Slated to open in 2015, the Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall at Northwestern University in Evanston will feature a 50-foot-high glass wall behind the stage that overlooks Lake Michigan and Chicago's skyline. The 400-seat performance space, courtesy of a $6 million gift from the Robert W. Galvin Foundation, is to be housed in a new music and communication building designed by Goettsch Partners. Construction has been underway since 2012.

The recital hall's namesake, Mary Galvin, is co-founder of the Stradivari Society and graduated from Northwestern in 1945. School officials say it will be the centerpiece of a five-story structure that includes lounges, offices, teaching labs, classrooms and numerous other features.