Also known as: North Wing Built: 2006-2009 Cost: $258,000,000 Designed by: Renzo Piano Type: Museum Location: Columbus and Monroe, Chicago, United States
This was formerly the location of the old Goodman Theatre.
This wing increases the Art Instutute's space by 260,000 square feet -- about 35%.
The building was designed with a number of environmentally-friendly features which allow it to use half the energy per square foot as the other buildings in the complex.
On the roof of the building is the so-called "Flying Carpet" which is a series of metal louvres. They open and close to increase or reduce the amount of light entering the building.
Unlike most other art museums, this one uses natural light as much as possible in order to cut down on energy use. The natural light is filtered through special fabric to help protect the artwork.
In order to reduce construction pollution, an effort was made to build the museum from local materials.
