Rafael Viñoly Architects’ design for University of
Chicago’s new Graduate School of Business makes the quad a public room that
identifies with the campus and unifies the functions of the school. By enclosing the quad in a greenhouse,
the Winter Garden, the space can be used year-round and function as the main
distribution hall of the building.The Winter Garden is a steel structure with a skylight
roof and glazed enclosure that maximizes daylight in the central space. The
vertical thrust of the central space follows the proportions of the lancet
windows of the adjacent Gothic-style Rockefeller Chapel. The roof is a quadripartite, pointed
vault, built with tubular steel members that follow the logic of the gothic
method of transferring forces through thin structural members. The funneled
shapes at the top of the vaults bring rainwater into the center of the four
columns of the structure, which drain into a reservoir. These surfaces
concentrate snow load on the column axis rather than in the span. The concave
surface of the ceiling accelerates the convection of hot air towards the top of
the space where it exhausts, allowing the room to be naturally ventilated year-round.The program is organized horizontally in order to minimize
the vertical movement of students and visitors. Vertical circulation encourages
the use of open stairs connecting the three main levels (the student center,
the teaching facilities immediately below, and the administration and
recruiting areas on floor above). Three circulation cores, surrounding the
Winter Garden, connect all the levels for the students, faculty and public.The overall articulation of the massing of the building
surrounding the Winter Garden is determined by the functional criteria of the
program spaces and the formal relations established with the immediate context.
Each floor is set back in succession to match the scale of the neighboring
buildings and to reduce the perceived mass of the building from street–level.The functions of the Student Center are located on the
ground floor. The multi-use reception room opens directly to the central
function area in the Winter Garden, which fully integrates their uses. Faculty offices, classrooms and group
study rooms offer high quality environments with natural daylight and views
into the Winter Garden and the surrounding community.