Interior View: Economics in the Global Hub: Weinberg College

Interior View: Economics in the Global Hub

exterior shot of the global hub in the evening

By Rebecca Lindell

For years, the Department of Economics shared the Donald P. Jacobs Center with the Kellogg School of Management — a proximity that was intentional. The collaboration between leading economists and top management scholars has driven groundbreaking research and helped to fuel the rise of both groups to prominence. So when the Kellogg School announced plans to build a gleaming new “global hub” on the Northwestern campus, it was only natural for the economics department to move there as well.

Since it opened in March, the new building has won critical praise for its revolutionary design. The sun-filled structure features not one but two atriums, one built atop the other; a grand “Collaboration Plaza” reminiscent of Rome’s Spanish Steps; and innumerable nooks for study and conversation. “Before, we were in a very linear building,” observes Professor of Instruction Ian Savage, a departmental liaison with the design team. “Now, you are constantly running into the people you want to meet. And you can see the lake throughout the day. It feels like a very happy, very collaborative sort of place.”

Explore the Department's Space in the Global Hub

Interior photos by Rob Hart

Conference room with a view: Five conference rooms in the new building are devoted to the Department of Economics. To help preserve energy and regulate temperature, the rooms’ window blinds rise and fall in response to the sun.

Economics classroom: A spacious classroom on the ground floor is earmarked for courses in economics. Like all of the building’s 15 classrooms, it features state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, including the ability to capture and broadcast lectures over the internet.

The light court: More than two stories tall, this area provides space for departmental gatherings and receptions. Windows along the periphery invite the sun in. “The intention was to bring as much light into the building as possible,” Savage says.

Nooks for study and conversation: Like the rest of the global hub, the economics department features a variety of spaces for impromptu discussions, self-reflection and solitary study.

The department’s new home: A concrete column in the department’s reception area is an architectural reference to the dominant building material in the department’s former home in the Jacobs Center.

The hanging classroom: Suspended high above the Collaboration Plaza is the department’s “hanging classroom.” Sunlight filters into both sides of the room, which overlooks the building’s soaring main atrium.