The University of Chicago's new business school houses a variety of student, administrative, and faculty spaces, including a library, cafeteria, multipurpose rooms, and computer lab. The design features a multi-level office block wrapped around a glass-enclosed winter garden. All mechanical / electrical systems are channeled through four tree-like columns in the garden that support the structure. Burt Hill, providing mechanical / telecommunications engineering design services for the Rafael Viñoly Architects design team, incorporated several sustainable, innovative solutions into the design. The funnel shape of the exterior vault brings rainwater into the center of the four columns of the structure, which then drains into a reservoir. Also, the geometry of the interior concaves allows the atrium to be naturally ventilated throughout the year.
