resembles an exquisitely cut diamond dropped into a wall of stone.