Kellogg’s new building reaches its final height

10/23/2015 - The Kellogg School of Management marked a major milestone Oct. 22, “topping off” its 410,000-square-foot Global Hub.

During an evening ceremony, a group of leaders from the Kellogg community, Northwestern University and Kellogg’s Global Advisory Board signed a ceremonial beam commemorating the event. The beam will be later placed in the building’s canopy.

Earlier this fall, crews raised the structure’s final beam, securing it at the roofline and achieving the final height of 103 feet. Construction on the building, which began in November 2013, is more than halfway complete and on track for its scheduled opening in early 2017.

“Topping off our new Global Hub is visible evidence of Kellogg’s progress against our strategic plan,” said Dean Sally Blount. “Thanks to the commitment and generosity of the entire Kellogg and Northwestern community, we’re just over a year away from our new home.”

Designed by award-winning Toronto firm KPMB Architects, Kellogg’s new Global Hub promises to foster new forms of learning, idea generation and collaboration for its future inhabitants, which will include Kellogg faculty, staff and students, and Weinberg College’s Department of Economics.

The leading-edge building will boast flexible and adaptive classrooms that can be reconfigured to optimize learning, as well as open and inviting communal spaces that will enable dialogue and debate, collaborative work, spontaneous idea sharing, and inspired problem-solving.

Thanks to an eco-friendly design that will reduce energy consumption at least 30 percent below local code requirements, the hub will be one of the greenest learning environments among MBA schools. Currently, the building is tracking solidly for LEED Gold designation.

“There’s an excitement about this building and what it means for our students,” said Matt Merrick, associate dean of MBA programs. “We’re creating a unique learning and community space that will allow us to adapt and grow far into the future.”

With the exterior well underway, construction is also progressing full speed on all interior spaces including:

• The Collaboration Plaza: A stunning three-story, 6,000-square-foot atrium that will welcome visitors to Kellogg, while drawing our students, faculty and visiting leaders together.
• The White Family Auditorium: A two-story, 6,600-square-foot, 350-seat space that will become Chicago’s and Northwestern University’s signature convening space, capable of hosting dinners for 250 or world-renowned lectures for 350.
• The Faculty Summit: A 9,000-square-foot, two-story piazza that forms the intellectual soul of Kellogg’s Global Hub, where faculty will converge to discuss, debate and find solutions to the most pressing economic, business and social issues of the day.

Construction should be completed over the next year, with mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, partitions, floors, and other final touches concluded by late 2016.


For more information on the Global Hub, visit Kellogg’s Transforming Together campaign site. 

Kellogg's Global Hub takes shape

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Kellogg's New Global Hub

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