CHICAGO—John Hancock College Preparatory High School has been presented with the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association’s (HACIA) 2022 Project of the Year award, thanks largely to designer Legat Architects’ efforts to ensure diversity of its local hires as well as working to ensure greater community involvement.

According to a recent release from Legat, the 178,000-square-foot high school replaced another facility that had existed on the same site for a century prior. Legat’s partners at the jobsite included UrbanWorks, a minority woman-owned firm, as well as K.R. Miller Contractors and A.L.L. Masonry Construction Co., the latter also a minority-owned firm.

The school’s study body is largely Hispanic, and the HACIA award commended the design and construction team for hosting bilingual meetings with community leaders as well as working with the Federation of Women Contractors to construct a diverse workforce for the project.

The designers and builders faced a rather punishing deadline and a constrained urban jobsite in close proximity to Midway Airport. The team also had to work amid covid protocols and shutdowns enforced by the pandemic.

HACIA was founded over four decades ago to raise awareness of Hispanic participation in the construction and design industry.

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CHICAGO—The Hispanic American Construction Industry Association has awarded its Project of the Year award to the design team behind Chicago Public Schools’ John Hancock College Preparatory High School. The project team, which included Legat Architects, UrbanWorks, KRM/ALL Joint Venture and RME Engineering, was recognized for its focus on building a diverse team.

According to an announcement by Legat, the 178,000-square-foot high school, which replaced another hundred-year-old school on the same site, is the only new school built within the Chicago Public Schools’ district in the past year.

The project’s diverse bona fides included meeting or exceeding benchmarks set for Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women Business Enterprise (WBE) involvement and minority workforce participation. Furthermore, the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association noted that the team worked on inclusion throughout the design and construction of the school, including by hosting bilingual meetings with families throughout the district and hiring minority-owned businesses. UrbanWorks is a minority woman-owned firm and K.R. Miller Contractors and A.L.L. Masonry Construction Co. are both minority-owned firms.

Legat project architect Loren Johnson said in a statement released by the firm that the design-build nature of the school allowed the designers to tackle many of the problems in the drawing room before they became issues on the jobsite itself.

“On a publicly funded project, this rare opportunity aligned expectations, confirmed assumptions, and reduced the risk of unexpected results,” said Johnson.

Ground was broken for the school in April 2019, and even with several pandemic-related delays, it was still finished on time.

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JOLIET, Ill.—Laraway School, a new $31 million PreK-8 school in Joliet, recently received the John N. Shaw Award for design and community planning. Sponsored by the Association for Learning Environments’ Midwest Great Lakes Chapter, the award recognizes top design that results from collaboration with educators, students, and community representatives.

Laraway School won the sole award in the competition—which encompasses 12 states and the province of Ontario, Canada. Key recipients include Laraway Community Consolidated School District 70C and Legat Architects, the architect of record.

Among the selection criteria for the award are how the design captures the educational vision, cost effectiveness, green features, and how it advances innovative learning environments.

The jury, consisting of planners and designers from throughout the nation, praised the project’s “great use of site and development of active outdoor learning spaces,” as well as a planning process that “was inclusive and really looked to maximize the cultural and community connection.”

Construction on Laraway School was completed in August 2018. Prior to this project, the school was undersized and inefficient and had changed little since it was built in the early 1950s. Additionally, nearly 98% of its students are low income. The Laraway Community Consolidated School District 70C community knew it was time for a change, so much so that a new school achieved an 80% “yes” ballot on the referendum ballot.

Today, students not only have an appropriately sized modern gym, but an entire new PreK-8 school that supports learning beyond the classroom, connects to the outdoors, encourages student and teacher collaboration, and even celebrates Joliet’s history.

The 119,000 square foot school, designed by Legat Architects, doubles the size of its predecessor and offers 460 students a spacious, light-filled setting featuring age-appropriate neighborhoods.

Henry Brothers was the construction manager on the project.

The layout of the school positions four grade-defined neighborhoods around a central courtyard. Each neighborhood features a “front porch” and active learning hub that responds to its students’ ages, while also encouraging staff collaboration. The spaces within the school accommodate different sizes: coaching rooms (2 to 3 students); small group learning areas (8 to 12 students); typical classrooms (20 to 28 students); active learning and flexible learning areas (40 to 50 students); and large assembly areas (50-plus students).

