The new Spertus Institute

An exterior view shows underside of the glass curtain, east-facing facade

The underside of the projecting glass curtain-wall at the base of the new Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies reveals the structural girdle that supports this skirt. The glass pieces are clipped onto extruded aluminum frames whose three-legged, twisting profile resembles human femur bones. Here, architects Ron Krueck and Mark Sexton were at pains to show the light structure of their building, just as architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler used massive stone walls and deeply incised arches to emphasize the tremendous load-bearing forces of their Auditorium Building of 1889. The Auditorium is two blocks north of Spertus at 430 S. Michigan Ave.