The 21st century is unfolding as a time when old notions of church, religious experience and religious leadership are changing. CTS will be moving into that change with strength, flexibility and new stability. No more formidable brick and ‘ivory’ tower. The future holds more glass, more light, wider vistas and the potential for a stronger connection to the world beyond our walls.

Susan Soric, M.Div. student

Building Design and Features

Upper Chapel RenderingIn January 2012, Chicago Theological Seminary will move to its new facility bordering the historic Hyde Park-Woodlawn neighborhoods of Chicago. In step with the forward-looking mission of the seminary to shape the next generation of religious leaders through innovative, responsive theological education, the building has been designed with staunch commitments to accessibility and flexibility, academic excellence and mutual learning, environmental sustainability and engagement with the world beyond our walls.

Building At-a-Glance

The Seminary’s new building will be located at the corner of 60th and Dorchester Ave. It is LEED Silver-certified and fully ADA accessible. Its features include:

  • Four floors and 80,000 square feet of floor space
  • Technologically-enhanced classrooms, including 4 classrooms seating between 30 and 130, 6 seminar/breakout rooms, and a learning commons and library
  • Glass-enclosed chapel with seating for 300 (Click here for a description of the rich possibilities of this new worship space, excerpted from Dr. Scott Haldeman’s convocation address:“Worship, CTS, and the Future of the Churches”)
  • Small chapel and Meditation room
  • Kitchen and dining area
  • Student and faculty reading rooms
  • 5,000-square-foot green roof (Learn more about our environmental commitments and green roof)
  • Faculty and Administrative offices, with a Student Services cluster

 

Green Roof DetailEnvironmental Commitments

The building features sustainable design with a goal of LEED-Silver certification. LEED-certified buildings are designed to:

  • Reduce waste sent to landfills.
  • Conserve energy and water.
  • Be healthier and safer for occupants.
  • Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Lower operating costs and increase asset value. (from usgbc.org)

Design & Features

Construction of the new CTS facility is a partnership between the University of Chicago and Chicago Theological Seminary. In May 2008, University of Chicago Board of Trustees Executive Committee authorized the purchase of two Chicago Theological Seminary buildings and an adjacent parking lot. Additionally, the University of Chicago agreed to construct a new seminary building at 60th Street and Dorchester Avenue. The new building's address will be 1407 East 60th Street. The building will have four floors with approximately 80,000 square feet of floor space with a footprint of approximately 17, 400 square feet and will house academic and administrative offices, classrooms, a food service area, and two chapels. The facility has been designed to achieve LEED-Silver Certification.

The guiding principles of design are as follows:

  • Express CTS as a religious institution rooted in its past and forward-thinking in its mission
  • Assimilate iconic elements of CTS’ past within the framework of the new
  • Claim an independent presence while being a good neighbor on the Midway
  • Express a sense of rootedness, yet also a light and transparent character that is welcoming and engaging with its community
  • Feature sustainable design with a goal of LEED Silver-Certification

Faculty and staff offices and classrooms will be located on the first and second floors of the building. The first floor will also include a small chapel capable of seating around thirty, and the second floor will include a meditation space. The third floor will house the Learning Commons and Student Commons. Spaces for large, public assemblies are accommodated on the fourth floor and include our new main worship space and a dining room, in addition to a kitchen.

The building will have a concrete core with brick and metal siding facings. While generally rectangular in shape, the building is energized by a series of circles that cut across each floor. The circle becomes visible on the fourth floor as the glass curtainwall in which the main chapel and dining room are housed. The warmth of wood and solidity of stone enhance these crucial public spaces as ceiling and floor, respectively.

Green roofs have been incorporated into the plan on the third floor at the Learning and Student Commons and at the fourth floor adjacent to the worship and dining areas. The 5,000 square feet of green roof space will provide visual interest and environmental benefits for the building and will be accessible to members of the community. The green roof areas absorb both heat and carbon dioxide, reducing the building’s environmental footprint. Just as important, however, is the green roof ’s symbolic presence and its communication of the Seminary’s commitment to sustainable technologies.

Grant for Green Roof

The University of Chicago has received a $50,000 grant to help fund a green roof atop the new Chicago Theological Seminary building, now under construction at 1407 E. 60th St. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity provided the grant through the Green Roofs Program of the Federal 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The new building has been designed to meet LEED Silver-Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Among the building’s sustainability features will be a 5,000-square-foot green roof, which will reduce the building’s heat island effect and reduce storm water runoff while providing a vegetated outdoor landscape for occupants. The University completed its first green roof in 2009 as part of the Searle Chemistry Laboratory renovation.

Story originally appeared in Newswise on 2.10.2011
Additional information in Chicago Maroon on 2.22.2011