The school also features a 7th/8th grade modular tech lab that helps prepare students for Joliet Township High School’s Career Academies. Each two-week module within the lab connects with an academy at the high school.

The design of Laraway School also references Joliet’s physical and cultural heritage:

• A linear layout, east/west orientation, unique brick pattern, and floor/lighting patterns celebrate the city’s farming history.
• The main corridor, inspired by the nearby Wauponsee Glacial Trail, arcs through the facility.
• A “quarry wall” that connects the two entrances and curves through the cafeteria and courtyard gives a nod to Joliet’s legacy of quarrying limestone.

The design also employs several sustainable features:

• Roof and wall insulation exceed minimum R values for enhanced HVAC performance.
• All mechanical units have heat recovery to reduce the toll on the HVAC system.
• A daylight harvesting system includes east-west orientation, interior glass walls, and floor-to-ceiling exterior glass in each neighborhood.
• Pipes deliver stormwater to the outside, where it percolates into rain gardens.

The creation of the new Laraway School proves that districts serving disadvantaged families can unite communities to create cost-effective learning settings that emphasize student performance. The project also exemplifies school design that honors community context and history.

According to a statement from the John Shaw Award selection committee, “The Laraway School demonstrates great use of site and development of active outdoor learning spaces. The planning process was inclusive and really looked to maximize the cultural and community connection.”

The John Shaw Award jury consisted of planners and designers from across the nation, as well as a senior facilities development manager with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

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SILVER SPRING, Md.—The Education Market Association (EDmarket) recently announced the winning classroom designs to be featured at EDspaces this November in Charlotte, North Carolina. EDspaces is an event to explore how the convergence of pedagogy, space and technology—combined with innovation—affects facility design and use and student outcomes.

Each of the innovative classrooms were designed for physical distancing in a safe learning environment, similar to the challenges facing educators returning to school this fall. These unique educational environments provide an extension of learning for participants to experience first-hand the latest product and space innovations.

The following firms chosen to design classrooms for EDspaces 2020 are Hord Coplan Macht, Legat Architects, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Marotta Main Architects, Media Technologies, and Moseley Architects.

Classroom design judges—comprised of past winners of the design competition, school purchasing influencers, and AIA-CAE member architects—conducted an extensive review to make final selections. Proposals were evaluated for aesthetics, overall functionality, vendor engagement, relevance to the future of educational facilities, and flexibility of the learning space. This year’s classroom designers met the additional challenge of creating learning environments in the COVID-19 era.

Education sessions will be held in these six designed classrooms throughout the event, allowing attendees to experience how different products work in a variety of collaborative, flexible educational settings.

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BLOOMINGDALE, Ill.—A recent expansion at Winnebago Elementary School in Bloomingdale has allowed Marquardt School District 15 to triple its early childhood enrollment capacity. The additional classroom space has also enabled the district to transition from half-day to full-day kindergarten—a first for the community.

“The new, child-friendly spaces at Winnebago increase student engagement and interaction, as well as improve the social-emotional development of our youngest learners,” said

MSD15 Superintendent Dr. Jerry O’Shea in a statement.

Legat Architects designed this $8.6 million project and Marquardt School District 15 served as construction manager. Features include the following:

• New gymnasium three times larger than the old one
• New commons/multipurpose space where students eat
• A cross-curricular STREAM (science, technology, reading, engineering, art, math) lab
• Early childhood playground addition
• Parking lot upgrades

The school’s new corridor is a large glass wall that displays an enclosed early learning playground where MSD15’s youngest learners can run, climb, ride, bounce and jump.

The corridor leads to a workroom and a conference room, then to the early learning classrooms, where floor-to-ceiling windows fill the spaces with daylight.

Between classrooms, integrated therapy rooms allow specialists to observe classes or work one-on-one or in small groups of students with specific needs. Each pair of classrooms shares a collaborative workspace in which teachers meet and plan lessons. Every classroom also has a restroom to promote independence and save instruction time.

