College of Lake County Science Building Receives Green Award

GRAYSLAKE, Ill. — The College of Lake County’s (CLC) new three-story Science Building, slated to open in Grayslake later this year, received an Emerald Award for Building Innovation from the Illinois chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council on May 18. The sustainable project includes everything from solar panels to rainwater recovery features.

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.