“The space will allow for the rigorous and engaging lessons for our preschool and kindergarten students for years to come,” explained Winnebago Principal Shari Lazor. “The teachers love the expansion. They have ample room and it’s so much brighter than before.”

At a ribbon-cutting event last fall where more than 250 community members gathered within the new gymnasium—which is triple the size of the previous one and allows more physical education opportunities and community assemblies—MSD15 School Board President Jean Randazzo thanked the community for its commitment to the children.

“This construction is the culmination of years of advocacy, planning and hard work from not only current, but also past boards of education, district administration, Winnebago school and staff, Legat Architects, and the district’s own recently-retired buildings and grounds director Bill Brown.”

Added Legat President/CEO Patrick Brosnan, “MSD15 has emerged as a regional leader and champion for full-day kindergarten and early childhood education for students. The district is setting an example for other districts that are studying options to implement similar programs.”

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MOLINE, Ill. — Moline High School’s 62-year-old auditorium has a new look and name—the Bartlett Performing Arts Center.

On March 7, more than 150 members of the Moline-Coal Valley School District 40 community gathered to celebrate completion of the 47,000-square-foot facility. This new center will not only create opportunities for students; it also benefits the entire Moline community and Quad Cities region as an education and entertainment venue.

“From the classrooms to the multiuse and performance spaces, from the set shop to the theater rigging and technology, we now truly have a state-of-the-art area for the arts and we’re thrilled to share such a tremendous facility with the community,” says Moline High School Principal Trista Sanders.

Designed by Legat Architects, which has offices in Illinois and Ohio, and built by Iowa-based Russell, the Bartlett Performing Arts Center stems from a partnership between Moline-Coal Valley School District and the Robert E. Bartlett Family Foundation.

Patrick Brosnan, president and CEO of Legat, recalls that throughout the process they asked, “‘What’s right for students? How does it fit the curriculum? How does it fit the community?’ The answers to these questions influenced everything from the seats and flooring to the ceiling and infrastructure.”

The rejuvenated 6,700-square-foot auditorium now features 800 stadium-style seats and all-new audiovisual systems.

“Theatergoers in the back of the old auditorium had trouble seeing the stage and hearing the performers,” says Legat Project Manager Jeff Sandberg.

“The renovations significantly increase the floor slope to create excellent views from every seat in the house, plus the new systems provide crystal-clear sound.”

This “sound shaping” was modeled by Legat’s consultants (Schuler Shook, Talaske, Advanced Communications), which found the ideal slope and shape to maximize the experience of every audience member.

The renewed auditorium has four large wood veneer “clouds” that stretch between the stage and the back wall to further improve acoustics. Every surface in the new theater is shaped to allow a person in the back of the theater to hear someone on stage speaking in a normal voice without a microphone.

Handicap upgrades were also done to improve seat-to-stage accessibility and designated seating areas for people in wheelchairs. Supporting spaces include an adjacent scene shop with garage doors that open directly to the stage and outdoors, a new dressing and makeup rooms, and storage.

A highlight is the new river-inspired lobby, which is part of the 12,500 square foot addition. It winds between the Performing Arts Center’s two entries and separates performance and instructional spaces. A curving glass wall encourages lobby activity and helps to build anticipation for the evening’s performance.

During the Center’s open house, many guests admired the curving stone wall in the lobby. Inspired by Moline’s location between two rivers, this “river wall” starts outside the building and runs the length of the lobby to connect both entrances.

Part of the project is the addition of a multipurpose room that doubles as a black box performance space. This room, equipped with a small stage and audiovisual/lighting systems, hosts smaller performances and practice sessions when the larger auditorium is booked. Dance, cheer, and other groups can also use the black box for rehearsals. Offices, practice rooms, and storage spaces are located between the classrooms.

The Performing Arts Center was named after philanthropist, arts enthusiast, and businessman Bob Bartlett, a figure who devoted much of his time and resources for the betterment of Moline and its residents. His influence can be seen in everything from establishment of the John Deere Classic (charity golf tournament) and sponsorship of nursing student scholarships to donations to institutions such as schools, Two Rivers YMCA, and the Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley.

At the dedication ceremony, Dr. Deborah Bracke, chairman of the Robert E. Bartlett Family Foundation sums it up best by calling the new center a “vital hub of creativity and engagement; a state on which our hopes and dreams for the City of Moline can be achieved.”

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GRAYSLAKE,Ill. ­— The College of Lake County (CLC) recently announced that its Science & Engineering Building has achieved LEED Platinum, the highest level of certification achievable with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

The 42,000-square-foot Science & Engineering Building, which opened in January 2018 at the college’s Grayslake Campus, houses mechatronics, photonics and chemistry classrooms and laboratories. Among its sustainable features are photovoltaic solar panels, green roofs of planted vegetation, a geothermal heating and cooling system and energy efficient fume hoods in chemistry labs, according to David Husemoller, CLC sustainability manager. Other features include LED lighting, and daylight harvesting, in which generous window space in each room gathers natural light, reducing the need for electrical lighting.

“We are honored to earn LEED Platinum certification,” said CLC President Lori Suddick. “As CLC’s first LEED Platinum building, the Science & Engineering Building embodies the college’s commitment to and integration of environmental, economic and social sustainability in its operations and academic programs. The building serves as a living laboratory, inspiring students to learn sustainability practices they can use in their future career fields.”

The Science & Engineering Building is designed to reduce building energy use by 66 percent compared to a standard science building of similar size, Husemoller said. The building’s rainwater recovery system collects rain in an underground tank and uses it for flushing of toilets and urinals, reducing potable water use by 41 percent.

Financing for the $24.9 million building came from the Illinois Capitol Development Board and local funds. “This honor of LEED Platinum is the result of years of planning and dedication with college partners Legat Architects, the Illinois Capital Development Board and others,” said Husemoller.

Before construction, Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI) did an energy model that assessed energy conservation measures and their impact on annual energy use and cost. One result of that study is the south façade with its large windows that provide the appropriate amount of daylight into the labs.

The entire building and most of its interior were analyzed to optimize daylighting, reduce glare, and improve thermal performance. The most interesting and not so obvious element is the self-shading façade concept developed by Legat as early as 2008. The shading solution uses extended mullion caps to control light, heat, and glare at virtually no additional cost, and helps fill the academic spaces with an abundance of natural light.

The team recognized that, in order to attain LEED Platinum for a lab building, an east/west orientation was a must to respond to the sun’s seasonal changes in elevation. When the sun is higher in summer, the exterior shades above the windows act like visors and prevent sunlight from hitting windows to reduce solar heat gain. In winter, labs get solar heat gain because the lower sun shines beneath the shades.

Legat’s Jeffrey Sronkoski, principal and director of higher education, said, “From the very onset of the project, the college’s leaders were intent on making the Science and Engineering Building a model of sustainability. Not only did they accomplish their objective, but they also showed that achieving LEED Platinum for science buildings is no longer the holy grail it once was.”

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The 42,000-square-foot Science Building is designed by architect of record Legat Architects and design architect Brubaker Design, both of Chicago, to achieve LEED Platinum certification using innovative techniques to make a traditionally wasteful building type efficient. The green highlights include 187 photovoltaic solar panels, a 1,500-square-foot green roof that reduces rainwater runoff, a geothermal heat exchange system, a living wall, and rainwater and daylight harvesting systems, reported the Chicago Tribune. The building’s green features are predicted to result in a more than 50 percent reduction in energy consumption, compared to a conventionally designed building.

The building highlights the college’s science and engineering programs, providing all-new laboratory spaces for biology, microbiology, anatomy, physiology and chemistry students. That includes four laser and photonics laboratories — expanding the college’s growing engineering department — and five chemistry laboratories, including one specifically devoted to organic chemistry.

The project is part of a $28.3 million Illinois Capital Development Board project that also includes renovations to 25,000 square feet of existing C Wing space on campus. The old chemistry labs are being vacated from that C Wing space to make way for two new anatomy and physiology labs and new classrooms.

Construction on the building broke ground in March 2015. It’s one of several buildings being constructed or renovated as part of the college’s $148 million master plan, which will improve both the Grayslake and Waukegan campuses.

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